The Dirt is a 2019 American biographical drama film directed by Jeff Tremaine from a screenplay by Rich Wilkes, about glam metal band Mötley CrĂŒe. The film stars Douglas Booth, Colson Baker, Daniel Webber, and Iwan Rheon. Talks of a Mötley CrĂŒe biopic began as early as 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 the band and Neil Strauss.
The movie starts off with showing us Nikki Sixx’s bad family life with a mother who had several boyfriends, who were abusive, after his father left them. He left his Seattle home and ends up in Los Angeles in 1978. After a failed attempt to connect with his biological father, Frank legally changes his name to “Nikki Sixx” in 1980. A year later, after a falling out with members of London at the Whisky a Go Go, Nikki befriends drummer Tommy Lee and reveals to him that he is forming a new band. Joining the band is guitarist Mick Mars, who suffers from ankylosing spondylitis. The trio then recruit lead vocalist Vince Neil from the cover band Rockandi, and after some brainstorming, the quartet name themselves Mötley CrĂŒe.
After a quick brawl with some audience members during the start of their first performance, the band start to gain a solid reputation in the Los Angeles rock community and gain a large fan following. They sell out all over LA and have outrageous parties afterwards. Rookie producer Tom Zutaut of Elektra Records approaches them with a five-album deal and they sign Doc McGhee as their manager. Their first major tour is supporting Ozzy Osbourne, played by Tony Cavalero, who advised them on limits of partying – and then goes on to snort ants and lick urine. The movie showcases some of the partying excess, success & notoriety that the band would go on to earn during the heady days of the 80s. Tommy, after dumping his ex-gf who was disapproved off by his mom, would meet Heather Locklear and get married, while Vince marries mud wrestler Sharise Ruddell and they have a daughter named Skylar.
At a party, Vince and Hanoi Rocks drummer Razzle drive out to buy more drinks and get into a car accident that kills Razzle and has Vince sentenced to 30 days in jail for vehicular manslaughter, which is subsequently reduced to 19 days. Nikki becomes addicted to heroin and starts to display destructive behavior towards his bandmates. He fires McGhee for bringing Deana to visit him. Nikki overdoses on heroin and is initially declared dead, but a paramedic who is a big fan of the band brings him back to life with two shots of adrenaline. Following this, Nikki has the band go to rehab. A sober Mötley CrĂŒe rebounds in 1989 with Dr. Feelgood, which becomes their first number one album on the Billboard 200, followed by a lengthy world tour. The months of touring and staying sober take their toll on Vince and Tommy, who resort to drinking again after being away from their families for too long.
Following the tour, Vince discovers that Sharise and their daughter Skylar have left him, causing him to miss several rehearsals and eventually part ways with the band in 1992. The band then hires John Corabi as his replacement. In 1995, Skylar dies of stomach cancer at the age of four. Heather divorces Tommy after he is caught having an affair with a porn star. Seeing the backlash by fans over Vince’s departure from the band, Nikki negotiates with Zutaut to give them back the rights to their songs in exchange for their release from Elektra Records. After visiting his father’s grave, Nikki regroups with Tommy and Mick before they reconcile with Vince. Mötley CrĂŒe would perform together for another 20 years, playing their final show on New Year’s Eve 2015 (however the band have since reformed).
Debauchery, rock music and partying aside, the movie is a bit tame for Motely. It’s more like a VH1 style movie, sans a couple of scenes, and fails to showcase the more controversial events of the band. They should have had more stuff from the 90s onwards and therefore seems like only half a story. I give it a 7 outta 10! It was fun.