National Lampoon’s Dirty Movie will make you hate movies and the people that make them

Sketch comedy is a tricky format to pull off in a motion picture. Tricky or not, there’s no excuse for this heinously tasteless, crassly unfunny movie. This may be one of the most odious movies I’ve ever seen. Not because of the succession of distasteful, offensive jokes acted out by a cast who should be ashamed of themselves but simply because the very fact this movie exists should dismay us all.

From the very first scene, “National Lampoon’s Dirty Movie” establishes itself as a film with no redeeming qualities. The jokes are not just bad—they’re appallingly bad, relying on shock value rather than any semblance of wit or cleverness. The screenplay seems to have been cobbled together by someone who believes that offensiveness alone equates to humour. It’s as if the writers and directors aimed to hit every possible low note in the comedy spectrum, and then some.

The cast, unfortunately, does nothing to elevate the material. Each actor appears to be competing for who can deliver their lines with the least amount of dignity. One can’t help but wonder what led these performers to participate in such a project. Was it a desperate need for a paycheck, a momentary lapse in judgment, or perhaps a misguided belief that this film would somehow be a cult classic in the making? Whatever the reason, their involvement is a stain on their careers.

Visually, the film does no favours for itself either. The production values are abysmally low, giving the entire movie a shoddy, amateurish feel. It’s almost as if the filmmakers wanted to ensure that every aspect of the film matched the subpar quality of the script.

In the end, “National Lampoon’s Dirty Movie” is an affront to comedy and cinema itself. It fails on every conceivable level, leaving viewers not just disappointed, but actively repulsed. This is not merely a bad movie; it is a cinematic abomination that should be avoided at all costs. Its claim to being one of, if not the worst movie of all time isn’t just based on its quality. It’s what it says about us as a society that it was allowed to come into being.

Unfunny, cheap, tawdry and stupid, this makes “Movie 43” look like “Citizen Kane”. This movie is a hate crime.

national lampoon's dirty movie review

EVEN A SCORE OF ZERO WOULD FLATTER THIS ABOMINATION

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