‘Joe Dirt:’ clean fun or moronic cliché
Moviegoers often get upset when they pay good money to see what they think will be a good movie only to discover the film is nothing more than a 90-minute foray into pubescent vulgarity.
Sometimes the offense is warranted. Take, for instance, the many films recently advertised as romantic comedies. Often times they turn out to be anything but romantic. After watching “She’s All That,” the only thing I could remember was the scene where the school bully was forced to eat a pizza garnished with pubic hair. “The Mexican” looked to everyone to be a love story, but actually put little emphasis on the romantic interplay between Julia Roberts and Brad Pitt.
While there’s no question patrons of the silver screen are, on a regular basis, duped by misleading previews and deceptive advertising, neither was a problem when it came to “Joe Dirt.” “Dirt” was advertised as a silly, trite little film and delivered the goods exactly as promised.
David Spade plays Joe Dirt, a man born to champion the much-maligned lifestyle of a dyed-in-the-wool hard-rockin’ redneck. He sports a mullet that embodies the era, drives a white-trash smoke wagon and professes to be the No. 1 fan of all requisite hard-rock bands – AC/DC, Skynard and Van Halen (not Van Hagar).
Watching Spade’s character reminds me of a guy I saw driving out of the parking terrace a couple of months ago. I wouldn’t have looked twice at him except he nearly killed me as he streaked toward the terrace entrance at highway speeds. He was intent on his music, drumming noisily on the side of his car with his free hand as he went by. I never saw his face because my attention was immediately seized by the Penthouse air freshener dangling seductively from his rear view mirror.
I couldn’t believe my eyes. I had no idea guys like that still existed. It was hard to decide whether to be offended by his ignorance or applaud his defiance of the politically correct mores that have besieged our fair campus. Most people felt the same conflict watching “Joe Dirt.” On the outside, Joe looks like he stands for everything that is unpopular in America. He is typecast from the beginning by everyone he meets as an ignoramus and a second-class human. It is only when Joe suddenly finds himself the subject of a radio talk show that we start to see him for the upbeat guy he really he is.
Still, I can’t give the movie more credit than its transparent, lackluster plot deserves. Sure the story has a moral – it’s the only thing that saves it. But unlike its main character, the movie itself has very few redeeming qualities and those are likely to be forgotten before you leave the theater.