Plot: What’s it about?
The life of Joe Dirt (David Spade) hasn’t been an easy one, but no matter what happens, he keeps pushing ahead and remains positive. He was abandon as a child at the Grand Canyon and ever since, he has been on a wild adventure to locate his folks, no matter what the costs. He hasn’t had much luck however, as he has stumbled from town to town, getting into more trouble each time, but never getting closer to his parents. But when he passes into a place called Silver Town, he finds some peace there and decides to remain there for some time. He becomes best friends with Brandy (Brittany Daniel), a beautiful young woman, as well as her lovable dog. But the local bullies don’t like Joe and Brandy’s dad is a drunk, so Joe still doesn’t have it all, but at least he feels somewhat welcome in Silver Town. But when a train runs over Brandy’s father’s legs and he shoots the dog out of wrath, Joe packs up and continues his search. He runs into all sorts of people and gets involved in all sorts of hijinks, only to be a guest on the radio show hosted by the top rated Zander Berkeley (Dennis Miller). But will Joe ever be able to find his parents and see Brandy again, or is luck simply not on his side in life?
I saw The Adventures of Joe Dirt at the theaters based on the premise of a white trash hero and I assure you, I was not disappointed. David Spade is pure white trash in this movie, down to his speech patterns, facial hair, and of course, the ever present mullet. The title has been shortened to just Joe Dirt for the home video release, but the movie is the same and of course, that means Joe Dirt’s full white trash fun value is intact. Spade drives this film of course, with some hilarious material to work with, which he and Fred Wolf penned. This is low brow stuff to be sure, but the white trash angle is so humorous, I couldn’t help but love this flick. I love Joe’s rustbucket car, I love this outrageous persona, and in the end, I loved his movie. No, it isn’t high cinema and it has some serious flaws, but it is a comedy after all and it never tries to be more, so there’s no real reason to bash it, I don’t think. Columbia has released Joe Dirt in a real winner of a disc, so if you’re at all interested, I highly recommend this title, as it flat out rocks!
The man behind the mullet is David Spade, who is best known for his sarcasm laced characters, to be sure. Some of the elements from his sarcastic days, but Joe Dirt is a character unlike his others, without a doubt. Spade handles the downtrodden Joe with ease, never having to force the material, so Joe seems like a realistic dude, I think. I’ve seen people who are like Joe in real life and I have to say, I think Spade nailed the role here, right down to the small touches. His overall persona seems very natural, as do his vocal patterns and facial expressions. I love his lines however, as he says some classic white trash phrases, such “Van Halen…not Van Hagar” and the like. You can also see Spade in such films as Lost & Found, Tommy Boy, Coneheads, Senseless, and Black Sheep. The cast also includes Dennis Miller (Bordello of Blood, Madhouse), Jaime Pressly (Ringmaster, Poor White Trash), Adam Beach (The Last Stop, Mystery Alaska), Christopher Walken (Sleepy Hollow, True Romance), and Brittany Daniel (Tv’s Dawson’s Creek).
Video: How does it look?
Joe Dirt is presented in a 1.85:1 anamorphic widescreen transfer, with a full frame edition also included on this dual layered disc. As usual with their day & date titles, Columbia has issued a fine visual effort here, without any serious flaws to report. The print looks very clean and shows minimal grain, so the other elements can come through in fine form as well. The colors are bold and vivid, free from any errors and flesh tones look natural also. No trouble with the contrast either, as black levels are dead on and never falter in the least. This is not a reference level transfer and some small flaws are evident, but this is still a fantastic visual presentation.
Audio: How does it sound?
This might be a dialogue driven comedic film, but Joe Dirt has a rockin’ soundtrack, so those surrounds will stay warm here. The mostly classic rock tunes sound excellent here, with wide dynamic range and presence, very immersive in tone. But due to the material, the music has most of the surround use to be heard, as this is a front channel based operation. This is how it should be however, so no real complaints, since the track sparks when it needs to. The vocals are crisp and never hard to understand, while volume balance is consistent as well. This disc also includes 2.0 surround tracks & subtitles in English and French.
Supplements: What are the extras?
Columbia has issued some cool supplements for this Joe Dirt disc, including two audio commentary tracks and yes, I said two audio commentary tracks. The first is with director Dennie Gordon, who is very energetic and has a real love for the material, to be sure. She comes off as very relaxed and open, which means a lot of information is shared, though not too much on the technical side. I was able to find some cool tech tidbits however, and since Gordon is so talkative, lots of humorous moments are present also. The second track features David Spade and is more laughs, as Spade offers tons of false information, but also some entertaining stories about the production, as well as writing process. This disc also includes a selection of deleted scenes, an outtake reel, some talent files, and the film’s theatrical trailer.
