Review: 'Dirt'

December 29, 11:19 AM

FX, home of some of the most distinctive series on television, rings in 2007 with another show that looks and feels like almost nothing else on screen. Dirt is a stylish peek inside the sausage factory of celebrity, and Courteney Cox gives a seriously strong performance in the role of a tabloid editor.

Watching the first three episodes, though, I get the feeling that like another FX show, Nip/Tuck, Dirt will be a love-it-or-hate-it proposition for most viewers. And, frustratingly, I can't decide which side to take.

Here's the thing: Dirt has some really good things in it, particularly the performances of Cox as tabloid editor Lucy Spiller and Ian Hart (Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone) as her go-to photographer, Don Konkey. But while parts are magnetic, others had my thumb hovering over the fast-forward button; professional duty was about all that kept me from skipping ahead.

Lucy is the editor of two magazines that traffic in celebrity culture: the venerable, middle-of-the-road Now and the gleefully trashy Drrt (that's not a typo). The character is of a piece with The Shield's Vic Mackey and Rescue Me's Tommy Gavin: You don't like her, exactly, but her personality is so forceful that you can't help but be drawn to her, all the more so when she flashes the occasional hint of real emotion.

Cox (who's also an executive producer of Dirt) pulls all this off with aplomb. Lucy is about as far from her Friends character, Monica, as can be imagined, and like former TV husband Matthew Perry on Studio 60, she shows off some real acting chops here. Maybe there was more to that other show than just capturing a cultural moment.

It's also a little fascinating to watch Cox, who's been hounded by a paparazzo or two in her time, play a character who, if real, would pretty much be the bane of Cox's existence. You can imagine her famous pals calling her on the carpet for even hinting that Lucy might have actual feelings.

Those are most evident in her relationship with Don, a functioning schizophrenic (sometimes more than others) who's also especially adept at getting the shots no one else can. Hart's alternately skeevy and heartbreaking turn as Don is probably the best thing about the show, and the way Lucy looks out for him can be touching, until you realize that he doesn't really get the thanks he deserves for saving her professional butt time and again.

If the show stayed on Lucy and Don more than it does, I'd probably be more in the "love" camp with Dirt. But it overreaches some and the results are, for lack of a better word, muddy (apologies for being the 438th critic to use that turn of phrase). The show lingers for extended periods of time on struggling actor Holt McLaren (Josh Stewart, Third Watch), who's turned to Lucy for a career boost, and his more-famous girlfriend Julia Mallory (Laura Allen, The 4400), and to a lesser extent on a star athlete (ex-NBA player Rick Fox) with a predilection for non-traditional sex, and in doing so grinds almost to a halt.

I understand the need to dwell a little on some of Drrt's subjects, but the ins and outs of how a public persona is made frankly aren't that interesting. The scandal-o'-the-week stories in each episode work a little better, in that they're more about the people covering them than the actual subjects. If tabloid culture is about objectifying celebrities, as Dirt seems to suggest, this approach seems to make more sense.

I imagine I'll keep watching Dirt for a while, primarily to enjoy Hart and Cox. I also suspect my fast-forwarding thumb might get a workout in future episodes.

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Comments (15)

Comments

I personally cannot wait for this show to start. Anything with Courtney Cox is worth watching.

jean | Jan 2, 2007 3:59:51 AM | #

i'm going to watch and i hope it's better than studio 60!

chris | Jan 2, 2007 5:31:40 PM | #

They are foolish to take this show off---Studio 60 is on my top 10 list and enjoy always...smart and amusing! The sketches need a new writer however. I am looking forward to DIRT....looks naughty and i hope it's as good as the "teasers"

Jacqueline | Jan 2, 2007 5:42:43 PM | #

At times, the Pilot was sludge slow, and irritating. However, it is very well acted out by Cox and leaves you cheering for sleaze. I loved the camera perspectives and little events that lead to dramatic scandals.

Cameron | Jan 2, 2007 8:30:06 PM | #

I saw Dirt tonight on the premiere. It was so amazing. Everyone should watch it.

Dev | Jan 2, 2007 11:59:36 PM | #

I watched Dirt Premiere... I was so tired I thought I was never going to be able to stay up to watch it.. but I was riveted to the TV.. This is a fantastic start to another great series.. Thank you FX! The critics need to settle down a little bit and actually watch the show without being so judgmental. Enjoy it for what it is! It is truly worthy of a second look!

Diane | Jan 3, 2007 6:18:17 AM | #

I watched dirt not expecting much but boy was i shocked to find that it was a awesome show. Its kind of like nip/tuck for us magazine junkies....lol...overall i can't wait to see how this show does. Whith courtney Cox though i don't see how it could go wrong

Diana | Jan 3, 2007 9:34:29 PM | #

Soft core porn. I wasn't impressed.

Judy | Jan 4, 2007 9:20:30 AM | #

Great show but the photographer's schizophrenic hallucinations got on my nerves.

Rex | Jan 5, 2007 9:31:19 PM | #

this show is horrible. it's predictable, base, badly acted, horribly written, and just plain dumb. I am sorry that Courtney has elected to continue on with such a loser.
Although, can she act? Friends is not exactly a vehicle for great acting...
Bad news. And it is too bad as the premise is fantastic.

patricia | Jan 6, 2007 1:45:00 AM | #

I liked it. A lot. Came home for lunch and didn't want to go back. Was hoping I had recorded another...but, no.

Vicki | Jan 6, 2007 8:56:14 PM | #

I just saw the pilot, found it boring...i also agree with Judy it seemed like Judy soft core porn...i don't know, just not my type of show...

Mark | Jan 28, 2007 12:14:25 AM | #

I lllloooovvvveeeeeeeee iitttttt, it's great...

Chick | Feb 7, 2007 4:40:30 AM | #

I am SO infatuated with this show! It's way intriguing with so many unbelievable sic twists! I mean did you watch this week's episode???!!!!! What was up with the worms in old boys throw-up? Cox and Arquette have perfectly created an exagerated version of the Hollywood life. I agree that this is definantly a show that is either LOVED or hated, and I would put a bet up guaranting that if you were a Seinfeld LOVER your a DIRT LOVER as well!!!!

lee | Feb 8, 2007 11:10:58 PM | #

i would like an answer to why that character threw up worms went to the doctor and the doctor thought it was okay and gave him some medicine, what the hell does he have, what causes him to throw up worms everyone in my office would like to know the answer asap.

carmen pellegrino | Feb 14, 2007 9:55:18 AM | #