2019’s The Dirt, directed
by Jeff Tremaine.
Starring Colson Baker, Douglas Booth, Daniel Webber, Iwan
Rheon, David Costabile, Rebekah Graf, Tony Cavalero, Kathryn Morris, Pete
Davidson, and Kamryn Ragsdale.
What is it about?
The Dirt is the
authorized biopic about the rock band, Mötley Crüe. Comprised of singer Vince
Neil (Daniel Webber), drummer Tommy Lee (Colson Baker), Bassist Nikki Six
(Douglas Booth), and guitarist Mick Mars (Iwan Rheon), the band became as
renowned for their outrageous lifestyles as for their 1980’s brand of music.
Hounded to keep pumping out the jams by their manager, Doc McGhee (David
Costabile), and Elektra music executive Tom Zutaut (Pete Davidson), the band’s
mantra of never letting the good times stop becomes their rallying cry.
Why is it worth seeing?
Based off of the band’s autobiographical 2001 book, The Dirt: Confessions of the World's Most
Notorious Rock Band, director Jeff Tremaine assembles a cast that does its
damnedest to highlight the infamous band’s go for broke lifestyle- and little
else. Opportunities to make anything more than an (incomplete) time capsule
dedicated to the band bragging about their excess are eschewed, for montages of
the good times. For a band devoid of present day relevance, they punt on
letting us know literally anything about them in this millennium.
What’s perhaps revealing about the amount of time that the film’s script sat in Development Hell, is the story's lack of resolution. Renowned pick up artist, Neil Strauss, cowrote with the band the original novel, and screenwriter, Rich Wilkes (of Airheads and The Jerky Boys fame), spend the entire film detailing how the band came together, and how much they enjoy playing music- but not as much as ingesting substances and having sex. They’re the congealed wet dream of any arrested development frat boy. Tremaine showcases how “the gang” have no regard for the good times ever stopping, before the entire production shuts down in favour of “and they all lived happily ever after”. Is it asking too much to see how the band members matured? Maybe they never did.
Can I tell you a little secret? Although at times I find the archetype of hair metal comically ridiculous, generally I can’t stand this band and the era it represents. However, I was hopeful that I would be able to learn something more about the band, maybe generate some respect for them as musicians- and perhaps even as people? The film has a promising start to it, and it’s because the individual band members have interesting lives (something Bohemian Rhapsody would have benefited from showing), that no doubt would be captivating to learn about. But the film won’t germinate the seeds it plants- it’d rather show a party that climaxes with female ejaculation- Whoa dude!
Body fluids out of the way, the characters are worth investigating, and it’s frustrating how the film refuses to let us get to know them, other than flashbacks that the band feels enables them to be justified in their teenage inspired antics. The scene of a member’s behaviour killing another musical colleague, of a rock star snorting ants and licking urine, and of indiscriminately shagging groupies and other band members’ fiancees, are prioritized over such questions as: what were some of the resolutions Vince Neil pursued after his 4 year old daughter died of cancer? Did Tommy Lee ever remarry (we all know that one)? Did Nikki Six ever reconcile with his mother and welcome in his extended family? All of these questions (and more) are shoved aside as the band gets back together- not so much a spoiler as it is the film’s explanation for resolution- in its eyes, the film basically ends in the mid-90’s, curious for a band that to this day is interested in being relevant.
What’s perhaps revealing about the amount of time that the film’s script sat in Development Hell, is the story's lack of resolution. Renowned pick up artist, Neil Strauss, cowrote with the band the original novel, and screenwriter, Rich Wilkes (of Airheads and The Jerky Boys fame), spend the entire film detailing how the band came together, and how much they enjoy playing music- but not as much as ingesting substances and having sex. They’re the congealed wet dream of any arrested development frat boy. Tremaine showcases how “the gang” have no regard for the good times ever stopping, before the entire production shuts down in favour of “and they all lived happily ever after”. Is it asking too much to see how the band members matured? Maybe they never did.
Can I tell you a little secret? Although at times I find the archetype of hair metal comically ridiculous, generally I can’t stand this band and the era it represents. However, I was hopeful that I would be able to learn something more about the band, maybe generate some respect for them as musicians- and perhaps even as people? The film has a promising start to it, and it’s because the individual band members have interesting lives (something Bohemian Rhapsody would have benefited from showing), that no doubt would be captivating to learn about. But the film won’t germinate the seeds it plants- it’d rather show a party that climaxes with female ejaculation- Whoa dude!
Body fluids out of the way, the characters are worth investigating, and it’s frustrating how the film refuses to let us get to know them, other than flashbacks that the band feels enables them to be justified in their teenage inspired antics. The scene of a member’s behaviour killing another musical colleague, of a rock star snorting ants and licking urine, and of indiscriminately shagging groupies and other band members’ fiancees, are prioritized over such questions as: what were some of the resolutions Vince Neil pursued after his 4 year old daughter died of cancer? Did Tommy Lee ever remarry (we all know that one)? Did Nikki Six ever reconcile with his mother and welcome in his extended family? All of these questions (and more) are shoved aside as the band gets back together- not so much a spoiler as it is the film’s explanation for resolution- in its eyes, the film basically ends in the mid-90’s, curious for a band that to this day is interested in being relevant.
But it’s tough staying relevant, when all you want to do is
brag about how fucked up you used to get. The biographers don’t help their
causes when they trivialize and even ridicule their attempts to get sober.
Anybody who’s ever dealt with addiction will tell you that it is indeed
grueling trying to stay sober, especially when temptation (Dr. Feelgood?) is
around every corner- but that it’s a worthy pursuit. Not to this gang. Boring!
Its quest to be irreverent towards “the squares” takes priority, a characteristic
mostly associated with teenagers.
Lacking filmmaking panache and any kind of mature authenticity, The Dirt focuses cynically on getting fans
to engage in Reagan era nostalgia, but true fans won’t find much new to learn, and
casual fans likely won’t be that inspired- at best perhaps the band can sell some more
posters to go on college dorm walls.
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