The bold, over-the-top adventure comedy that proves home is where it’s made

By Robert Scucci | Published 1 hour ago

Most people I talk to have mixed feelings about David Spade; not for his comedy, but for his uncanny ability to play the most irritating characters imaginable. Rand McPherson UCPRichard Hayden of tommy boyand Scott Thorpe of Meaningless They are all among the most irritating personalities the ’90s screwball comedies have ever produced.

It’s not because Spade is a bad actor. He’s so good at playing the “morally dubious jerk” character that people assume he must be one in real life. That’s commitment to the bit. Funnily enough, everyone I know who hates Spade’s comedy for those reasons loves the 2001 one. dirt joeprobably because this time he’s playing a lovable fool instead of a smiling antagonist.

dirt joe is Spade’s best role in the genre, despite what the 9 percent Rotten Tomatoes score might suggest. He’s good, silly fun, and he finally gets to play someone with a heart of gold instead of the idiot audiences love to hate.

A man with a mullet on a mission

dirt joeThe framing is simple and effective. Our hero sits down with radio host Zander Kelly (Dennis Miller) to tell the world that he is searching for the parents who abandoned him in the Grand Canyon when he was eight years old.

After meeting Brandy (Brittany Daniel), one of the first kind people in his life, he calms down for a while, but eventually hits the road to find closure to his abandonment issues.

At first, Joe is a national joke due to his redneck personality and perceived lack of intelligence, but something changes after his story hits the airwaves. His infectious “life is a garden, dig it” attitude turns him into an unlikely folk hero overnight. Listeners hang on his every word, and even when the truth about his parents comes to light, their optimism never wavers.

Gag after gag, and most of them land

From talking business with Kickin’ Wing (Adam Beach), an inexperienced Native American fireworks salesman, to his friendship with Clem Doore (Christopher Walken), a paranoid mobster in Witness Protection, dirt joe never runs out of quotable moments.

Lotion-soaked showdowns with Buffalo Bob, flying bowls of chili, and buried septic tanks mistaken for nuclear weapons pile up as Joe searches for his family and slowly realizes he’s already found one in Brandy and her friends. Luckily, no one ends up stabbing him in the face with a soldering iron because he’s a very nice, happy-go-lucky guy.

Joe Dirt Stream

dirt joe is about as eccentric as a screwball comedy can get, and it works because David Spade stops acting cocky and embraces sincerity. Behind the cheap jokes and absurd setups lies a surprisingly warm story about redemption, identity, found family, and self-esteem.

A little sincerity goes a long way and dirt joe has plenty. It’s not great art, but if you’re looking for a feel-good story about an unlikely hero who refuses to quit, dirt joe delivers every time.

At the time of writing this article, dirt joe streams free on Tubi.