In this karmic take of friendship and American ingenuity, Sam McKenna is between a rock and a hard place. His father "Pops" is hospitalized awaiting lifesaving cardiac surgery. With help from his pal Mitch, Sam pursues precarious fundraising via dubious entrepreneurship.
Where to Watch Dirty Work
- mhamreusJanuary 20, 2026Dirty Work is a scrappy, dumb-smart revenge comedy that lives and dies by the singular voice of Norm Macdonald. It is crude, uneven, and proudly duct-taped together. That is not a flaw. That is the point. Norm and Artie Lange play two lifelong losers who start a revenge-for-hire business. The plot barely matters and the movie knows it. What matters is Norm’s delivery. Flat, unbothered, almost antagonistic. He treats the audience like accomplices and sometimes like idiots, and somehow pulls it off. Norm is one of the very few comedians who can break the fourth wall without it feeling like a gimmick. His jabs at the audience feel raw and oddly intimate, like he is daring you to either get it or leave. That ability is rare. He makes you aware you are watching a joke, then makes the joke better because of it. The film is stacked with chaos energy. Chris Farley absolutely detonates the screen in his cameo. It is loud, unhinged, and unforgettable. Pure Farley. Jack Warden adds grizzled old-man weight that somehow grounds the stupidity just enough to keep it from floating away. And yes, the movie is endlessly quotable. From revenge gags to throwaway insults, it leans into comedy that feels reckless in the best way. A knowing wink to lines like “the Saigon whore who bit my nose off” hits extra hard for fans who grew up on this era of comedy. It is crude, absurd, and delivered with that unmistakable Norm shrug. This is absolutely an acquired taste. It will not work for everyone. But for the Norm fan, it is strangely rewarding. The messiness becomes part of the charm. The lack of polish feels honest. It is comedy that does not care if you approve.
- Adrian JimenezSeptember 6, 2025I see why Norm didn’t make it far in showbiz with this kind of performance. And don’t get me wrong I think Norm is one of the funniest comedians of the last 100 years. But movies were not his best work. Sagets direction also didn’t add much which I thought definitely would.
Dirty Work Trivia
Dirty Work was released on June 12, 1998.
Dirty Work was directed by Bob Saget.
Dirty Work has a runtime of 82m.
Dirty Work was produced by Robert Simonds.
In this karmic take of friendship and American ingenuity, Sam McKenna is between a rock and a hard place. His father "Pops" is hospitalized awaiting lifesaving cardiac surgery. With help from his pal Mitch, Sam pursues precarious fundraising via dubious entrepreneurship.
The key characters in Dirty Work are Mitch (Norm Macdonald), Sam (Artie Lange), Pops (Jack Warden).
Dirty Work is rated PG-13.
Dirty Work is a Comedy film.
Dirty Work has an audience rating of 6.6 out of 10.
Dirty Work had a budget of $13M.
Dirty Work has made $10M at the box office.