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While Entourage
certainly opened the door to TV exploring a more realistic look at the
highs and lows of the Hollywood machine, it wasn't until the Courtney
Cox / David Arquette produced Dirt
hit screens that the gloss of super stardom was well and truly washed
away.
Because lets get this perfectly clear - Dirt makes being a
movie star look about as enticing as "Shake Down" from Tony Soprano.
The
series takes a closer look at the sensational and intriguing world of
celebrity, fame, and power through the eyes of Lucy Spiller (Courtney
Cox), the woman Hollywood loves to hate but hates to cross. As editor
of one of Hollywood's most influential gossip rags "DIRT NOW", Spiller
can make or break a career. However, it's her obsession with
outing the darker side of the glamorous life which soon unleashes the
demons of her own past and makes her a victim of the machine she has
created.
There is a really clever little soap opera, disguised
as satire, at play here. The beauty of the show is that its storylines
are literally ripped from real life - giving the audience a sense of
familiarity with the material - because lets face it, we are all guilty
of picking up a tabloid to see what Britney or Paris have done each and
every week. For those who know their Hollywood goss inside out, you
will more than likely be aware of who each character is based on (from
Edward Norton to Hugh Jackman), which again, adds a good deal of extra
life to the fold.
Cox plays the heartless bitch to a tee
(however, when you think about it, she's been playing that for a decade
anyway), with some great supporting roles from Shannyn Sossamon (a
stunningly hot actress whose career, sadly, never quite seemed to kick
off after A Knights Tale)
and Ian Hart (as a schizophrenic paparazzi member) who really shine and
take the show in a very cool direction very early on.
A
must watch for those who enjoy this sort of thing, but a program which
ultimately reveals the sad, insecure and downright depressing aspects
of the 'famous' lifestyle. And for many, that might not be a reality
that you particularly want to face.
Great viewing.
EXTRAS
Some
good extras here, which is rare these days for a TV show release.
Tacked onto the last disc are a bounty of mini-featurettes on Dirt (most of which
would have been used as promo material aired on the shows US network
FX).
Extra points for the Gag Reel which you don't often get to see on TV
dramas. I suppose its fitting that a show which is about showing
entertainers at their most vulnerable actually having entertainers
at their most vulnerable.
Conclusion:
Movie 80% Extras: 65%
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