| | |  | | Home » Dirty Girl | | | | | | | Description: | | Dirty Girl is the story of Danielle (Juno Temple), the dirty girl of Norman High School in Norman, Oklahoma, circa 1987. Her reputation takes an unexpected hit when her misbehavior gets her banished to a remedial class, where she is paired on a parenting project with Clarke (Jeremy Dozier), an innocent closet-case with no friends. When her mother (Milla Jovovich) announces her engagement to her family-minded boyfriend (William H. Macy), mortified Danielle vows to get to California to find the father she's never met! Clarke is desperate to escape being sent to military school by his homophobic dad (Dwight Yoakam) and repressed mom (Mary Steenburgen), prompting the two mismatched misfits to make their getaway: on a cross-country road trip that leads to an unexpected and serendipitous friendship. | | | Product Details: | | | Actors:
| Juno Temple, Jeremy Dozier, Milla Jovovich, William H. Macy, Mary Steenburgen | | Director:
| Abe Sylvia | | Format:
| Color, NTSC, Widescreen | | Language:
| English | | Subtitle:
| English, Spanish | | Number of Discs:
| 1 | | Studio:
| ANCHOR BAY | | Run Time:
| 90 minutes | | DVD Release Date:
| January 17, 2012 | | Average Customer Rating:
|  based on 34 reviews |
| | | | Customer Reviews: | |
Average Customer Review:
 ( 34 customer reviews )
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
9 of 9 found the following review helpful:
 A very surprising and good movie that deals with some heavy subjects. A movie that deserves to be watched I say A-Jan 14, 2012
By Tony Heck
"If it's a man's world God wouldn't have made me." Danielle (Temple) lives life on her own terms. When her mouth gets her in trouble at school she is sent to the "special" classroom. After an assignment pairs her up with a school loser her life is forever changed. The saying goes don't judge a book by it's cover, that could not be more true for this movie. The first ten minutes is what you would expect but from then on it becomes an emotional movie that deals with some pretty heavy subjects. The acting is great in this and there is an all-star cast along with some surprising cameos. If I keep talking I am afraid I will give something away and that would do the movie an injustice. Much like the movie "Good Old Fashioned Orgy" I think that the movie would get a better audience if the title was different. Do yourself a favor and watch this movie. Overall, a very surprising movie that was much much better then I expected. I give it an A-.
11 of 12 found the following review helpful:
Juno Temple Is a Star: Surprisingly Engaging, Heartfelt And Funny Despite Too Many Expected ClichesJan 05, 2012
By K. Harris
"Film aficionado"
Despite my better instincts, I'd have to call writer/director Abe Sylvia's "Dirty Girl" fairly irresistible. I'm not usually so soft-hearted, but a spirited cast led me to let go of my reservations and just go with the flow. And I quite enjoyed "Dirty Girl" on those terms. It may lack a bit of originality, but it's just so darned likable. Yes, the movie employs every tired cliche expected in a road trip comedy. Yes, the movie revisits the common themes of a hundred different coming-of-age sagas. Yes, many of the peripheral characters are garishly over-the-top as are the eighties set pieces. Yes, the film sometimes plays to easy punchlines, especially in relationship to homosexual themes. Yes, the movie has some of the most patently ridiculous scenes you might imagine (wait until you catch a nightly striptease contest in rural Nevada! The fact that it is a nightly event only scratches the surface of why it is so preposterous). And yet, here I am recommending the movie. It has a surprisingly big heart and a winning underdog duo with leads Juno Temple and newcomer Jeremy Dozier. So in spite of my reservations, I found the movie undeniably fun. And there's nothing wrong with that!
In truth, "Dirty Girl" is a bit all over the place in its tone. The movie starts with a pleasing nastiness but soon enough morphs into a heart-on-its-sleeve buddy comedy. It sets off eliciting shock value but speedily evolves into a family weepy. "Dirty Girl," despite its salacious title and a few risque situations, is not nearly as edgy and confrontational as the early scenes would lead you to believe. It is, at heart, a crowd pleaser that is tinged with real and serious situations but is ultimately a fantasy of sorts. And viewed in that perspective, it really succeeds with some genuinely heartfelt moments. And lest I forget, it's also has a lot of laugh-out-loud content. I won't go into the plot too specifically. Temple plays a promiscuous high school outsider who is struggling to understand who she is, her mother's new relationship, and the father that she's never known. Dozier plays another loner who is battling to fulfill his parent's expectations, even though it seems an impossible task as they don't accept him for who he is. Through movie magic, the two are thrown together and their comedic antagonism is the basis for numerous burgeoning buddy adventures.
Of course, the two are both improved by and irrevocably affected by this new bond. They end up in some precarious and wild situations and a grudging respect blossoms. In the hands of Temple and Dozier, this central relationship really works. As long as you care about them, the rest follows suit. And I did care. The cast is rounded out with Milla Jovovich (quite good as Temple's mother), William Macy (as Jovovich's fiance) and Mary Steenburgen and Dwight Yoakam as Dozier's conflicted parents. But in many ways, this is a star-making performance by Juno Temple. She commands the screen and sells this movie. I have no doubt that we'll continue to see her in bigger and more prominent roles. "Dirty Girl" is sometimes silly, sometimes sad--but a wildly enjoyable journey. As a light and engaging diversion, it fits the bill nicely. Perhaps it's not the perfect comedy I was hoping for, but its pleasures outweigh my intellectual reservations and melted my dead cold heart. KGHarris, 1/12.
7 of 8 found the following review helpful:
 A True Audience-PleaserJan 04, 2012
By Michael B. Druxman
"A Good Story is a Terrible Thing to Waste"
DIRTY GIRL is a funny, ultimately touching, coming-of-age/road movie that undergoes a major shift in tone during its third act, and yet remains an extremely satisfying viewing experience.
Written and directed by Abe Sylvia, the film is set in ultra-conservative Norman, Oklahoma in 1987, and centers on Danielle (Juno Temple), the high school tramp, who is paired on a class parenting project with fellow student Clarke (Jeremy Dozier), an overweight gay kid.
When Danielle's mother (Milla Jovovich) announces her engagement to her strict-minded Mormon boy friend (William H. Macy, in a role that should make Mitt Romney cringe), the girl decides to head for Fresno, California, to finally meet her biological father, and because he has a car and a credit card, she drafts Clarke to accompany her.
Unfortunately, that prized Cadillac belongs to Clarke's violent homophobic father (Dwight Yoakam), who goes after the couple, while his repressed wife (Mary Steenburgen) and Danielle's mom join forces to also bring their kids home.
DIRTY GIRL is a clever, witty, well-acted "gem," a true audience-pleaser.
[Watch that bag of flour. It almost steals the show.]
Extras on the DVD from Anchor Bay Entertainment include audio commentary by Abe Sylvia and deleted/extended scenes.
© Michael B. Druxman
3 of 3 found the following review helpful:
Juno Temple Is a Star: Surprisingly Engaging, Heartfelt And Funny Despite Too Many Expected ClichesJan 17, 2012
By K. Harris
"Film aficionado"
Despite my better instincts, I'd have to call writer/director Abe Sylvia's "Dirty Girl" fairly irresistible. I'm not usually so soft-hearted, but a spirited cast led me to let go of my reservations and just go with the flow. And I quite enjoyed "Dirty Girl" on those terms. It may lack a bit of originality, but it's just so darned likable. Yes, the movie employs every tired cliche expected in a road trip comedy. Yes, the movie revisits the common themes of a hundred different coming-of-age sagas. Yes, many of the peripheral characters are garishly over-the-top as are the eighties set pieces. Yes, the film sometimes plays to easy punchlines, especially in relationship to homosexual themes. Yes, the movie has some of the most patently ridiculous scenes you might imagine (wait until you catch a nightly striptease contest in rural Nevada! The fact that it is a nightly event only scratches the surface of why it is so preposterous). And yet, here I am recommending the movie. It has a surprisingly big heart and a winning underdog duo with leads Juno Temple and newcomer Jeremy Dozier. So in spite of my reservations, I found the movie undeniably fun. And there's nothing wrong with that!
In truth, "Dirty Girl" is a bit all over the place in its tone. The movie starts with a pleasing nastiness but soon enough morphs into a heart-on-its-sleeve buddy comedy. It sets off eliciting shock value but speedily evolves into a family weepy. "Dirty Girl," despite its salacious title and a few risque situations, is not nearly as edgy and confrontational as the early scenes would lead you to believe. It is, at heart, a crowd pleaser that is tinged with real and serious situations but is ultimately a fantasy of sorts. And viewed in that perspective, it really succeeds with some genuinely heartfelt moments. And lest I forget, it's also has a lot of laugh-out-loud content. I won't go into the plot too specifically. Temple plays a promiscuous high school outsider who is struggling to understand who she is, her mother's new relationship, and the father that she's never known. Dozier plays another loner who is battling to fulfill his parent's expectations, even though it seems an impossible task as they don't accept him for who he is. Through movie magic, the two are thrown together and their comedic antagonism is the basis for numerous burgeoning buddy adventures.
Of course, the two are both improved by and irrevocably affected by this new bond. They end up in some precarious and wild situations and a grudging respect blossoms. In the hands of Temple and Dozier, this central relationship really works. As long as you care about them, the rest follows suit. And I did care. The cast is rounded out with Milla Jovovich (quite good as Temple's mother), William Macy (as Jovovich's fiance) and Mary Steenburgen and Dwight Yoakam as Dozier's conflicted parents. But in many ways, this is a star-making performance by Juno Temple. She commands the screen and sells this movie. I have no doubt that we'll continue to see her in bigger and more prominent roles. "Dirty Girl" is sometimes silly, sometimes sad--but a wildly enjoyable journey. As a light and engaging diversion, it fits the bill nicely. Perhaps it's not the perfect comedy I was hoping for, but its pleasures outweigh my intellectual reservations and melted my dead cold heart. KGHarris, 1/12.
2 of 2 found the following review helpful:
Dirty GirlMay 12, 2012
By LaSonya
Abe Sylvia, writer and director of Dirty Girl, brings ten years as a dancer and choreographer on Broadway into his debut feature film. It goes without saying that Dirty Girl is filled with a slew of nostalgic music hits such as Teena Marie's Lovegirl, Melissa Manchester's Don't Cry Out Loud, and The Outfield's Your Love, and dance scenes that liven certain character roles. Dirty Girl is set in Oklahoma during the 1980's and centers around Danielle (Juno Temple) and Clarke (Jeremy Dozier), two high school misfits who become friends through fate and chance. Danielle is the natural born rebel that has a bad reputation, has a killer body and drives around looking for trouble in a red mustang.
Clarke is an overweight, witty, closeted virgin, and suffers the emotional and physical abuse of his domineering, homophobic father, Joseph (Dwight Yoakum). If Joseph finds out Clarke is gay, he will send him to military school. Danielle's unruly behavior forces the school principal to send her to remedial class where she is paired up with Clarke to complete a parenting project. Danielle is disrespectful and bitter towards her mother, Sue-Ann (Milla Jovovich), and Sue-Ann's Mormon fiancé Ray (William H. Macy), maybe because she feels left out or maybe she doesn't connect with the new future her mother is embracing. Either way, Danielle recruits Clarke to go with her to California to locate Danny Briggs (Tim McGaw), the father she never met.
Finding the rebel inside of him, Clarke takes Joseph's prized Cadillac and his parent's credit card to finance the getaway trip. Danielle and Clarke learn and laugh at each other along the journey. They even pick up Joel (Nicholas d'Agosto), a stripper who Clarke eventually becomes intimate with. The fun comes to a halt when Joseph reports his car stolen to the police and catches up with the two. Clarke stays with Joseph to take the beatings while Danielle forges ahead to California. When she reaches Danny Briggs, he's not interested in a father-daughter relationship. Both Danielle and Clarke were forced to grow up quickly under their dysfunctional family circumstances.
In the end, the truth has set them both free. Clarke is now out of the closet with his mother, Peggy (Mary Steenburgen) and Danielle realized her mother loved her enough to not to have an abortion. Dirty Girl is a creative and exciting movie. Each cast member holds their own when shifting between neuroses and normalcy. Director Abe Sylvia was very crafty with keeping the music in tow when tough scenes emerged. Overall, Dirty Girl is fun to watch and is a great first start for Director Abe Sylvia to build upon.
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