'The Dirt' - Movie Review

It's early days since The Dirt was just released on Netflix. I don't want to ruin it for anyone so I will try to be cautious and not post spoilers. And quite frankly, you already know the story and what happened if you've read the book (which you absolutely must!)
First things first: there was tons of criticism online in advance of the film about the casting. Many said the men selected to play the members of Motley Crue "didn't even look like them." Well, this is true but it becomes more believable as the show goes on. Eventually you just forget about it.
This movie is not for children. Just like The Dirt is an adult-only book, this is a movie for those over 18. Heck, maybe over 35. There's tons of nudity and sex and drugs. I mean, it's Motley Crue. But really, a ton of sex.
Yes, all the wildest parts of The Dirt are covered. At one point, Eric turned to me and said "Wait, did this really happen?" And I would nod and say, "Yep." I got texts from two different people last night, asking me the same thing. The Crue were degenerates, what can I say?
A few things are wrong for no reason. Why have Vince driving a Corvette on that fateful night with Razzle? His real car that night was a Pantera. And Skylar Neil was born in 1991. Not so in the movie. Sharise, Vince's wife, is pregnant with her the night of the Razzle crash. Sharise and Vince didn't even get married until 1987.
Some stuff is glossed over and time is sped up, which probably explains the Skylar issue.
Of course Nikki's heroin addiction is addressed but probably not as fully or as painfully as it should have been. Mercifully, Pam Anderson doesn't make an appearance anywhere in the film. Mick Mars is an alien and we all love him. No, the actor Iwan Rheon doesn't look like Mick, but he does a good job portraying the coolest, wisest member of the band. Machine Gun Kelly has the mannerisms of Tommy Lee down cold. Douglas Booth had to ditch his British accent to play Nikki Sixx and he did a good job. It was a heavy lift, playing the star and leader of the band and also the biggest jerk most of the time. Daniel Webber portrays Vince Neil. He must have done a good job because I felt sorry for Vince all over again for just about... everything. Some souls are just tortured. Or maybe Vince is just a mess.
Buy 'The Dirt' Soundtrack Here
In the end, the movie was at once cringeworthy and fun. We waited so long for this film and I was honestly nervous to watch. I was worried it wouldn't live up to expectations, but I have to say it exceeded mine. I knew it wouldn't be 100% true to the book because that's nearly impossible. But man it was darn close and it was fun reliving the history and music all over again.
It's 3 stars for me. Not the best movie I've ever seen but certainly one of my most anticipated. I also knew exactly what to expect and nothing much shocks me.
After I watched, I looked up some fancy reviews in big publications. My thing is this: if you haven't read the book or don't know the music or even have any idea about the Crue, how can you appreciate this biopic?
The New York Times hated the film.
Vulture didn't like it much either.
The Atlantic didn't like it either.
The album is number #1.The fans are going crazy over #TheDirt. The critics hate it. ✔️🖤🧨👍🏽 😂💀 @MotleyCrue @netflix WORLD FUCKING WIDE
— 🎥 xxıS ıʞʞıN 🎥 (@NikkiSixx) March 23, 2019
Reader Comments (17)
I have not read the book. I am more into fantasy fiction. I don’t read Bios or autobiographies. Even of the bands I love.
I thought the actors did a great job. And looked pretty similar to the guys. I didn’t love the fact that Vince’s solo album or tour wasn’t even mentioned during the Corabi period. Nor do I love the fact that when they got back with Vince they made it seem like a love fest.
I was lucky enough to be present for a chat between Vince, Jani Lane and my BFF where Vince and Jani were talking about Vince reuniting with the Crue around 1996. And I quote Vince “I don’t know. I fucking hate those guys. But you know, for a million bucks I just might do it”. And that night I hung with Vince, he was actually a nice guy.
I still feel terrible for him losing his baby girl. No parent should ever have to go through that.
So overall I would give it an 8.
However, I had a conversation with a guitar builder and entertainment industry expert at the premier and he put things into a different light for me.
I pointed out that the headstock on one of Mick's guitars was incorrect in the film. He explained that not only do you have to find items from a particular era for these movies (which can be hard enough) but that sometimes you have to clear legal approvals to use those items. "You would think you could just grab anything you want and put it on screen, but it's not always that easy," he said.
So while I initially saw the Corvette and thought "What!?!?" then I considered what this insider told me...
There weren't that many Panteras made, how many exist today, how expensive would it be to wreck one, even if you paid for a replica/dummy car it would still be expensive, how expensive would it be to make a copy like Miami Vice did years ago with the Ferrari, could you get whatever lawyers to approve, how many non-car geeks folks would recognize what a Pantera even is today, etc.
I have no idea if this dude knew what he was talking about as it related to the guitar conversation we had. But it seems plausible. And if applied to the Pantera vs Corvette discussion, it also seems plausible.
All of which is to say that I had the same reaction you did. But then I chalked it up to me being a geek and the reality of filmmaking and I was ultimately okay with the Corvette.
But for people who aren't familiar, I worried that the character was a little too similar to Gilfoyle on 'Silicon Valley.' If you don't know anything about the real man, if you are just watching this movie cold, is the character just going to be a cookie cutter contrarian?I would have liked to see them expand his alien like kookiness into more unique ways.
My other main criticism revolved on the rights issue. I won't go into detail so not to spoil the movie for folks who haven't seen it yet. But that plot line, although a big deal for the band in real life, just didn't seem relevant to the characters that hand been built on the screen up to that point.
Yet, I think, one would have been worth the investment to have filmed and destroyed in the movie but as you may be able to tell, “The Dirt” was obviously shot on a shoestring so they had to improvise, unfortunately.
I’ve mentioned this before in Comments here. I once drank a couple of beers with Janie Lane after Warrant played Limelight in NYC on a double bill with Britny Fox.
I was dating Joey Allen’s cousin at the time, so we were able to hang out at one of the bars inside after they threw everyone else out.
Over saunters Janie and Joey. Joey was being a real d*ck to Janie but he just put up with Joey’s jerkiness. And he was super nice to us.
We talked to both of them for about a half an hour about their life on the road and our jobs in advertising and publishing which they feigned interest in because I think they realized there’s always an opportunity to be in a commercial or write a book.
But I wasn’t for long before they had to board their tour bus to head upstate.
I spent a couple of evenings hanging with Jani and Jerry after 2 of their Toronto shows. The first one was a triple bill - Slaughter, Warrant and Vince Neil. It was after that show that Jani took my BFF and I onto Vince's tour bus to hang after the show. It was during that visit on Vince's bus that the infamous chat above took place. Both Jani and Vince were super nice guys. Later we hang with Jani and Jerry.
In one of those "what was I thinking" moments, my BFF and I declined an invitation to spend the next day with Jani and Jerry, going shopping, drinking, etc.. We had to work the next day so decided to pass, but boy, I bet that would have been a fun day. I guess my mom would have been proud that I did the responsible thing that day.
The second time we hung with Jani and Jerry was after another Warrant show in TO, about a year later. The cool thing about that night was Jani taking us onto their bus again, giving us some drinks (nice host) and playing us some songs that he was working on for his solo album. That's another memory that will always stick with me as a cool memory, never to be forgotten.
It's nice to have these memories to look back on when life just isn't as exciting as it used to be. No complaints. Good times worth remembering.
It’s nice to hear it wasn’t ALL debauchery and mayhem, a la Mötley Crüe style, on those tour busses.
p.s. Badland and BK ... You guys better hurry as that slogan is about to become an artifact in 2020!
I just remarked about that you had better make use of that slogan while you can as it’s about to get old real fast.
And Jerk T. Wimper, I cry no tears except maybe those of joy in advance of your fearless leaders’ downfall, again, having nothing to do with politics, just merely observing the inevitable. Buh-Buy, Trumpy Wumpy!!! It wasn’t fun while it lasted.