Dirty Work is a 1998 comedy buddy film starring Norm Macdonald and Artie Lange, and directed by Bob Saget. In the film, long-time friends Mitch (Macdonald) and Sam (Lange) start a successful revenge-for-hire business, and try to earn money for heart surgery for Pops (Warden). All goes well until they must do a dirty job for an unscrupulous businessman. In order to be paid, and expose their deadbeat customer, the pair hatch an outrageous revenge scheme of their own. Richard Ribbs Gibbs was the keyboard player for the New Wave band Oingo Boingo from 1980 to 1984. ... For alternate meanings of MGM, see MGM (disambiguation). ... June 12 is the 163rd day of the year (164th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... // February 14 - Sharon Stone marries Phil Bronstein. ... The English language is a West Germanic language that originates in England. ... // February 14 - Sharon Stone marries Phil Bronstein. ... Comedy film is a film genre designed to be humorous. ... A buddy film is a film in which the central characters are two friends, often of the same sex, who appear together throughout the film. ... Norman Gene Macdonald (born October 17, 1963) is a Canadian actor and comedian. ... This article does not cite its references or sources. ... Robert Lane Saget (born May 17, 1956) is an American actor, stand-up comedian and game show host best known for his role as Danny Tanner in the ABC sitcom Full House from 1987 to 1995, as host of Americas Funniest Home Videos from 1989 to 1997 and as...

The film was the first starring vehicle for Macdonald and Lange, and the first film directed by Saget, who left his long-running role as host of America's Funniest Home Videos to begin a directing career. It is the last film appearance by Chris Farley. This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Christopher Crosby Farley (February 15, 1964 – December 18, 1997) was an American actor and comedian. ...

The film received broadly negative reviews from critics, and received low box office returns. However, it has since become a cult favorite.

Cast

• Norm Macdonald as Mitch Weaver. Macdonald's first starring role, soon after he left^[1] Saturday Night Live.
• Artie Lange as Sam McKenna, Mitch's friend. Lange's first starring role, after being fired from Mad TV.
• Jack Warden as Pops McKenna, Sam's dirty-old-man father.
• Traylor Howard as Kathy, interested in Mitch
• Don Rickles as Mr. Hamilton, an insulting movie theater owner.
• Christopher McDonald as Travis Cole, corrupt businessman.
• Chevy Chase as Dr. Farthing, the greedy doctor.

Cameo appearances included Rebecca Romijn as Bearded Lady, John Goodman as Mayor Adrian Riggins (uncredited), Adam Sandler as Satan (uncredited), Gary Coleman as himself, David Koechner, and Chris Farley as Jimmy (uncredited). This was Farley's last-released film appearance. Former SNL writer Jim Downey and former SNL writer/performer Fred Wolf appeared as homeless men. Both writers collaborate frequently with Macdonald and Adam Sandler. Norman Gene Macdonald (born October 17, 1963) is a Canadian actor and comedian. ... Saturday Night Live (SNL) is a weekly late night 91-minute American comedy-variety show based in New York City that has been broadcast live by NBC on Saturday nights since October 11, 1975. ... This article does not cite its references or sources. ... MADtv is an American sketch comedy television series based on the humor magazine, Mad. ... Jack Warden (September 18, 1920 – July 19, 2006) was an American actor. ... Traylor Howard Traylor Elizabeth Howard (born June 14, 1966, in Orlando, Florida, USA) is an American actress. ... Donald Jay Rickles (born May 8, 1926 in New York City, New York) is an American comedian and actor. ... Christopher McDonald Christopher McDonald (born February 15, 1955 in New York City, New York, USA) is an American actor. ... Chevy Chase (born Cornelius Crane Chase on October 8, 1943) is an Emmy Award-winning American comedian, writer, and television and film actor. ... Rebecca Alie Romijn (born November 6, 1972) is an American actress and former fashion model. ... John Stephen Goodman (born June 20, 1952) is a Golden Globe-winning and Emmy-nominated American actor. ... Adam Richard Sandler (born September 9, 1966) is an American comedian, screenwriter, director, producer, actor, and musician. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... David Koechner (pronounced //) (born August 24, 1962 in Tipton, Missouri) is an American character actor (film, television and stage), comedian and musician. ... Christopher Crosby Farley (February 15, 1964 – December 18, 1997) was an American actor and comedian. ... Jim Downey (sometimes credited as James Downey) is probably best known for his time as a writer for Saturday Night Live. ... Adam Richard Sandler (born September 9, 1966) is an American comedian, screenwriter, director, producer, actor, and musician. ...

Plot

Growing up, friends Mitch Weaver (Macdonald) and Sam McKenna (Lange) "don't take crap from anyone", as Pops McKenna (Warden) taught them: they get a bully arrested for (planted) gun possession, and catch a kiddie-fondler in the act (with glue). After losing many jobs and his girlfriend, Mitch moves in with Sam. Pops' heart is failing, but the gambling-addicted Dr. Farthing (Chase) will only raise Pops on the transplant list if he is paid $50,000. Mitch and Sam use their only talent to start the "Dirty Work" revenge-for-reasonable-rates business. Starting small, they avenge theater workers abused by their manager (Rickles) by showing "Men In Black (Who Like To Have Sex With Each Other)" to a packed house. They exact increasingly lucrative reprisals for satisfied customers until they interfere with unscrupulous local property developer Travis Cole (McDonald). Cole tricks them into destroying "his" apartment building, promising to pay them enough to save Pops. Afterwards, Cole reneges, revealing that he is not the owner; further, the grandmother of Mitch's new girlfriend Kathy (Howard) lives there. Unbeknownst to Cole, Mitch's "note to self" ^[2] tape recorder captures this confession. Norman Gene Macdonald (born October 17, 1963) is a Canadian actor and comedian. ... This article does not cite its references or sources. ... Jack Warden (September 18, 1920 – July 19, 2006) was an American actor. ... Chevy Chase (born Cornelius Crane Chase on October 8, 1943) is an Emmy Award-winning American comedian, writer, and television and film actor. ... Donald Jay Rickles (born May 8, 1926 in New York City, New York) is an American comedian and actor. ... Christopher McDonald Christopher McDonald (born February 15, 1955 in New York City, New York, USA) is an American actor. ... Traylor Howard Traylor Elizabeth Howard (born June 14, 1966, in Orlando, Florida, USA) is an American actress. ...

Mitch and Sam plot their revenge on Cole, using the tape to set up an elaborate trap. Using skunks, an army of prostitutes, homeless men, a noseless friend, brownies with unsafe additives, and Sam's father, they ruin the opening night of an opera, sponsored prominently by Cole. With the media present, Mitch tries to play back the confession over the theater's sound system, but instead accidentally plays himself saying "note to self, get ass wart cream for giant wart on my ass". Nevertheless, Cole sees that his public image is being tarnished and agrees to pay the $50,000. In the end, Cole is punched in the stomach, arrested and jailed, his dog is raped by a skunk, and Mitch gets the girl. Dr. Farthing overcomes his gambling habit but is beaten to death by bookies anyway.

Production and Release

Filmed in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, and at Wycliffe College there, the film was produced for an estimated $13 million^[3]. American domestic gross was just over $10 million. No ads for the film were shown on NBC^[1] until a week after the film's release. ISO 4217 Code USD User(s) the United States, the British Indian Ocean Territory,[1] the British Virgin Islands, Cambodia, East Timor, Ecuador, El Salvador, the Marshall Islands, Micronesia, Palau, Panama, Turks and Caicos Islands, and the insular areas of the United States Inflation 2. ... The National Broadcasting Company or NBC is an American television broadcasting company based in New York Citys Rockefeller Center. ...

MGM released a DVD of the film in August 1999.

Reception

The film received mostly negative critical reviews; a few positive reviews mentioned serious flaws while still mildly recommending it. The film has a 20% critic rating at Rotten Tomatoes, but a much higher user rating. It is rated with a 5.9/10 on the Internet Movie Database, where initial viewer reviews were uniformly negative, but as of 2007, the average of reviews is positive, with a divergence of opinion. It is now widely recognized as the funniest movie associated with Norm McDonald, and, perhaps, of all time. This article or section does not cite any references or sources. ...

Trivia

• On the October 12, 2006 Howard Stern radio show, Bob Saget recounted stories from behind the scenes with Artie Lange, and Stern revealed that he turned down the role of Satan in the movie because he "just didn't get it."
• The Dirty Work business phone number is "555-0187," a fictitious number used later on Saturday Night Live.^[4]

• In the scene where Mr. Hamilton (Rickles) berates Mitch and Sam at length, Rickles ad-libbed personal insults at Lange ("baby gorilla", seen in the film) and Macdonald ("How you got this movie, I'll never know", seen in outtakes during the end credits).

• In Norm Macdonald's ABC sitcom Norm, Lange guest-starred (and later joined the cast) as Norm's half-brother. Jack Warden also guest-starred once as father of Ian Gomez' character, and fakes a grab at Norm's crotch (as he did in Dirty Work).^[5]

This article is a biography of Howard Stern as an individual; for information regarding his radio show see The Howard Stern Show. ... The oft-used fictional phone number 555-2368, as seen in the movie Ghostbusters In North America, telephone numbers with the prefix 555 are widely used for fictitious phone numbers in television shows, films, computer games, and other media. ... Saturday Night Live (SNL) is a weekly late night 91-minute American comedy-variety show based in New York City that has been broadcast live by NBC on Saturday nights since October 11, 1975. ... Donald Jay Rickles (born May 8, 1926 in New York City, New York) is an American comedian and actor. ... The American Broadcasting Company ( oftenly known as ABC) operates television and radio networks in the United States and is also shown on basic cable in Canada. ... The Norm Show was an American television sitcom that ran from 1999 through 2001 on the ABC television network. ... Jack Warden (September 18, 1920 – July 19, 2006) was an American actor. ... Ian Gomez is an american actor with notable roles on The Drew Carey Show and Curb Your Enthusiasm. ...

Availability

The movie is available on VHS, Laserdisc and DVD from MGM Home Entertainment. Bottom view of VHS cassette with magnetic tape exposed Top view of VHS cassette with front casing removed The Video Home System, better known by its abbreviation VHS is a recording and playing standard for analog video cassette recorders (VCRs), developed by Victor Company of Japan, Limited (JVC) and launched... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... DVD (Digital Versatile Disc or Digital Video Disc) is an optical disc storage media format that can be used for data storage, including movies with high video and sound quality. ... For alternate meanings of MGM, see MGM (disambiguation). ...

References

Don Ohlmeyer (born Donald Winfred Ohlemeyer, Jr. ... Saturday Night Live (SNL) is a weekly late night 91-minute American comedy-variety show based in New York City that has been broadcast live by NBC on Saturday nights since October 11, 1975. ... Weekend Update is a Saturday Night Live sketch which comments on and parodies current events. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era. ... is the 33rd day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era. ... is the 33rd day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ...

External links

• Dirty Work at the Internet Movie Database
• Dirty Work at Rotten Tomatoes