Oct 6 2013 – The fact that Indie stalwart Kevin Smith is presenting this CanCon rule breaker is a testament to all the comedic victories The Dirties cooks up and serves to us piping hot and fresh. Miles away from any ABC Afterschool Specials, this issue driven narrative ripped from the headlines of today’s newspapers is that rare combination of humour, harm and a whole lot of hustle that is hard to discount as it tackles some of the most difficult issues facing teens today, bullying and school shootings.
For most kids, the highschool experience is a four year odyssey of great memories, everlasting friendships and socially relevant house parties. But, for Matt (Matt Johnson), and Owen (Owen Williams), their awkward amalgam of guerrilla film making, outcast appeal and celebrated lack of refinement only gets rewarded with weekly beat downs. All this is chronicled as they shoot a handheld reality driven film for their school project about a gang of bullies called The Dirties who are routinely and without cause beating Matt and Owen mercilessly because they can.
Striving for social relevance and not attaining it from their peers creates a world within a world for our two protagonists. A world filled with shrill bloviated banter from the effervescent Matt, who seems to bubble off the screen with his diatribes of quirky randomness that closely resembles a mash-up of Robin Williams and Dave Chappelle. Owen, on the other hand, is the proverbial straight man with that go along to get along DNA coursing through his veins and the film’s voice of reason. Together this youthful Starsky & Hutch throwback creates an on-screen dynamic duo that is hard to forget, and here is where The Dirties truly shines. Since they are not accepted in the highschool world they have created their own. This insular world becomes a window into their angst which they channel into rapturous volumes of humour.
A simple phone call turns into a classic Foley scene of guerrilla sound effects constructed on the fly by Matt to help introverted Owen connect with highschool hottie Chrissy (Krista Madison). This truly is an eye-watering moment where hearing is believing. With its homage to Pulp Fiction, Trainspotting and The Usual Suspects thrown in for good measure, the levity quotient hums along quite nicely. But, just below the surface things start breaking down as their film project takes on ominous undertones as discussions about actually killing The Dirties turns real for Matt.
When most teen and tween films depict their core protagonists knee-deep in the throes of pop culture, The Dirties reverts into a slow descent as the revenge motive starts to permeate. As an examination on the state of the highschool teenagers and what a small (but growing) subset must endure, this movie will ring all too clear for victims watching. For those perpetrators of the bullying, they too will see the destruction they have wrought. At this point, it is virtually impossible not to see its connection to the Columbine Highschool massacre and the numerous copycats that have followed.
Verdict: 4 out of 5: With all the comedic twists and turns found in The Dirties (and there are many), at its core, Director and Co-writer, Matt Johnson reveals the unsettling consequences of marginalized teens being pushed too far. Tackling the taboo issues surrounding bullying and highschool shootings are made possible through the mindset (both good and bad) in which our victims are presented. The raw gritty handheld aesthetic at times can feel dizzying and disjointed but this still doesn’t detract from the main message being offered. I am looking forward to what Matt Johnson and his team of writers come up with next.
Final Thought: Highschool can be hazardous to your health.
Genre: Drama
Country: Canada
Language: English
Location: Toronto
Director: Matt Johnson
Writers: Josh Boles, Matt Johnson, Matthew Miller, Evan Morgan
Producers: Matt Johnson, Matthew Miller, Evan Morgan, Jared Raab
Release Date: 2013
Runtime: 80 Minutes
Cast: Matt Johnson, Owen Williams, Krista Madison, Brandon Wickens, Jay McCarrol, Josh Boles, Shailene Garnett, Alen Delain, Paul Daniel Ayotte
