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None of the three young stars of this film - Norm MacDonald, Artie Lange or Traylor Howard - ever became movie stars but they combined to make this a funny film, albeit what I call a lame-brain (somewhat low-class but effective humor) one.

This is not an untypical comedy of today: tons of sleazy jokes, sightgags, a lightweight romance story, a generally stupid story and a happy ending.....yet this one was far more appealing than most I've seen. Although the language could be worse, why this isn't rated "R" is beyond me. It is not for teens but I'll bet many of them watched and enjoyed this, as well as older people like me.

MacDonald is a very likable guy in the lead. He just has a friendly face and demeanor about him. He makes the film. Lange was a bit loud. I'm glad the film wasn't longer because Lange's constant shouting begins to become grating. As for Traylor, she acted well and was a pretty face. After watching this twice, I wondered why she never made it, but at least she has now found TV fame as the new partner of the hit TV series, "Monk."

Two veterans actors in here - Jack Warden and Chevy Chase - play irreverent sleazy roles, something they certainly have done before.....and do well. Warden is brutal as the ultimate dirty old man and Chase is as smug as always. Don Rickles makes a short appearances as his normal obnoxious character and John Goodman makes a cameo near the end.

The main story of this movie is a familiar one: revenge, but this time it is played strictly for laughs, and there are plenty. The movie shows revenge isn't just sweet, it can funny. What can you say? The movie is crude, it's sentimental, and it's a fun 82 minutes.

This movie is dumb. Don't get me wrong. The plot and premise are awful but this movie is amazingly funny. Norm Macdonald delivers a great performance only he could. His comedy is sometimes too edgy for some but he believed nothing was off limits and he never backed down! I thought he was an amazing comedian someone the likes of George Carlin. You'll be missed Norm. Rest in piece!

I've always been a big fan of Norm MacDonald and so when I heard about this movie I was happy to see he had his own movie, but I was a little pessimistic because there hadn't been one good SNL alumni movie since Wayne's World. But when I saw it I wasn't disappointed.

Mitch (MacDonald) is a loser who just lost his job, his girlfriend, just learned his best friend's father is also his and he takes crap from everybody. So when him and his best friend Sam (Artie Lange) look for jobs they discover their calling: to open a revenge for hire business. Their business turns out to be successful until a greedy rich guy wants revenge for a prank they played on him.

Norm was hilarious. I like how straightforward he is with his lines("Settle down prostitutes!";"Hey, homeless guys!"). Artie Lange and Jack Warden were also very funny. Chris Farley and Adam Sandler make funny appearances too. The dead hooker in the trunk and the gay dog gags were priceless.

Ignore the critics. Check this out. 9/10

Living in the UK I know very little about 'Saturday Night Live' comedy and I went in to this film with very little expectations and was pleasantly surprised with the result. In fact it turned out to be the funniest film that I have seen for a long while. It's laugh a minute stuff, serving up a lot of crude humour with a few daft situations which cannot fail to draw a snigger. The plot is simple:- a loser (Norm MacDonald) has to raise $50,000 to help get a heart donor for his best friends dad (Veteran actor, Jack Warden in fine form) so to do this the buddies set up their own 'revenge for hire' business with hilarious consequences. Watch out for humorous cameos by the likes of Adam Sandler, Chris Farley, John Goodman and Gary Coleman.

Most casual movie-goers do not appreciate the dry, sarcastic wit of Norm Macdonald. Many do not understand that his blunt, sometimes bombastic delivery is his trademark comedic style. While I would never call his style, "genius," he is certainly a master entertainer, in his own right. This style of his is an acquired taste. If you've managed to live your life without becoming the least bit jaded or cynical of anything, you may not understand Mr. Mcdonald's talent for humor. His coloring of even the most innocent scene with a dark innuendo or low-brow blurb is just so outrageous that we have no choice but to laugh. But those who do not understand, will find him abrasive or crass. It's true; he IS abrasive and crass, and in the most unfortunate situations he lets loose his abrasively crass innuendos and utters the most outrageous statements as facts only to correct himself by posing it as a question after he's already blurted out the first silly, obnoxious thing which comes to his mind. All this is assembled together with his honest expressions, common-everyday-Joe appearance, and expert comedic timing. Packaged within unlikely settings and a professional production, Norm Macdonald's comedic style is in the perfect element.

Dirty Work enlists the largest range of Norm Macdonald's skills of any one work I have seen. It is virtually a showcase for his talent. Unfortunately, it is commonly viewed as "mindless, low-brow, Hollywood fluff" and will therefore never receive the full appreciation of the audiences it deserves. The casual movie-goer will not be "in" on some of his one-liners, and the hard core comedic fans will be too busy critiquing his innovative comedic style to appreciate it.

This work involves Chevy Chase as an unscrupulous in-debt gambler who is willing to help our star out of his latest pickle in exchange for a load of money. I was a tad disappointed with Chevy's role in this vehicle. It could have afforded Mr. Chase's legendary talents a bit more respect by way of screen time. I found his talents were sorely under used although the drivers were pistoned after his specific flair. I did not quite agree with this decision.

All in all, this is a beautiful introduction to Norm Macdonald's talents and I highly suggest its viewing.

It rates a 7.3/10 from...

the Fiend :.