Dirty Work

You've probably heard the joke that Norm MacDonald got fired from his "Weekend Update" gig on Saturday Night Live because he was just too funny for the show. And though his feature-film debut, Dirty Work, directed by Bob (Full House) Saget, doesn't try to be more than a dumb, mainstream effort, it is, no surprise, one of the better movies featuring SNL alumni. That's thanks to MacDonald, who has this weird ability to come up with sharp lines while still appearing detached from and skeptical of the stupid proceedings he's supposedly involved in. (Never mind that he was one of the screenwriters who turned out these particular stupid proceedings.)

In Dirty Work he plays Mitch, an overgrown child whose friend's dad needs a heart transplant but can't get an organ unless he can bribe a doctor (Chevy Chase). So Mitch starts a revenge business -- you want to get back at your loud neighbors, call Mitch, and he'll stick fish all over their house. Of course he falls in love, gets in some trouble, and learns a lesson along the way to saving "Pops" -- not to mention running into Chris Farley, Adam Sandler, Don Rickles, and Gary Coleman, who, yes, says, "What'chu talkin' about?" At the Harbour Mall, Holiday, Showcase, and Tri-Boro cinemas.

-- Mark Bazer