After what seems like forever with talks of Motley Crue’s infamous autobiography “The Dirt” being turned into a film, 2019 finally saw the release of a story that is as wild as the band themselves. Motley Crue may not be everyone’s cup of tea, even in the rock world you either loved or hated the glam rock of the 80’s but even the most jaded could look past the glitz and the corny music and appreciate the debauchery of that era. When you think of glam rock in the 80’s, you think of Motley Crue.
This film is an adaptation of the autobiography of the same name that was originally released back in 2001. I managed to read that book at the time and thought it was a fun and interesting story, even if it was told in a very amateurish albeit realistic way. Translations from book to film very rarely work but here it somewhat works only because the story is simply fun to both watch and hear about. The downside to it though is it’s nowhere near as detailed as the book and that’s where the film falls short, much of the early period of the band first reaching success was glazed over and shot forward much too early. Even the latter part of the 80’s when the band hit their peak seemed to just be all crammed into a short amount of time and while hardcore fans will know the story well, it’s a shame that more focus wasn’t put on those first few years of the band struggling and hitting those levels step by step.
As a fan of Motley Crue who grew up listening to those early albums in the 80’s, the story of what the band went through was far more interesting to me than the music, lifestyle and popularity of the story. Sure it was hilarious and fun to watch the band live it up once success took it’s grip on the young quartet with the cliche sex, drugs and rock n roll emblazened all over the first half of the film but it’s in the second half of the film that things get serious and makes you realize that despite all the glitz and glam of the band and their music, there was a real human side to it all which seemingly was never noticed before.
Major key points were highlighted however and the first turning point was the infamous car crash involving Vince Neil and Hanoi Rocks drummer Nicholas “Razzle” Dingley. It’s a story that many people have continued to point out as the black mark in the band and one that puts Vince Neil in extremely bad light. But as the band did themselves, the story continues on.
The party lifestyle eventually catches up to the band and we start to see things unravel with serious drug use, overdoses, deaths and family crisis, fights and loss of loved ones both physically and emotionally. There is a fascination with the tragedy side of Motley Crue that sometimes gets swept under their own reputation but it’s there and it’s dark, there were even moments that while have been well documented in the media and in the original book, seeing it on film was emotional and almost difficult to watch. To watch any human struggle and suffer is always going to be tough to see but at the same time, brings a real depth to the story that could have easily just been all fun and games and nothing else.
The film, like the book is told from the perspective of each of the 4 guys in the band with Nikki Six mostly driving the storyline along. The third wall rule is completely broken here too as they literally talk to the camera in several parts of the film and I guess the idea of that was to bring some of the book’s storytelling style to the film. But while it tries to bring the book alive, it only fails because of the lack of detail that the book brings. I don’t think it’s so much the fault of the producers of the film but more a logistical aspect that can’t be helped. As much as some Motley fans would love to watch a 6 hour film about their heroes, the more casual fans might think it’s a bit of a stretch.
On a more positive note, even the most anti-glam, anti-mainstream rock fan might still appreciate this film. While the marketing theme is the story of one band that epitomises the excess of the 80’s, it’s really more a story about the lives of 4 guys who just happen to be in one of the most successful rock bands of all time. The party aspect might bring you in but the human factor will make you stay with this film. It weaves in and out and up and down in waves, taking you on many levels of emotion, from laughter to sadness, anger and skepticism. The Dirt may not be the greatest music film ever released, it may not be perfect by a long shot but neither was Motley Crue for that matter. But it’s a hell of a story and one that most will never get to live.
The Dirt is available on Netflix now
