Dirty Work
There can be no doubt that perhaps the most underappreciated comedy genius of the 90s or even of all time is probably Norm McDonald, a guy who parlayed a laid back yet caustic comedic style into pure gold when he joined the cast of Saturday Night Live in the early 90s and survived the initial, infamous âchangeoverâ of the showâs once talented cast in 1995 to an almost never ending series of unfunny, uninspired hacks (of which only Will Ferrell and Tina Fey found true mainstream fame later on) as Lorne Michaels aspired to refashion the show into a liberal comedy haven and effectively killed the anything goes glory days of the old program. Even then, McDonald stood out from the others with his penchant for ribald, politically incorrect humor, infuriating Michaels and the NBC execs but easily becoming the most popular cast member on the show at that time, sliding into the Weekend Update anchor desk and giving viewers a good reason to watch at least half the show in order to see him have at it (with no less an authority than original anchor Chevy Chase declaring that McDonald was the only one on the show who had ever properly filled his shoes). With oft repeated (and hilarious) OJ Simpson and Michael Jackson pedophile jokes among others, McDonald was riding high on a wave of popularity while making the rest of the cast (including Ferrell and Fey) look impeccably lame in comparison. Until that is it was announced that NBC had just fired SNLâs most popular player, with the ridiculous reason put forth being that allegedly Don Ohlmeyer (NBCâs West Coast President even though SNL was done in New York who was mainly a sports producer and reportedly a friend of OJ Simpsonâs) had exercised enough power to make the firing possible on the hard to swallow basis that he found McDonald to be ânot funnyâ, when more than likely what it really was that the cosmic media gods that control our popular culture had decided that McDonaldâs brand of humor was not fit for mainstream consumption (even though the SNL viewers absolutely loved him). Thus, the firing stood, SNL died but still remains on the network today as merely a ghost town for sketch comedy, and McDonaldâs career went the way of TV guest spots and small roles in various films, but at least before he was canned, he DID manage to complete the filming of this small scale yet hilarious comedy released in 1998 that even though it was buried upon its release at that time has still garnered a sizable cult following due to McDonaldâs sense of humor and the impressive lineup of talent on hand to support him and his efforts even if just by contributing a cameo. With (of all people) Bob Saget in the directorâs chair (another misunderstood talent who has openly declared that his wimpy milquetoast role on Full House is just a âpaycheck jobâ but is ironically well known on the stand up comedy circuit to be one of the most foul mouthed and raunchiest comedians to ever live), McDonald came up with the story of a wimpy loser whose only real talent was in using his wits to get revenge on people in elaborate ways teaming up with his best friend (Artie Lange, who later became Howard Sternâs yes man after replacing the irreplaceable Jackie The Joke Man Martling) to open up their own business doing just that in order to raise money for a heart transplant for Langeâs whore obsessed father (Jack Warden in extra mean spirited form). Right from the getgo, McDonaldâs acerbic wit and acid tinged sense of humor are apparent with jokes ranging on any and all topics from child molesters to incest to dead hookers to nightmarish hallucinations involving Gary Coleman as he and Lange work a number of small time jobs before being hired by a powerful millionaire (Christopher McDonald a.k.a. Shooter McGavin) to pull off a big prank that inevitably leads to a setup. Along the way, if one can measure the level of respect that a comedian gets from his peers based on the number of legendary talents that show up here to do their thing, then itâs very clear that McDonald commanded an enormous amount of exactly that, with Chase himself in one of his last truly great roles as a shady doctor with a severe gambling problem, Don Rickles insulting Lange brilliantly as an asshole movie theater manager who gets his big premiere night movie replaced with gay porn, David Koechner as a mean bastard of a used car dealer doing a live commercial only to find that all the trunks of all his cars are revealed to have (pretend) dead hookers on live TV, Rebecca Romijn as a drunk and abusive bearded lady in a carnival sideshow who loses her most precious asset, Chris Farley (in the very last role he filmed before his untimely death as the movie wasnât released until a year later) as McDonald and Langeâs crazy drunken friend at their favorite bar, John Goodman as the town Mayor, and even Adam Sandler very briefly showing up as Satan himself. When our heroes realize that theyâve been both set up and screwed out of their money by the unscrupulous millionaire, they plot out their greatest revenge yet by sabotaging his live opera performance of Don Giovanni, and as it is with the whole movie, the finale isnât necessarily a grand comic setpiece in and of itself but rather a series of engagingly funny little moments (âHahaha, you didnât count on my loyal army of prostitutes, did you?â) as the corrupt and perhaps more importantly disingenuous rich man gets exactly whatâs coming to him. Whatâs probably even funnier though than the laugh out loud bits throughout the film as contributed by the cast is just the idea that just the very nature of running a revenge for hire business automatically constitutes the breaking of the law in various ways throughout the movie although the two main characters are usually portrayed as being slick enough to get away with it even as the pranks themselves can best be described as acts of harmless anarchy. And with both that exact anarchic nature of their actions as well as the anything goes style of much of the dialogue and humor itself, the movie proves that daring, risky, politically incorrect comedy if done right, can be (and should be thought of as) the absolute most enjoyable kind to view as real comedy really shouldnât have any rules anyway (and Ricklesâ own classic brand of insult comedy alone can be thought of by many as coming close to crossing the proverbial line). Of course, the tragic shuttering of Norm McDonaldâs actual career after this did little more except rob us of his one of a kind talent which was both funny and fearless even as he himself employed a more laid back, donât give a shit persona in his acting, even employing his known trademark bit of using a small tape recorder to give ânotesâ to himself (and which winds up playing a major role in the movieâs plot) and the fact that the movie is still relentlessly funny despite starting off with what was an R rated script before being pared down to a more PG-13 tone shows that you donât need the F word every two minutes to make this kind of material work. Granted, Lange is a little overbearing as the best friend and doesnât exactly make the most suitable sidekick (even though he would play the same basic role on McDonaldâs short lived sitcom a few years later) but Warden is in fine gruff old bastard form here and the requisite goofball comedy romance (between McDonald and a female accountant played by Traylor Howard) checks off the requisite minimum requirements for having its proper place here. But in the end itâs the appeal of giving true fucking assholes their embarrassing comeuppance with little or no retribution (and if played out properly, being a hero for it) that has helped this film to endure even if Norm McDonaldâs career has not, by having the balls to get laughter out of subjects that the more timid comedy all stars of today could never find it in themselves to do, all while reminding us that if the little guy puts his mind to it, he might not wind up on top but he can still put the bigger asshole to shame hahaâŚ
9/10