Joe Dirt: The Most Inspiring Film of ALL TIME!!!
The most inspiring film of all time, and it's really not even close, is the 2001 masterpiece Joe Dirt. The rousing tale of a janitor who grew up without parents and went on to find notoriety telling his story on a popular L.A. radio talk show, Joe Dirt is a powerful parable about positivity and how far belief in oneself can carry you.
The movie centers on the title character, a classic rock-loving drifter engaged in a nationwide search for his lost parents. His quest leads Joe into a plethora of life-altering events, leaving him with a story that's damn-near the perfect example of a man overcoming his disadvantages to achieve everything he ever wanted.
The obstacles thrown up in Joe's way would cause lesser men to buckle at knees, fall to the ground and weep like hungry, angry babies. Consider this: at one point, Joe finds himself imprisoned by serial killer Buffalo Bob. The threat of death was absolutely real, yet Joe keeps his cool, even geeking out over an Auto Trader magazine he's provided by his captor. He never lets his likely murder break his spirit. Joe is Joe and that gets him through.
Throughout his journey, Joe befriends many people who become inspired to better themselves through their relationships with Joe. Kickin' Wing learns about giving the customers of his fireworks stand what they want and ends up realizing his dream of being a veterinarian. Clem, who supervises Joe in a school janitorial job, is smitten by Joe's story of the idyllic little town of Silvertown, eventually settling there and finding love. Hell, even scummy shock jock Zander Kelly, who puts Joe on his show just show he can mock him, eventually becomes moved by his determination and indefatigable spirit.
Ok, ok... I can't keep a straight face rhapsodizing Joe Dirt like he's some kind of real-life overachiever and not just a construct conjured by writers and filmmakers. And yet, even a dumb comedy about a guy who believes that you can't have no in your heart can be genuinely inspirational in the right situation.
Boy was this the right situation. For the past week-and-a-half, I've really been struggling. Depression and anxiety are regular components of my everyday life. Add to that the stresses and uncertainties that have come along with COVID-19 and toss in unpleasant romantic issues and I've been more despondent than I've been in like 15 years. In fact, the last time I was this low, I wound up in the hospital cuz my parents were convinced I was gonna kill myself.
So, here I am, all depressed and shit. I had planned to spend the weekend revisiting a bunch of Akira Kurosawa films. But lack of sleep and an inability to focus made watching movies with subtitles impossible. I decided to change up and watch movies that wouldn't require me to concentrate too much, allowing me to concurrently work through shit in my head. I went with stuff like Swingers, Pacific Rim (my happy place movie) and Joe Dirt.
Watching this movie through again hit me so much harder than I ever could have foreseen. I broke down in tears several times. We're talking massive fucking crocodile tears, accompanied by a bubbling snot nose and deep, heaving sobs.
I didn't get it. How does a dumb comedy about a white trash doofus who doesn't seem to realize how bad he really has it inspire that kind of weepy, sobbing response? The answer is something that you may not expect. I broke down into crying fits because, at his core, Joe Dirt is everything I aspire to be but can't seem to come close. He may or may not understand what a loser he is, but whether he does or not, he doesn't let that get him down. He keeps his disposition sunny, even when assholes threaten to remain him out, and he even takes every opportunity to scatter sunshine on those around him. I wanna be that confident, that unflappable. I want to be like Joe Dirt.
Bottom line? Not all heroes wear capes. Sometimes, they wear painfully bad mullet wigs and listen to AC/DC, Van Halen (not Van Hagar), Skynyrd and Def Lep.
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