Synopsis

Mitch and Sam are lifelong friends who cannot hold regular jobs, but they know how to get even with people who wrong them. When Sam's father needs $50,000 for heart surgery, the pair turn their talent for revenge into a business. Their increasingly outrageous jobs eventually bring them into conflict with a ruthless real-estate developer and his fraudulent scheme.

Factoids & Trivia

• The movie was originally written and filmed as an R-rated comedy, but MGM released it as PG-13. Several scenes were altered or removed, including material involving adult films and phone sex.

• Don Rickles was encouraged to improvise extensively during his theater-owner scenes. Bob Saget later recalled that two cameras were left running while Rickles riffed, and the footage consumed the production's film budget for the week.

• Chris Farley appears as Jimmy No-Nose without screen credit. Because the movie was released on June 12, 1998, several months after Farley's death in December 1997, it became his final released film appearance.

• Adam Sandler makes an uncredited cameo as Satan. John Goodman, Gary Coleman, Rebecca Romijn, and David Koechner also appear in brief supporting or cameo roles.

• Norm Macdonald's recent departure from Saturday Night Live affected the film's promotion. NBC initially refused to air advertisements for it, reportedly because of Macdonald's ongoing feud with network executive Don Ohlmeyer.

• Although the theatrical release was unsuccessful, Dirty Work developed a strong following on home video and is now commonly regarded as a cult comedy.