Mötley Crüe's Netflix Biopic, 'THE DIRT', Lived Up To All Its Hype

‘THE DIRT’ is a flick I’ve been eagerly awaiting for the past ten or so years. It had been in development for a hell of a lot longer than that, as it is, but I believe I first caught wind that it was “becoming a reality” after the release of Mötley Crüe’s final studio album, ‘Saints of Los Angeles’, when my brother told me that the songs from it would be used in an on-screen adaptation of the band’s autobiography.

So imagine that – little ten year old Bob Fox, a die-hard Crüehead for his entire life, getting excited and imagining his heroes on the big screen, absolutely wearing out his ‘Saints of Los Angeles’ CD, picturing scenes from this hypothetical movie as each and every track went by…and then nothing.

Nothing came of it for ten years.

Every now and then, we’d hear that a studio picked it up, and then the studio dropped out…or that a new producer signed on, and the producer dropped out…pretty much the only thing that remained concrete was that the band would have major involvement and that Jeff Tremaine (yes, THAT Jeff Tremaine, of ‘Jackass’ fame) would direct.

Finally, in 2018, Netflix picked the project up and set the gears in motion for it to go ahead and start shooting. I covered the production process each and every step of the way on the site, eagerly anticipating it, but approaching it with a bit of trepidation, because I was sooooo worried that it’d be handled incorrectly and do no justice to the book, and more importantly, the band, but on Friday night, when ‘THE DIRT’ hit Netflix…all of those fears were laid to rest.

I went out, bought myself some movie theater butter popcorn, popped it in the microwave, and sat down on my couch for what was an insanely enjoyable two hours of chaos, debauchery, sex, drugs, and rock n’ roll. I couldn’t wipe the smile off my face while watching ‘THE DIRT’ (it had to be wiped off for me by Vince Neil’s car wreck and everything that followed), knowing from the very first scene that sets the tone early, that Mötley was done right by this flick.

Sure, it’s low budget, a bit cheesy, a tonal rollercoaster, and as condensed as every rock n’ roll biopic has to be, but fuck, man! That’s Mötley Crüe! They’re insanely self-aware about all of that shit too, breaking the fourth wall and making jokes about it in the movie itself! Machine Gun Kelly is fucking phenomenal as Tommy Lee, and the clear standout of the film, relatively unknown actors Douglas Booth and Daniel Webber crush their respective roles as Nikki Sixx and Vince Neil, and Ramsey god damn Bolton of all people portrayed Mick Mars exactly how I’ve always envisioned him, like the vampire he is! It’s got cameos from the Prince of Darkness and some other titans of the 90’s Metal scene as well, and is honestly pretty much everything a Mötley fan could’ve asked for. It ain’t ‘The Godfather’, and it ain’t winning any Academy Awards come next year, but it’s a fun as hell.

‘THE DIRT’ is a fast-paced ride that takes you through the lives and career of Mötley Crüe scrapbook-style, though, and I really think you’ll enjoy the journey. At the very least, you get a sweet musical montage every now and then featuring some of the most metal tunes ever written. Check it out and tell me what you think!