Dirty Work (1998)

Director:

Bob Saget

Writers (WGA):

Frank Sebastiano (written by) &
Norm MacDonald (written by) ...

Release Date:

12 June 1998 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy

Tagline:

Revenge is a dish best served DIRTY.

Plot:

A loser finds success in the revenge-for-hire business.

Plot Keywords:

Grab Ass | Bloopers During Credits | Opera | Revenge | Bearded Woman

Cast

Norm MacDonald	...	Mitch Weaver
Artie Lange	...	Sam McKenna
Jack Warden	...	'Pops' McKenna
Traylor Howard	...	Kathy
Don Rickles	...	Mr. Hamilton
Christopher McDonald	...	Travis Cole
Chevy Chase	...	Dr. Farthing
Bradley Reid	...	Mitch (at 8 Years Old)
Matt Steinberg	...	Mitch (at 16 Years Old)
Joseph Sicilia	...	Sam (at 8 Years Old)
Austin Pool	...	Sam (at 8 Years Old) (as Austin John Pool)
Gerry Mendicino	...	Manetti
A. Frank Ruffo	...	Aldo
Hrant Alianak	...	John Kirkpatrick
Michael Vollans	...	Derek (at 10 Years Old)

Also Known As:

Sale boulot (Canada: French title)

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for crude sexual humor and language.

Runtime:

82 min

Country:

Canada | USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (DeLuxe)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS

Certification:

Singapore:PG | USA:PG-13 (certificate #35570) | UK:12 | Iceland:L | Argentina:13 | Australia:M | Netherlands:12 (video premiere)

Filming Locations:

Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Company:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)

Trivia:

The fitness show Pops was watching on TV was ":20 Minute Workout" (1982).

Goofs:

Audio/visual unsynchronized: When Mitch and Sam leave jail and Mitch addresses his cell mates, his lips can clearly be seen to say "anal rape," but this is overdubbed with the words "the other thing."

Quotes:

[first lines]
Derek: Hand over the milk money, Weaver.
Mitch: I'm afraid I can't do that, Derek. I'm just not sure you'll spend it on milk.

Movie Connections:

References Moulin Rouge (1952)

Soundtrack:

Burnout

Now They've Made Revenge Funny

None of the three young stars of this film - Norm MacDonald, Artie Lange or Traylor Howard - ever became movie stars but they combined to make this a funny film, albeit what I call a lame-brain (somewhat low-class but effective humor) one.

This is not an untypical comedy of today: tons of sleazy jokes, sightgags, a lightweight romance story, a generally stupid story and a happy ending.....yet this one was far more appealing than most I've seen. Although the language could be worse, why this isn't rated "R" is beyond me. It is not for teens but I'll bet many of them watched and enjoyed this, as well as older people like me.

MacDonald is a very likable guy in the lead. He just has a friendly face and demeanor about him. He makes the film. Lange was a bit loud. I'm glad the film wasn't longer because Lange's constant shouting begins to become grating. As for Traylor, she acted well and was a pretty face. After watching this twice, I wondered why she never made it, but at least she has now found TV fame as the new partner of the hit TV series, "Monk."

Two veterans actors in here - Jack Warden and Chevy Chase - play irreverent sleazy roles, something they certainly have done before.....and do well. Warden is brutal as the ultimate dirty old man and Chase is as smug as always. Don Rickles makes a short appearances as his normal obnoxious character and John Goodman makes a cameo near the end.

The main story of this movie is a familiar one: revenge, but this time it is played strictly for laughs, and there are plenty. The movie shows revenge isn't just sweet, it can funny. What can you say? The movie is crude, it's sentimental, and it's a fun 82 minutes.