Based on the book of the same name, “The Dirt” is an autobiographical film co-written by the legendary heavy metal band members of Mötley Crüe. The film follows the band from their formation to the path to their fame, fortune and everything in between. The original book was praised for its gritty honesty about the highs and lows of the rock'n'roll lifestyle.
Talks of the Mötley Crüe biopic began in 2006, when Paramount Pictures and MTV Films purchased the rights to the book, “The Dirt: Confessions of the World's Most Notorious Rock Band”, by Neil Strauss.
However the project then was in development for over a decade, going through numerous directors and cast members before Netflix finally purchased the rights in March 2017 and filming began around February 2018 in New Orleans.
I have heard some of the famous Mötley Crüe tracks before, but never had an in depth knowledge about the band’s music until the Netflix original film was released in March. The film received mixed feedbacks from the fans as Netflix focused more on the negativity of the band members’ lifestyles. Others praised the film because of the unapologetic narrative style Netflix chose to portray the rockers’ lives, filled with their careless behaviour, drug abuse and women throughout their successful career.
“The Dirt” introduces the audience to the members of Mötley Crüe before they even met and formed the famous band. The film begins from the childhood of Nikki Sixx (Douglas Booth), following him until he eventually lands in the West Hollywood music scene.
He meets Tommy Lee (Colson Baker aka Machine Gun Kelly) and the two decide to form a band. They meet Mick Mars (Iwan Rheon) and for their final member, a lead singer, Tommy suggests a former high school classmate, Vince Neil (Daniel Webber).
The band gains notoriety in the local music scene, and gets attention of a record executive named Tom Zutaut (Pete Davidson), who signs them to a deal and their fame rises exponentially.
However, the film puts more focus on the lives of these men and the script struggles to form a cohesive story from the various events of Mötley Crüe's life. The film starts with bringing the band members together, depicting their formation and rise of Mötley Crüe.
From there on, though, the film jumps from touring to recording to the wild partying with no connective points, other than the fact that all of these happened in real life.
“The Dirt” similarly struggles to connect the various troubles of the band members, including Vince's drunk accident followed by a long trial and subsequent jail time, Nikki's terrible heroin addiction, Tommy's awful marriage to Heather Locklear (Courtney Dietz), and Mick's struggles with his health.
Ultimately, “The Dirt,” directed by Jeff Tremaine (Bad Grandpa, Jackass: The Movie), seems like a great Mötley Crüe biopic for fans of the band or those interested in their rise to stardom and highly criticized lifestyle.
The film successfully paints an honest picture of both the highs and lows of the men's lives in a glorious and grand way. For a music biopic, “The Dirt” does not have that much of musical sequences, which seems to be a case of the film focusing more heavily on the band's dynamic and personal lives than the music that was instrumental to Mötley Crüe's rise to fame.
Yet, it is one of the most entertaining music biopics I have ever seen and I would definitely recommend it if you want to get hooked to the crazy lives or music of the great Mötley Crüe.
