WRITER & DIRECTOR: Matthew Carnahan
CAST: Courtney Cox (Lucy Spiller), Ian Hart (Don Konkey), Laura Allen (Julia Mallory), Jeffrey Nordling (Brent Barrow), Shannyn Sossamon (Kira Klay), Josh Stewart (Holt McLaren), Glen Badyna (Elliott), Shauna Stoddart (Terry), Johann Urb (Johnny Cage), Rick Fox (Prince Tyreese), Alex Breckenridge (Willa McPherson), Gregory Graham (Studio Assistant), Julie Claire (Cheryl Steen), Meghan Ashley (Pool Nymph), Bret Roberts (Cal), Eric Reinholt (Bartender), Kelvin Han Yee (Jordan), Alexi Wasser (Naomi), Channon Roe (Jeff Stagliano), Anne L. Nathan (Dr Shalba), Demetrius Grosse (Assistant) & David Fincher (Himself)
Ruthless tabloid editor Lucy Spiller zeroes in on struggling actor Holt McLaren, who needs favourable publicity to resuscitate his career...Who would have thought the teenager dancing with Bruce Springsteen in that 80s music video would come this far? Courtney Cox gets her first real shot at post-Friends fame, starring in Dirt as uberbitch Lucy Spiller, editor of sister tabloids Now and Drrt. It's a world away from her role as neat-freak Monica, but Cox is clearly relishing every pithy retort and devilish grin.
Dirt, created by by writer-director Matthew Carnahan, is a glossy slice of entertainment set in L.A; that cesspool of back-stabbers, perverts, playboys, preening bimbos, desperate actors and fame-hungry hangers-on.
Truth be told, L.A's cocktail of glam and sham is almost a cliche these days. Dirt doesn't offer anything startlingly original, but it's an entertaining and stylized look into the underbelly of tabloid journalism, where victims of intrusive paparazzi exist in a symbiotic relationship with their abusers. To survive in cut-and-thrust Hollywood, it's a case of: you scratch my back, I'll scratch yours -- or I'll publish photos of you getting f*cked with a strap-on.
The show is tackling subject matter that should appeal to anyone interested in the world of celebrity, exposing an underbelly we know exists, but choose to ignore. Dirt is certainly exaggerated, but it's refreshingly toxic in its handling; from Cox's do-badder to a few fairly graphic sex scenes.
Dirt is shown on cable channel FX in the US, so it's free from the tight restraints of mainstream American networks. It's a good job too, as Dirt's forays into edgier areas makes the Pilot more memorable than a sanitized version could ever be.
Courtney Cox, whose career was lucrative but restrained by Friends, shakes off the millstone of that iconic sitcom within 10 minutes. Cox has always been an actress capable of more than Friends had many believe, so it's a pleasure to see she makes such a great bitch. Lucy Spiller is nearly an unlikeable monster in most scenes (imagining exploitative headlines at a pool party, firing someone at the drop of a hat, blackmailing an informant with a sex tape), but Cox makes her believable and mildly sympathetic by playing on her insecurities and isolation.
Britain's own Ian Hart (Harry Potter) sinks his teeth into a juicy part as hotshot photographer Don Konkey. Don is an eccentric character, riddled with tics because he is a functioning schitzophrenic. In a few scenes, Don has visual and auditory hallucinations: scenes contort, voices float through the air, a face appears in a woman's hair, sounds escape from opened pill bottles and words tumble from peoples' mouths like speech bubbles.
Don is a similarly conflicting personality to Lucy, expertly twisting situations to his professional advantage as a photographer, yet crippled by his mental frailty. Hart is frankly superb, disappearing into character, particularly with his perfect American accent.
The central plot isn't anything to get too excited about, essentially picking the most obvious story for this type of show and running with it. It's all about introducing the world, its skewed rules and the twisted characters. That said, the plot is entertaining enough, as struggling actor Holt McLaren (Josh Stewart) makes a deal with the Drrt devil to further his career...
Overall, I enjoyed Dirt's opening episode enough to return and see how it develops from here. It has an unruly atmosphere, glossy excessiveness and a handul of great performances. It just needs to punch-up the quality of writing. But any Pilot that manages to get director David Fincher (Fight Club) to make a cameo has to be onto a good thing, surely? I certainly recommend you give Dirt a spin; it may be glittery nonsense, but atleast it's glittery nonsense with some dirt under its manicured nails.
