An impotent human can take Viagra, but what can you do for The Adventures of Joe Dirt?
Lacking any real creativity or spark, Joe Dirt trundles into theaters wearing nothing but a mullet and a big floppy smile. But as a film which struggles so hard to touch the heart of its audience while at the same time making them laugh, Dirt fails to ever get it up.
The Adventures of Joe Dirt stars David Spade as an every man, trailer trash, loser. Abandoned by his parents at a tender age and left to raise himself, Dirt travels this great country that is America seeking out his past. Dirt's story is told in the form of an interview with shock jock Xander(Dennis Miller), an interview which sparks a Joe Dirt cult following across the country, as people flock to see their mullet wearing hero.
It is perhaps here that the film most falls flat on its face. The entire radio show subplot is a complete and utter farce. Not only is it boring, unimaginative, and poorly shot, it isn't even believable. The truth is that this guy is just some dumb janitor. His story isn't interesting enough to fill four hours on a half assed, low budget radio show... you can imagine how well it does in a 90 minute movie.
Dirt's story itself is an almost pitiable attempt to create some sort of loser turned hero, but ends up only sabotaging itself with dull and risk less moments of bland pseudo tension punctuated by even worse moments of excessively complicated back-story. One can only wonder why, as all this serves no real purpose except to lull audiences into taking long and frequent naps.
The best example of this complex style of boredom is perhaps illustrated through Joe's hair, which by itself is actually quite funny. But that wasn't enough for Dirt's writers. No no! Not funny enough that Dirt wear a hairstyle out of date during the Reagan administration. Instead, lets make it a wig that has been fused to his skull! Does this in some way further the plot? Does it make his hair funnier? Nope. But it does fill screen time with a long winded explanation... which seems to be what Spade was going for all along. Even a half wit, asthmatic circus clown knows if you have to explain it, its probably not funny.
The Adventures of Joe Dirt in a word? Impotent. Utterly impotent.
