Netflix
Despite being one of my favorite bands of all time, I’ve never read the autobiographical The Dirt by Mötley Crüe. I’ve read and heard plenty of their stories over the last few decades in other media, but never did purchase the book. Thankfully Netflix has breathed life into some of their misadventures in the film named after the notorious tell-all.
The film opens with a wild party scene that’s narrated by Nikki Sixx (Douglas Booth) and each member of the band is introduced as the scene plays out. From there the story cuts to a young Nikki at home in Seattle and eventually makes its way through Tommy Lee (Colson Baker), Mick Mars (Iwan Rheon), and wraps up the formation of the band with the addition of Vince (Daniel Webber).
The film then follows the band on their whirlwind rise to fame and the ups and downs that come with it. Unlike most biopics about musicians, though, this film uses the band’s music as window dressing, focusing primarily on their time between shows and albums on the road and at home.
We get to see the members of the band deal with vices and personal demons. All of them deal with drug and/or alcohol addictions at various points during their time in the band. If you’re even a casual fan of the group, you’ve probably heard or read most of the bigger issues that the Crüe have faced over the years. In this film, they focus on some of the hardest trials for the group like Vince’s car accident that resulted in the death of Hanoi Rocks’ drummer, Razzle (Max Milner), the death of Vince’s young daughter Skylar (Kamryn Ragsdale), and Nikki’s drug addiction that resulted in his death and resurrection thanks to two adrenaline shots. The film also addresses Vince’s exit from the band and briefly shows his replacement, John Corabi (Anthony Vincent), on screen.
Mick Mars and Tommy Lee seem to fare a little better than Vince and Nikki. Always known as the quiet foundation of the band, Mick is utilized primarily to inject dry humor and blunt honesty into the film. His battle with ankylosing spondylitis (chronic arthritis in the spine that leads to severe pain and inflammation) is touched upon but never really given a lot of screen time. Tommy Lee is shown to be an eternal child full of enthusiasm and hope. It’s funny to see him as the sweetest and most wholesome guy in the band considering the fact that he’s probably the raunchiest (in a good way) guy in the group.
The film will definitely not receive any awards, but I honestly believe that that is exactly how Mötley Crüe would want it. They aren’t trying to sell themselves as heroes or legends in this film. Nope, they know and openly admit that they did some pretty dumb and horrible things over the years and should probably all be dead, but they managed to survive it all. They give you many of the ugly details and harsh truths about themselves and, in a way, that makes it easier to like them.
Almost all of the cast do great jobs in this film. All of the men chosen to portray the members of the Crüe did bang up jobs. Baker nailed down Tommy Lee’s mannerisms and enthusiastic persona. Webber and Booth were excellent as well. Rheon didn’t look like Mick Mars very much, but he delivered the best portrayal of any member of the band in my opinion.
Tony Cavalero has just a few minutes of screen time as Ozzy Osbourne, but those few minutes are perfect. Cavalero gives a great performance as Ozzy giving the Crüe advice about how the rock n’ roll lifestyle can consume you and drive you insane all while completely blitzed. He also shows the band exactly how extreme his life is using ants and urine. If you haven’t heard this particular story, I won’t spoil it for you here.
Not all of the performances in this film were great. The weakest performance of all was delivered by Pete Davidson as Tom Zutaut. Every time he pops up on screen, it’s as if the film gets trapped in a lame Saturday Night Live skit (bad wig included). I don’t know if Davidson was intentionally acting cheesy, but his performance was both forced and out of sync with the rest of the film.
While absolutely not a perfect film, The Dirt does its best at portraying four of the most iconic figures in rock n’ roll. It doesn’t paint them as great heroes or role models. It shows us how ugly, insane, hilarious, and downright despicable they could be and how swiftly they could be slammed back into reality. It’s a brutally fun film that people of my generation will enjoy.
It’s definitely not for everyone, and the bad reviews that this film is receiving from professional critics proves that they are completely out of touch with this film’s audience and its subjects. The few good reviews that I have read have all been from self-confessed fans in their late thirties or older. I happen to be one of those people. I grew up listening to Mötley Crüe and still listen to them to this day. I appreciate what this film is and what it’s trying to do. If you grew up in the 1980’s as I did and happened to be a headbanger, you’ll probably enjoy this movie, too.
Thank you for reading this post and special thanks to Mötley Crüe for managing to stay alive long enough to give us some great sleaze rock and for not glossing over their chaotic lives. Keep on rockin’!
Ken's Alternate Universe! 