As much as I enjoy a good deal of modern hip-hop, I can’t help but compare a lot of current artists to similar attitudes going back to the 1980s era of hair metal. Acts from both these periods are known for color hair and fashion, decadent themes involving sex, drugs and street life, and simple but catchy melodies. And while Motley Crue weren’t the first band nor the last to become known equally for their antics offstage and outside of the studio, they were certainly one of the most iconic and raucous hard rock bands within their sub-genre.
The Dirt is an attempt by the group to dramatize their infamous tell-all book of the same name, directed by Jeff Tremaine who’s mostly known for his work on the Jackass films and TV series. Oddly enough, Mr. Tremaine’s depiction of the group at times feels like an extended Jackass episode with cooler music, all while telling the usual rags-to-riches-to-downward-spiral-to-redemption tale you’d generally expect from most music biographies.
That’s kind of a disappointment, as I feel there’s a lot of potential in a story about Motley Crue that seriously explores the dark side of musicians backstage. Here, the sentiments expressed don’t seem to go past “ok, sure we engaged in tons of problematic things, but it was still pretty cool, right?”
All of Crue’s memorable hits like “Take Me To The Top”, “Kickstart My Heart” and “Live Wire” get play as part of the soundtrack, and there’s probably a fascinating story about the band’s musical evolution and how they went out of their way to stand out. We see a bit of this early on, as a young Tommy Lee (Machine Gun Kelly) convinces Nikki Sixx (Douglas Booth) to let him be his drummer.
Teaming with the older and somewhat grumpier Mick Mars (Iwan Rheon, who looks like he’s enjoying his role the most of the quartet) and new frontman Vince Neil (Daniel Webber), they opt to play faster and add more pyro, but that’s about it in terms of their artistic progression.
Most of the screen time is devoted to the band causing chaos on the road, which is in fact how the movie literally opens (before cutting to scenes of a younger Nikki’s unsettling and depressing home life). And there’s hardly any let up, as key events like Nikki’s near-fatal substance abuse problem, Tommy Lee cheating on Heather Locklear, and Vince Neil’s infamous car accident are strung together by more scenes of orgies and drug binges, and so on, to the point where it stops feeling shocking and becomes a bit boring after a while.
“Know when to say when, or you’ll go f***ing mad,” says Ozzy Osbourne to the band at a hotel poolside before licking up his own urine and snorting some ants, followed by the Crue lighting Nikki’s room ablaze with a firecracker. I guess that’s what they consider moderation by rock star standards.
It quickly comes apparent how self-absorbed the band in regards to dealing with other people around, especially in regards to their treatment of women. Girlfriends and groupies alike are slept with, then tossed aside, cheated on, punched in the face, or vomited on (as Tommy Lee does to a stripper during one extended party binge sequence). And unfortunately, it’s often hard to tell whether or not the band is recanting these road stories as a cautionary tale or if they’re just bragging about all the awful crap they did.
That said, some of the performances aren’t bad. Webber has some nice range as Vince Neil, and Iwan Rheon’s Mick Mars has a curmudgeonly brand of charisma. I just wish they could have been in service of a more detailed script.
To me, The Dirt is a rock and roll movie that could have used more nuance in terms of the direction and writing, especially given its subject matter. There’s no way to tell the story of Motley Crue effectively while sugarcoating the details. And while this movie at points is guilty of overlooking some of the band’s lowest moments, it’s still in bad of different voices outside of Motley Crue in order to better contextualize what it does cover. Or at the very least, it needed to treat a story of this nature far more seriously.
A movie about this group could potentially be a harrowing, unsettling but still thoughtful deconstruction of the Rockstar Lifestyle myth. Instead, this film takes too much of a “this was all in good fun” attitude to their actions, when to those around them it was anything but. It’s kind of a missed opportunity, especially in how it doesn’t want to search beyond the usual clichés of rock biopics. I’d say take a pass on this one, unless you’re a diehard Motley Crue completionist.
So if this movie makes you Dr. Feel Good, or if it’s just a Theatre of Pain, let us know your take as always at @Official_FAN on Twitter!