The Dirt

"A long time coming, Mötley Crüe biopic The Dirt has finally made its way to the (small) screen via Netflix. I mean this next bit affectionately: this is an appropriate destination for a film that revels more in behaving like an over-the-top trashy TV movie than harbouring any cinematic pretensions, and can be enjoyed/hate-watched in more talkative, raucous, fashion than a movie theatre allows—not to mention the convenience of pausing the film to get a(nother) drink."

"Isn’t it strangely appropriate that just as Queen’s well-polished biopic, Bohemian Rhapsody, is basking in the afterglow of a very successful awards season, The Dirt, an account of the early career of LA hair metal icons Motley Crüe, is crawling, hungover and dishevelled, onto Netflix?"

"Zero atmosphere, overly blunt lighting, and a threadbare post-psychological telegraphed quality that gives you nothing to read between the lines."

"The standout is Baker (better known as rapper Machine Gun Kelly) who plays Tommy Lee with both a sweet naivety and an insidious mischievousness..."

"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."

"None of it adds up to much beyond painting the band, despite their often repellently bad behavior, in a flattering light."