Hindsight is both a curse and a blessing, especially when it comes to the eventual critical reanalysis that every film will subsequently have at some point in its life, whether positive or negative. This is particularly relevant to the subject of today’s conversation, the Bob Saget- directed comedy Dirty Work, which was reviled as a low-brow, vulgarian disaster at the time of its release, when in reality (and without any sense of hyperbole) it is actually a cinematic masterpiece, a daring and provocative film that is intrepid enough to push boundaries that many didn’t even know existed, going beyond the level of decency we expect from mainstream comedies, and delivering an endless cavalcade of the most depraved and bizarre humour seen on screen for years. Of course, its all a matter of opinion – and this current opinion is that Dirty Work, the starring vehicle for masters of the craft Norm MacDonald and Artie Lange, is one of the most misunderstood films of its era – so you can imagine the level of delight and relief in realizing that I’m not alone in being thoroughly entertained and captivated by this off-the-wall interrogation of morality, but rather that it has attained the status of a cult film, celebrated as nothing short of a purely ambitious film that may not be the embodiment of high art – but in a cinematic landscape where everyone is trying to do something different, perhaps the most revolutionary act was to simply just go against the grain in a way that many didn’t expect, which is precisely the reason behind Dirty Work being an unheralded comedic masterwork that has steadily grown in esteem, and has seen a great deal of reappraisal from contemporary audiences, who seem to be far more inclined towards the bizarre brilliance of this hilarious and unorthodox work of pure chaos.

Vulgarity is not always negative, and several prominent filmmakers have built their entire careers around creative expression of repulsive and immoral subject matter, since there is something so enduring about seeing clearly gifted artists go in pursuit of something very different. It’s easy to mistake these kinds of films as being unworthy of time because they’re perceived as inelegant and low-brow – but considering they’re often made by some of the most intelligent, shrewd artists, there is an argument to be made that it’s usually quite purposeful. It’s not clear what inspired Saget and MacDonald to conceive of this film (outside of it being a loose adaptation of Roald Dahl’s brilliant short story “Vengeance is Mine Inc.”), but whatever served as the impetus for this story being told, it was clearly aligned with their desire to be disruptive and odd, which is essentially the elements that inspired their careers and made them cornerstones of alternative comedy, which benefitted from the presence of these strange but hilarious flights of fancy that are as ridiculous as they are crude, which is intentional and only makes the film funnier. It never crosses the threshold of decency where it becomes morally questionable or offensive (and outside of a few off-colour jokes that we can only defend as being a product of its time, it mostly is a case of punching upwards, which is actually quite admirable considering the low-hanging fruit that was available), but instead playfully manipulates expectations in favour of the frequently offbeat nature of the story, which is a lot more compelling when done by people who we know committed their entire artistic lives to this level of off-kilter, unrefined humour that borders on the surreal – and in some cases, actively leaps into it for the sake of stirring up a reaction.

Considering he was quite active in the comedy circuit since the 1980s, and had a very strong dominance on television throughout the 1990s (including his unprecedented and iconic run as the anchor of Weekend Update on Saturday Night Live, which brought him as much fame as it did infamy, since he was never one to hold back on any jokes, even the most controversial), it’s surprising that it took so long to give Norm MacDonald his own starring film – he was perhaps not the epitome of the smooth, effortlessly cool movie star that defined some of his contemporaries, but he had a wealth of charisma and, most importantly, he was truly hilarious. Simply watching him talk on any subject – including the most mundane concepts imaginable – is enough to keep any viewer entertained, so it was only a matter of time before this translated to film. Dirty Work is built on the simple premise of having MacDonald play a character very much within his wheelhouse, a wisecracking everyman with an eccentric streak, and placing him in increasingly bizarre situations, where his reactions alone were worth the price of admission. He’s paired up with Artie Lange, who was also getting his very first starring role after a few years of hard work in the comedy circuit (and after personally being handpicked by MacDonald as the person he wanted to play his partner in the film), and the two are fantastic – their styles of comedy are different, but they find common ground and play these lovable buffoons with the kind of commitment and genuine passion that every great comedic performance should embrace, and while they’re far from the most polished performances, they’re both terrific and fit the tone of the film extremely well. There’s a wealth of hilarious cameos from many different actors, all of which seem more than thrilled to have the opportunity to spend a day or two lending their talents to what was clearly a very funny film right from the start – how else does one manage to get the likes of John Goodman, Chevy Chase and the legendary Don Rickles himself to play small but vital roles than with anything other than the active promise of a worthwhile production? If there is nothing else to motivate one to watch this film, the fact that it is 80 minutes of MacDonald having fun and producing an endless stream of hilarious jokes and highly-quotable lines is more than enough to capture our attention and give this film value.

Dirty Work is a film that is best described as a series of bizarre misadventures, tied together by a sense of controlled chaos that Saget (who was not an experienced director, but had enough control over the medium to put together a very funny film) uses to emphasize the purely depraved intentions that exist behind the story. In much the same way that Dolly Parton famously said “it takes a lot of money to look this cheap”, it’s obvious that only the smartest artists would be able to make something as outrageously stupid as this, and have it be successful. There is not a single scene in this film that isn’t filled to the brim with the most hilarious range of jokes, and while they may not all work, it’s a well-formed film (which is even more impressive considering how Lange, MacDonald and Saget all lamented that their original version was a lot darker and more ribald, and was subjected to studio interference that caused some of their more risque jokes and sequences to be cut), and it has many very interesting ideas simmering beneath the surface. If anything, we can find value in this film purely based on the fact that it was designed to do nothing other than give a popular and beloved (but also very peculiar) comedian the chance to have his own starring vehicle, tailoring an equally absurd story to his own sensibilities and just letting him loose on unsuspecting audiences, spreading his surreal and off-kilter style of comedy to the masses in a way that is celebratory to his talents as both a writer and performer, as well as a riveting diversion from reality, which is essentially the bedrock of all of MacDonald’s work, as well as Saget, who structured his career on the oscillation between family-friendly entertainment and truly dark, demented humour, which made them both icons of the industry, and allowed their first and only cinematic outing together in this dynamic to be an enormous success, at least in terms of doing what it aimed to do, with the exception of the material that was lost as a result of meddling executives who clearly didn’t understand their vision, which isn’t unheard of when it comes to these bizarre but enlightening alternative comedies.

How do you categorize a film as being one of the best in a certain genre, without seeming too hyperbolic? When it comes to comedy, there are a few clear signs – a good sense of humour being the most basic, as well as the ability to compact as many jokes into a single scene without feeling overstuffed, which is a delicate balance only achievable by the finest films. More than anything else, a good comedy is based around finding the perfect balance between elements – jokes are important, but so is a story to bind them together, which is where this film is actually most surprising. There’s nothing in Dirty Work that is all that revolutionary, but it never claims to be pursuing the categorization of some highly original work – in fact, it seems to be actively enjoying the process of turning a familiar genre on its head, which was always going to happen once you hire Norm MacDonald to appear in your film – all you could expect from him was the unexpected, and this film is the perfect embodiment of his undeniable magnetism and his ability to be so endearing while still playing a relatively despicable character, which was a persona he utilized for almost his entire career, and which made him such a comedic icon. Dirty Work hits all of the necessary targets, and manages to be funny and over-the-top, while avoiding becoming overly loud or obnoxious, which was a common criticism levelled against this film and similarly loud, supposedly tragically vulgar productions, which may seem lowbrow at a cursory glance, but are rather intrepid attempts to unsettle and disrupt the balance of an industry that always follows specific formulae in constructing their films. The sheer volume of chaotic hilarity that underpins this film is enough to keep us engaged, so its a great surprise to realize that there is a very sweet, sentimental story peppered in between outrageous moments – and for this reason and many others, it’s important that we continue to celebrate the audacity and pure madness that inspired this film, which is undeniably one of the most misunderstood gems from an era filled with comedies in desperate need of a critical reappraisal.