The Dirt
Netflix | Release Date (Streaming): March 22, 2019 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
39
METASCORE
Generally unfavorable reviews based on 17 Critic Reviews
Positive:
3
Mixed:
7
Negative:
7
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
78
IGNKenneth Seward Jr.Mar 29, 2019
Netflix’s The Dirt won’t win any awards nor will it inspire any would-be musicians, but it is entertaining and offers up a compelling story about Mötley Crüe. And while it isn’t a completely accurate depiction of the band’s tumultuous career, the film itself is insightful. Read full review
75
Entertainment WeeklyChris NashawatyMar 22, 2019
It’s cartoonish, fast-paced, a bit cheesy, and ridiculously dumb fun. Read full review
63
Slant MagazineChuck BowenMar 23, 2019
Like most biopics, The Dirt crams so many events into its narrative as to compromise the sense that these are real characters in the here and now. Read full review
60
The GuardianStephen SmartMar 23, 2019
What makes the film most successful are the four performers. The standout is Baker (better known as rapper Machine Gun Kelly) who plays Tommy Lee with both a sweet naivety and an insidious mischievousness that make some of the darker moments sneak up on you without feeling unearned. Read full review
60
New Orleans Times-PicayuneMike ScottMar 22, 2019
I'm not sure how much of The Dirt is good, old-fashioned hyperbole. Good lord, I hope a lot of it is, although I'm sure the band -- the members of which wrote the book on which the film is based in addition to serving as co-producers -- would swear everything in it is true. Read full review
58
The A.V. ClubAlex McLevyMar 23, 2019
But even with the absurdist spectacle making for occasionally fun viewing, what has room to rise and fall in a 400-plus page book gets condensed into trite moralizing in 108 minutes. Read full review
50
The Hollywood ReporterKeith UhlichMar 23, 2019
None of it adds up to much beyond painting the band, despite their often repellently bad behavior, in a flattering light. Read full review
40
Rolling StoneDavid FearMar 25, 2019
That this retelling has no time for the facts, given the book’s dodgy relationship to the truth, isn’t shocking. That it feels this surprisingly fun-free and generic to a fault, frankly, kind of is. Fans deserve better. If any of them want to collectively sue for defamation of character, let me know where to sign. Read full review
40
New York Magazine (Vulture)Emily YoshidaMar 23, 2019
Its own pointlessness may keep The Dirt from feeling like an actual affront to humanity, but that doesn't make it very good, either. Read full review
40
VarietyOwen GleibermanMar 23, 2019
It’s just a thinly written (by Rich Wilkes and Amanda Adelson), generically staged (by Jeff Tremaine, director of the “Jackass” films) VH1-style sketchbook of a movie — which is to say, it’s a Netflix film, with zero atmosphere, overly blunt lighting, and a threadbare post-psychological telegraphed quality that gives you nothing to read between the lines. Read full review
33
The PlaylistRodrigo PerezMar 22, 2019
The Dirt is ultimately supposed to be an unapologetic tribute to living the fast life, but in the end, it’s just painfully dated and pointless with zero depth or insights. Read full review
33
IndieWireDavid EhrlichMar 22, 2019
Rock biopics often struggle with the part after the party’s over, but The Dirt becomes unusually adrift; at times, you can’t even tell what decade you’re supposed to be watching. Read full review
30
The New York TimesJason BaileyMar 23, 2019
Plays like an ill-advised remake of “This Is Spinal Tap” — one in which all the laughs are unintentional. Read full review
30
Los Angeles TimesLorraine AliMar 23, 2019
Remarkably, the new Netflix movie takes the same pathetic approach. It’s as if the film arrived to the streaming service in a bubble, unaware that the culture has moved on and that Netflix is brimming with content written, directed and starring strong women. In this horribly timed release, the debasement of multiple women is supposed to be all in fun — and funny, because The Crüe is having a good time and it’s rock ’n’ roll, baby! Read full review
25
ConsequenceDan CaffreyMar 22, 2019
Its lack of energy, depth, and pure volume are, at the movie’s best, sanitized. Despite the long wait, The Dirt is nothing more than karaöke Crüe. Read full review
25
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)Brad WheelerMar 22, 2019
Rock 'n’ roll biopics can be mindless fun, but they never deserve to be this empty-headed. Read full review
25
RogerEbert.comBrian TallericoMar 22, 2019
You could listen to Dr. Feelgood two full times during the run time of The Dirt and learn just about as much about the band as you do in this R-rated Wikipedia article of a movie. And you’d have way more fun. Read full review
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