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"JOE DIRT"
(2001) (David Spade, Dennis Miller) (PG-13)

Alcohol/
Drugs
Blood/Gore Disrespectful/
Bad Attitude
Frightening/
Tense Scenes
Guns/
Weapons
Mild Moderate Extreme Minor Moderate
Imitative
Behavior
Jump
Scenes
Music
(Scary/Tense)
Music
(Inappropriate)
Profanity
Moderate None None None Moderate
Sex/
Nudity
Smoking Tense Family
Scenes
Topics To
Talk About
Violence
Heavy Minor Mild Mild Moderate


QUICK TAKE:
Comedy: A janitor recounts his adventurous, cross-country life story of trying to find his parents after they left him as a child in a Grand Canyon parking lot many years ago.
PLOT:
Joe Dirt (DAVID SPADE) is a mullet-topped redneck who's been picked on his entire life not only because of his looks, demeanor and name, but also because his parents abandoned him at the Grand Canyon back in 1975 when he was just eight-years-old. Now working as a janitor at radio station KXLA, Joe is suddenly put on the air with talk show host Zander Kelly (DENNIS MILLER). Mesmerized by Joe's appearance and demeanor, Zander decides to interview Joe who proceeds to tell his life story.

As Joe tells his tale of his never ending search for his parents, various flashbacks shows Joe's efforts as well as his encounters with various people around the country. They include Brandy (BRITTANY DANIEL), a young woman who befriends Joe despite him being the target of ridicule by local boy Robby (KID ROCK) and her own father (JOE DON BAKER).

Then there's Kicking Wing (ADAM BEACH), an American Indian Joe wants to hire as a tracker, but is more interested in supporting his dream of becoming a veterinarian through selling fireworks. Jill (JAIME PRESSLY) is a woman he meets at a carnival, falls for, and then worries may be his long lost sister. In New Orleans, Joe briefly works for Clem (CHRISTOPHER WALKEN), a school custodian with a checkered past, and then later meets Charlene (ROSANNA ARQUETTE) who runs a gator farm.

As Joe continues telling his story to Zander over the radio and recounts meeting others and holding down a variety of odd jobs, he soon becomes something of a celebrity, all while still trying to find his parents and figure out why they left him so many years ago.

WILL KIDS WANT TO SEE IT?
If they're fans of David Spade or anyone else in the cast, they might, while other teens may be drawn to it if they're looking for a comedy.
WHY THE MPAA RATED IT: PG-13
For crude and sex-related humor, and for language.
CAST AS ROLE MODELS:
  • DAVID SPADE plays a poor, white trash man who's been looking for his parents ever since they abandoned him at a young age. As he travels across the country, he meets various people and holds down various jobs. He also has sex with Jill when thinking she was his sister, uses some profanity and briefly smokes.
  • BRITTANY DANIEL plays a young woman who befriends Joe and tells him a white lie to protect him from more familial hurt.
  • CHRISTOPHER WALKEN plays a janitor with a checkered past who hires Joe as his assistant.
  • DENNIS MILLER plays a radio talk show host who makes fun of Joe while interviewing him about his life story. He also uses some profanity.
  • KID ROCK plays a local redneck who always makes fun of Joe.
  • ADAM BEACH plays an American Indian who owns a fireworks stand and befriends Joe.
  • JAIME PRESSLY plays a woman who has sex with Joe.
  • ROSANNA ARQUETTE plays a woman who owns a gator farm where Joe briefly works.
  • JOE DON BAKER plays Brandy's father who drinks, is always in a bad/testy mood and shoots the family dog.
  • CAST, CREW, & TECHNICAL INFO

    HOW OTHERS RATED THIS MOVIE


    Curious if this title is entertaining, any good, and/or has any artistic merit?
    Then read OUR TAKE of this film.


    (Note: The "Our Take" review of this title examines the film's artistic merits and does not take into account any of the possibly objectionable material listed below).


    OUR WORD TO PARENTS:
    Here's a quick look at the content - most of which is played for laughs -- found in this comedy that's been rated PG-13. Profanity consists of several uses of the "s" word, other expletives and a number of colorful phrases. Some sexually related dialogue is present (with a reference to masturbation), as is other sexual content that involves some off-screen sexual encounters that include sexually related sounds and dialogue (with jokes that the couple involved are brother and sister), several shots of a dog having sex or humping a boy's leg, and the sight of an erection forming under a sheet on a presumably dead body.

    Various women are seen in partially revealing clothing (and the camera focuses on one woman's legs and rear end in one scene), while we see a brief part of a woman's bare breast, and most of a man's bare butt as he "moons" the protagonist. Other forms of imitative behavior are also present. Several characters drink and smoke, while various instances of violence played for laughs are present.

    They include some brief physical contact between people - including a brief fight - and jokes about a man's leg being cut off, an atom bomb exploding and vaporizing a man (a dream), a man shooting and killing a dog (off camera), a lethal mob hit, some slapstick style material and a brief, but non-fatal encounter with a crocodile.

    Various characters have bad attitudes (especially as directed toward the protagonist) while several instances of scatological and/or gross-out comedy are present. Should you still be concerned about the film and its appropriateness for yourself or anyone in your home, we suggest that you take a closer look at our detailed content listings for more specific info about what occurs in the film.


    ALCOHOL OR DRUG USE
  • Brandy's father is drinking a beer and appears a bit intoxicated, and we see him carrying a partial six-pack of beer.
  • Joe states that he got high on insecticide fumes after spending the night in what he thought was a circus tent, but in reality was a house being fumigated.
  • After fielding a bizarre question, a TV call-in show host mockingly tells the caller that she shouldn't drink the bong water.
  • A man drinks what might be beer.
  • We see Brandy's father with a beer.
  • BLOOD/GORE
  • In a flashback, we see a young Joe tying bottle rockets to cows' tails so that the tails rapidly spin around like clock hands once the bottle rocket is lit. As Joe lights one, a cow farts and a brief explosion knocks him to the ground.
  • Joe learns that the "meteorite" he's been carting around as his only "friend" is actually a large chunk of bathroom waste from an airplane (and someone points out the peanut in it as proof) and another person then jokes that he was earlier eating off of it.
  • Joe comes across a dog whose scrotum has frozen to the porch. We then see the dog try to stand on several occasions, resulting in its scrotum exaggeratedly stretching from its body down to the porch. Brandy brings out a large pair of sheers to fix the situation, but Joe sends her back inside for some warm water and a spatula. We then see Joe using that spatula to free the dog's scrotum from the porch.
  • We hear a man fart and later see his urine stream as he urinates on a fire.
  • Large amounts of old human waste flow from a camper's septic tank and onto Joe's head and body (and everyone reacts to the smell).
  • DISRESPECTFUL/BAD ATTITUDE
  • All sorts of people make fun of Joe throughout the film, picking on him, calling him names (listed under "Imitative Behavior" phrases), etc. including Zander, Robby and others.
  • We learn that Joe's parents left him at the Grand Canyon when he was eight-years-old and he's been on his own ever since.
  • In a flashback, we see Joe trying to steal a hubcap off a car.
  • Brandy's father is always in a bad/testy mood and he shoots the family dog (not seen) for not getting help in time to rescue him from having his foot stuck in the railroad tracks.
  • A woman that Joe meets claims that she killed her husband by pushing him into the wood chipper and told the police that it was an accident (not seen).
  • A psychopath kidnaps Joe.
  • We see that Joe sprays non-stick cooking spray onto some plates at a carnival where people try to get coins to land and stay on them.
  • Kids throw hotdogs and then chili at Joe when he works as a school janitor.
  • Brandy tells Joe a white lie to prevent him from suffering any additional familial heartbreak.
  • FRIGHTENING SCENES
  • Although played for laughs, Brandy's dad gets his foot stuck in some railroad tracks as he hears a train approaching (we never see it, but we later see him arrive at home with the bottom half of his leg missing - bandaged but not bloody or gory).
  • GUNS/WEAPONS
  • Hunting Rifles: Carried by various men and used to hunt. Also used by Brandy's father to shoot and kill their dog for not getting help in time to rescue him from having his foot stuck in the railroad tracks (we only hear the shot and don't see it).
  • Atom bomb: Seen in a fantasy/dream that Joe has where it's eventually detonated and vaporizes Kicking Wing (played for laughs).
  • Handguns/Other weapons: Used by some mob men on another man (we hear the shooting and sees the flashes, but don't see anything else).
  • IMITATIVE BEHAVIOR
  • Phrases: "Look at that sh*t," "This is bullsh*t," "Piece of crap," "You suck," "Hey, freak boy," "Freak," "Idiot," "Holy crap," "Junior dirtbag," "You (little) queer," "Retard," "Nuts" (testicles), "What, are you nuts?" "Long haired hippie freak," "Bad ass," "Pig licker," "Shut (the hell) up," "Loser," "What an ass," "Why don't you stick your head up my butt and fight for air," "Kick(ing) ass," "Chick" (woman), "Hellish," "Hard ass," "Balls to the walls," "If I told you that you had a beautiful body, would you hold it against me?" "You pervert," "Mangy ass," "Hell, yeah," "Rat bastard," "Ass bone," "You little sissy boy," "Sucks," "What the hell is going on?" and "Bastards."
  • In a flashback, we see a young Joe tying bottle rockets to cows' tails so that the tails rapidly spin around like clock hands once the bottle rocket is lit.
  • Brandy's dad throws his empty beer can to the ground (littering).
  • A man "moons" Joe.
  • To show Kicking Wing what to do with fireworks, Joe squirts copious amounts of lighter fluid (and then gasoline) into a bucket of sorts and then shoots a firework at it, resulting in a large explosion.
  • A sexy woman wears a midriff-baring top.
  • We see that Joe sprays non-stick cooking spray onto some plates at a carnival where people try to get coins to land and stay on them.
  • Kids throw hotdogs and then chili at Joe when he works as a school janitor.
  • Joe puts his head and upper body inside a large crocodile while working at a gator farm (and the gator snaps down on him and shakes him around a bit before spitting him out - all played for laughs).
  • Joe acts like he's going to jump from a bridge to kill himself (but doesn't).
  • JUMP SCENES
  • None.
  • MUSIC (SCARY/TENSE)
  • None.
  • MUSIC (INAPPROPRIATE)
  • None.
  • PROFANITY
  • At least 5 "s" words, 2 slang terms for male genitals ("wiener" and "Johnny"), 1 slang term using female genitals ("p*ssy"), 3 slang terms for breasts (variations of "boob" and "rack"), 15 asses (1 used with "hole"), 9 craps, 6 damns, 5 hells, 1 S.O.B., 4 uses of "Oh my God," 3 of "God," 2 of "G-damn" and 1 use each of "For Christ's sakes," "For God's sakes," "Jesus," "Oh God," "God Almighty" and "God dang" as exclamations.
  • SEX/NUDITY
  • Joe mentions one time when he was kid and his mother caught him "jerking my gherkin" (masturbating).
  • Some miscellaneous young women -- who listen to Zander's radio interview with Joe -- show some cleavage in several scenes.
  • In a flashback, we see a dog humping Joe's leg at a foster home. He asks the dog's older owner if he can push the dog off, and the woman states that the dog will stop humping him when it's done.
  • Robby states that Brandy wants his body (while talking to Joe).
  • Brandy shows cleavage and the camera focuses on her legs and butt in her small, cut-off jeans as she dismounts a horse.
  • We see a dog mating with another dog (humping motion is visible).
  • As Joe flies overhead in what's the equivalent of a hot air balloon, he tells a woman on the ground below him that he can see down her shirt (and we do see some cleavage).
  • We see a man's bare butt as he "moons" Joe.
  • A man jokes that Joe probably has a bumper stick that says cowboy butts attract him.
  • We very briefly see Joe sitting nude in what looks like a sink, but due to the positioning of his body and the camera, we don't see anything explicit.
  • Among things listed as being "good," Joe mentions "boobs."
  • Later, and while threatening to detonate what he and others think is an old atom bomb, Joe tells a woman, "Show me them boobies." The woman then reluctantly lifts her shirt, and while everyone else gets a full look (and we see their reaction), we only see just one small portion of her bare breast from the side.
  • We see some women in "Baywatch" style, one-piece bathing suits that are both low and high cut (on top and bottom).
  • Attracted to Joe, a woman sensuously licks her cotton candy. Joe later asks her if he told her she had a beautiful body, would she hold it against him. She says that she would and then asks if he wants to go back to her place. We then see them at her place as he nuzzles her neck, but he then races out as he realizes she might be his long lost sister (she doesn't think that and tells him that they can have sex).
  • We then hear her sexual sounds and see just her metal headboard rhythmically banging against the wall (and the radio listeners to Zander's show then all react to this indication of incest). Joe then states that he found out she wasn't really his sister, and we go back to the scene where the woman tells him they can have sex again. However, we then see both of them in bed under the sheets, with the joke being that he can't perform and she asks, "Don't I turn you on?" When he says that he doesn't know what's wrong, she asks if it would help if they went back to him thinking she was his sister. He acts offended by that comment, but we then hear further sexual sounds with her stating, "I'm your sister, I'm your sister" (but don't see anything). Joe then adds (back in the radio station) that he made that part up.
  • We briefly see several shots of a male psychopath in underwear and garters.
  • As Joe talks to a presumably dead man (covered by a sheet) about that man going to meet his wife in Heaven and then goes on about her body and her nice "rack," we then see an erection form under that sheet.
  • Someone comments that they heard that a psychopath who earlier kidnapped Joe shoved something up his "bunghole."
  • A woman wears a T-shirt that shows a drawing of cleavage on the front of it.
  • Joe repeatedly mistakes what a Louisiana man with a thick accent says, thinking he comments that he likes to see "homos naked" when the man is really saying "home is where you make it."
  • While fielding questions on a call-in TV show, Joe hears a woman ask, "How big is your Johnny?" (penis).
  • Brandy mentions that in the past her dog had a sexual encounter with another dog, thus resulting in the new one that she now has.
  • SMOKING
  • Joe smokes in one scene and holds a cigarette in another, while some miscellaneous characters smoke pipes.
  • In a flashback, we see young Joe pop out of a garbage can with what's presumably a small container of chewing tobacco (since he mentions it's not Skoal).
  • TENSE FAMILY SCENES
  • We learn that Joe's parents left him at the Grand Canyon when he was eight-years-old and he's been on his own ever since, continually searching for them.
  • A woman Joe meets states that an alligator killed her two parents.
  • TOPICS TO TALK ABOUT
  • The way most everyone treats and picks on Joe and the effect that it has on him (as well as other kids in general who are picked on).
  • The comedic bit about Joe thinking he's having sex with his sister (in the end, he isn't).
  • Joe acts like he's going to jump from a bridge to kill himself (but doesn't).
  • VIOLENCE
  • A security guard purposefully lowers a parking gate that then tears off part of the spoiler (tailfin) on the back of Joe's car.
  • A miscellaneous man pushes Joe to the floor.
  • In a flashback, we see a young Joe tying bottle rockets to cows' tails so that the tails rapidly spin around like clock hands once the bottle rocket is lit. As Joe lights one, a cow farts and a brief explosion knocks him to the ground (we see him with a partially singed face and hair).
  • Although played for laughs, Brandy's dad gets his foot stuck in some railroad tracks as he hears a train approaching (we never see it, but we later see him arrive at home with the bottom half of his leg missing - bandaged but not bloody or gory).
  • Mad that Brandy and Joe's dog didn't save him from the above scene by getting help in time, Brandy's father raises his rifle to shoot the dog and we hear the shot, but don't see anything else until we see Joe and Brandy holding an urn containing the dog's ashes.
  • Joe falls from what's the equivalent of a hot air balloon down onto a wooden platform, but is okay.
  • Joe prepares to fight a man who's been taunting him and throws a punch, but the man dodges it, then picks up Joe over his head, and throws him to the ground. The victorious man then decides to urinate on a fire, but since he's an oil worker and covered with oil, his urine stream catches on fire, and we then see him completely engulfed in flames.
  • To show Kicking Wing what to do with fireworks, Joe squirts copious amounts of lighter fluid (and then gasoline) into a bucket of sorts and then shoots a firework at it, resulting in a large explosion.
  • Joe has a fantasy/dream (after falling and hitting his head on a rock) of discovering and then eventually detonating an atom bomb that explodes and vaporizes Kicking Wing (all played for laughs).
  • Kids throw hotdogs and then chili at Joe when he works as a school janitor.
  • Some men - who carry various weapons - kick in a man's door and go inside, opening fire. While we hear the shots and see the flashes from them, we don't see anything else (although we hear that they and their victim were all killed). We later learn, however, that the victim only faked his death.
  • Joe puts his head and upper body inside a large crocodile while working at a gator farm (and the gator snaps down on him and shakes him around a bit before spitting him out - all played for laughs and he's not seriously hurt).
  • Joe throws a clown figurine into a wall where it shatters, and then pushes over a display case holding many such figurines.
  • Joe falls from a bridge with a bungee chord/rope around his ankles. As he bounces back up from the fall, he hits his head on the bottom of the bridge.
  • As Joe and Robby prepare to drag race, Joe takes off, sending many rocks hitting Robby's car and breaking the windshield.



  • Reviewed April 3, 2001 / Posted April 11, 2001

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