“The Dirt” (Motley Crue movie bio based on Nikki Sixx’s book)

Discussion in 'Visual Arts' started by Kossoff is God, Feb 19, 2019.

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  1. YardByrd

    YardByrd rock n roll citizen in a hip hop world

    Location:
    Europe
    Despite the obligatory sex and drugs, it somehow struck me as clean... or maybe antiseptic is a better description... you could see all the moving parts but somehow it doesn't connect... I did like Iwan Rheon
     
  2. mmars982

    mmars982 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Pittsburgh, PA
    It's funny how much attention this movie is getting. I thought it was good. The production style reminded me of I, Tonya. And I like Machine Gun Kelly's version of Tommy Lee better than the real thing.
     
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  3. Jim B.

    Jim B. Senior Member

    Location:
    UK
    I think they stole that talking to camera thing directly from 24 Hour Party People. They do it often in that film (and it works in that context) and there is even a scene where a character says 'This didn't actually happen'.
     
  4. Efus

    Efus Senior Member

    Location:
    USA
    Eh, it was a quick hour and 45 in my book.
    Overthinking this, both the movie and the band, seems pretty ridiculous.

    Thought the actors portraying Sixx and Lee did pretty well.
    I like Rheon (Mars) but everytime I saw him I flashed back to Game of Thrones.
     
  5. Derek Slazenger

    Derek Slazenger Specs, rugs & rock n roll

    I thought the guy playing Ozzy was perfect. Thought the film was OK - it will do for those who can't be bothered reading (probably a good percentage of MC fans). The book is one of the most hilarious things I've ever read (I'm not a MC fan).
     
  6. BluesOvertookMe

    BluesOvertookMe Forum Resident

    Location:
    Houston, TX, USA
    Well they like to make it like it was always the 4 of them, save for the Corabi album. They probably didn't want to cover Generation Swine, then Tommy leaving and playing hip hop, Randy Castillo taking over the drum throne and then dying, and Samantha Maloney playing drums. I actually think New Tattoo had a few good moments, and I think we all know Randy was a darn good drummer.
     
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  7. joepepitone

    joepepitone Forum Resident

    Location:
    USA
    I just finished watching. I wish I could have been in Motley Crue. Even for a day.
     
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  8. tman53

    tman53 Vinyl is an Addiction

    Location:
    FLA
    This film (I'm hesitant to even use that term) was nothing but an excuse for bad frat boy behavior. Very little about the music and all about their antics. It played like something (something bad) from National Lampoon, and if I didn't know better I'd swear they were behind it. I'm surprised Motley Crue was involved as it does nothing but show how shallow and vapid they all are as human beings. But, I guess they don't care. The ratings on IMDB are a joke.
     
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  9. Tanx

    Tanx Forum Resident

    Location:
    Washington, DC
    I saw that tour, too. I always thought they were, musically, one of the lamest acts to come out of that scene, but even then, it seemed like their goal was to be the most debauched.
     
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  10. Rhett

    Rhett Forum Resident

    Location:
    Cool City
    I'm sure it was worse actually in real life. Not to defend the film but it was supposed to be about their life together as a band (their relationships to each other). The music they created was the backdrop to the movie.

    And yeah and they were shallow, vapid, impulsive, reckless, killers, addicts and friends who created some memorable albums/songs along the way.
     
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  11. GodShifter

    GodShifter Forum Member

    Location:
    Dallas, TX, USA
    To be fair, it followed the book “The Dirt” to a ‘t’. They picked and chose what they wished to include, but everything depicted in the movie is from the book. “The Dirt” (the book) wasn’t about the music, either. It was about the band’s antics. How much of it is true is debatable, but I’d be willing to bet much of it was (with, of course, some embellishments).
     
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  12. GodShifter

    GodShifter Forum Member

    Location:
    Dallas, TX, USA
    Yeah, the “they played together for 20 more years” at the end wasn’t exactly true. Different drummers for one thing. They probably didn’t want to touch on the fact that Lee and Neil hated each other at the end. It wasn’t a “band of brothers” at the end. It was a business relationship (which is not uncommon with many long time acts).
     
  13. Jack Lord

    Jack Lord Forum Resident

    Location:
    Washington, DC
    Watched it last night. Disclaimer: I am no fan of Motley Crue and used to diss them back in the day. I do like the song Girls Girls Girls though.

    I found it entertaining. I alternated between being very amused and outright horrified. I did feel a twinge of 80s nostalgia and a yearning to have been at some of those hell-raising affairs. Then the ugliness began to set in.

    I am amazed all four are still alive.

    A good watch and I will probably view it again for grins. Not serious cinema but decent entertainment.
     
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  14. O Don Piano

    O Don Piano Senior Member

    Being in many bands, I understand the “brotherhood” aspect. (Even if most bands I played in for long periods of time had women in them)
    In my late teens-just as Crue we’re getting huge- I was involved in a band that worked 5 nights a week and we practically lived out of each others’ pockets. Relationships get very intense when you’re that young. Even when we play now- diminishing “reunion” gigs, the same personalities come out even though all of us have changed radically. With a band like Crue where you’re still working 30+ years together, you still have those old relationships but it’s now a business partnership. Any ill feelings get submerged to keep the business running efficiently. But they’re still bubbling under.

    As far as the “dirt” aspect of this movie, I was never a Crue fan. In fact when I first saw their ads on the back page of the LA mag “BAM magazine”, I thought they were playing a joke! I figured they were all show and couldn’t possibly make it on that. I was wrong! Soon tons of bands who looked like them were on every page! You could mix and match them and no one would know the difference!
    The deep debauchery and drug abuse is frightening. Fun at first then it drives you to do what it takes to get more drugs. I almost went there. Luckily I didn’t have the ridiculous money they had....

    I enjoyed the movie as a redemption cautionary tale. But it didn’t make me want to play Crue music.........
     
  15. The Hud

    The Hud Breath of the Kingdom, Tears of the Wild

    I am kind of surprised there are people who are "horrified" by what goes on in the movie. I have heard everything and more on the evening news. Maybe I am more desensitized than I thought?
     
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  16. RobRoyF

    RobRoyF Forum Resident

    Location:
    Southland
    I finally watched this movie. I'm just a casual fan of the Crue and only enjoy their 80s output. I skipped their later material.

    I liked it overall - seemed rushed and could have been a bit longer. 7/10 rating. Tommy's and Mick's characters were the most spot on for me of the 4.
     
  17. Barnabas Collins

    Barnabas Collins Senior Member

    Location:
    NH
    I'm not a Motley fan, although I kind of like their first two albums. I thought the movie was pretty awful. Well, mostly awful. I thought the Ozzy scene was hilarious and I'd be lying if I said I didn't feel a little nostalgic after watching the movie. I'm not sure if was the directing or if nearly every human being in the MC storyis truly that wretched. There wasn't a single likeable person in the film and the tearjerker ending felt really forced and had the opposite effect that it was supposed to have. It would have been nice to humanize the band a little bit and we only get bits and pieces of that with Vince Neil's family. Something a bit more subtle instead of constantly having everything and the kitchen sink thrown at you. It was almost like watching a Rob Zombie movie. Just no subtlety at all.
     
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  18. Brenald79

    Brenald79 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Canada
    Same here. The movie didn’t phase me much either. I didn’t think it was much worse than some current shows and movies. As well, I’ve read a lot of rock bios and they’re all the same stuff. I thought the Anthony Kiedis book Scar Tissue was more over the top. Same with the combined info from Mick Walls’s GNR book and Slash & Duff’s book.
     
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  19. Dan C

    Dan C Forum Fotographer

    Location:
    The West
    Pretty much mirrors my experience, except that maybe I liked the movie a bit more than you did.

    Not a fan of them or their music, never have been. I also think Vince is one of the most ridiculous front man of any successful rock band.

    I actually liked the characters in the film. You kinda root form them, the goofy underdogs with various backstories ranging from normal to utterly tragic. I love the 80s SoCal scene that's recreated in the movie. I knew I was being taken for a ride and I'm OK with it. The real life story is a lot more complicated and waaaaay uglier.

    In the movie their reckless antics are just silly fun.

    In real life however...like a video of them laughing as they recall that time Vince (I think) hurled a bottle of Jack into a window as they rode the bullet train in Japan, potentially causing serious harm to innocent people in a country they were visiting...seriously &*$! those idiot d-bags.

    dan c
     
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  20. So I finally saw this tonight, and thought it was...OK. If you're not a stickler for accuracy and don't mind that the movie is essentially a caricature that tones down their assholery and intraband tensions for the sake of the narrative and keeping the characters likeable, it's an entertaining enough romp. I also liked the fourth-wall breaking, which contributes to the somewhat comic tone. Could certainly watch it again with an appropriate drink in hand.

    The cast was fine overall and the only casting error IMHO was Vince - they should've got a taller, better-looking guy who could put across lead singer charisma better. But he wasn't awful or anything, so what the hey. As of right now, 6.4/10.
     
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  21. LilacTeardrop

    LilacTeardrop "Roll It Over My Soul...and Leave Me Here"

    Location:
    U.S.
    Nikki Sixx wrote separate biography w/Ian Gittens "The Heroin Diaries". I'd read both books, without having been a Motley Crue fan, although I'd crank up radio if a song came on. I enjoyed both books, and will look for this movie if/when released as DVD or on cable. I read & watch movies/tv for entertainment purposes, including biographies...they're so outside of the norm. of my, or anyone I know or interact with, lives. I don't read &/or watch for social commentary or rhetoric; rather, to escape from.
     
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