Joe Dirt is a janitor with a mullet hairdo, acid-washed jeans and a dream to find the parents that he lost at the Grand Canyon when he was a belligerent, trailer park-raised eight-year-old. Now, blasting Van Halen in his jacked-up economy car, the irrepressibly optimistic Joe hits the road alone in search of his folks.
To see it is to sit through scene after scene like the one in which a hulking oil rigger spattered with crude takes a leak on some smoldering ashes for no reason at all.
– Cody Clark,
Mr. Showbiz,
13 Apr 2001
rotten:
Were nature to take the course they both seem to want, the movie could end in 15 minutes. And it would still be too long.
– Mike Clark,
USA Today,
13 Apr 2001
rotten:
In one scene, raw sewage is dumped on Joe. See Joe Dirt and you'll know how that feels.
– Peter Travers,
Rolling Stone,
18 Apr 2001
rotten:
A comic named David Spade stars in a movie called Joe Dirt, and that's about as funny as things get here.
– Rick Groen,
Globe and Mail,
19 Mar 2002
fresh:
Contrived yet unpretentious, predictable yet surprising, this underdog comedy and its title character have considerable charm.