Dirt (2001)

Junior (Michael Covert) and Scooter (Tracy Fraim) are dimwit brothers in West Texas. Their father was a meanie, but he died long ago, and Mama took good care of her boys. Now adults, the siblings have just buried Ma out in the desert near their home. Who is going to mother them now? These intellectual midgets don't hold jobs and have never cooked or cleaned. So, what's the solution? First, the duo tries picking up a hooker (Jennifer Tilly) who assures them she will take care of them. After the money exchange, Ms Hook slips out the bathroom window. Junior and Scooter are miffed. On the next go- round, the brothers try kidnapping a lovely grocery clerk, DeDe (Tara Chocol) with mixed results. At first, she's terrified of course, but she's been looking for a way to leave her abusive sheriff hubby, Vincent (Patrick Warburton). So, she will agree to be a housemaid for them if the sibs will help rescue her darling baby from Vince's clutches. They do. Now, the oddest family is sticking together in their remote home. But, more complications arise as the wife beating sheriff is hot on their trail and a sweet-but-stupid bank clerk, Margaret, falls for Scooter. Out in the lovely but harshly barren West Texas landscape there is turmoil! Perhaps the title is a giveaway, ha, for a less than highbrow movie but dummies can be charming and fun. All the players here, not well known, are talented and funny. Likewise, the desert setting is intriguing and lovely while the costumes, script, and lively direction are made to measure. No, folks down in Texas may not like the depiction of dimwits in their great state but if they are smart, they will laugh along with the rest of the movie audience.

Junior and Scooter's mother dies and they kidnap a woman from a supermarket car-park to replace her, bringing her psychotic husband after them. The plot may sound a little hokey but the actors flesh out any holes and it's so good humoured, you cease to worry if it's believable. Patrick Warburton, as the husband, is also genuinely scary. I went to see this film on a Friday afternoon, straight from work feeling tired and stressed. I left the auditorium smiling and feeling happy with the world. This is that sort of film. It's sweet in a good way. I had a genuine affection for all the characters and I laughed out loud on more than one occasion. It's a pity it's unlikely ever to get a commercial release in Australia.

What a pleasant surprise, to laugh oneself sore during a film festival screening of a sleeper independently produced film! This one is going to be a HUGE winner, as I'm sure the word will filter out through hipsters and sites such as "aint-it-cool-news.com" You deserve a break today... watch for, and go see "DIRT." You'll be glad you did!

I also saw this film at The Los Angeles Film Festival, and what a joy! It made me think of the kinds of great films the Coen brothers used to make before people gave them a lot of money. An outstanding example of what a film maker can accomplish with great material, charming actors, and a cinematographer who knows how to shoot a picture, even when you're dealing with a limited budget. This film is full of gun humor without being overtly violent, and yet when it does pull the violence trigger, usually gets laughs instead of blood. Ironically this film also delivers a very real emotional punch. The best American films always deliver their heros in the end with some sort of salvation, and this film doesn't disappoint. It's not conventional, but definitely leaves you feeling good about the human condition and the possibilities that love can bring, even in the most diverse ways. A true gem, it will be a sad statement on the state of Hollywood if some company doesn't give this flick a theatrical release so audiences everywhere can embrace it.