Dirty Deeds

Plot synopsis:
High school student Zach Harper (Milo Ventimiglia) sets out to complete the "Dirty Deeds" - an outrageous list of ten challenges that must be completed between dusk and dawn on the Friday night of his high school's homecoming weekend. The only student to complete the entire list, Duncan Rime (Todd Zeile), did so in 1989 when only 8 tasks composed the list. Rimes later reveals that whenever someone completes the entire list, more are added to it.
Zach attempts to complete the deeds for his classmate, Meg Cummings (Lacey Chabert). Meg's younger brother, Kyle (Wes Robinson), wants to do the challenge to earn the respect of the school's jocks, who are constantly bullying him. Meg is concerned for her brother, and insists that Zach stop him from trying to do something so foolish. While Meg had no intention of Zach attempting the deeds in place of her brother, Zach decides to take on the challenge.
The night begins, and Zach easily checks off the first item on the list, drink beer in front of the cops, by pouring a beer into a coffee cup and consuming it in front of them. This way, the cops, who are determined to stop all those who attempt the deeds, have no idea of Zach's intentions of completing the list. As Zach attempts the nine remaining deeds, the jocks do everything in their power to prevent him from completing it. Throughout his crazy night, Zach enlists the help of those around him to accomplish the difficult tasks. Along the way, Zach meets Duncan Rime who tries to warn him about how hollow the victory can be. Afterwards, Zach refuses to continue, but Dan and JD (the tough kid from Deed #2) decide to try to ruin the carnival so that Zach will be blamed. With some last-minute help from Vincent Scarno (the owner of the car from Deed #8), Zach is able to turn the tables in time. In the midst of everything, Zach and Meg begin to develop feelings for each other, and end up falling in love over the list of "Dirty Deeds".

Tags: comedy, cruelty, murder, violence, flashback, suspenseful

Review:
As all the comments here are Australian and a year old, the film has obviously been leaked late to the rest of the world in advance of its video or dvd release.
Bryan Brown and Sam Neill stand out, inevitably, but John Goodman and Toni Colette are sound in support.I smiled from the moment this started to the closing credits, laughed out loud more than once, and salute the repeated use of "bouf-head" as a term of endearment..
A nice little mix of genres; gangster movie, period flick, fish out of water story, and even a travelogue!The cast is excellent, even though I have trouble buying John Goodman (an actor I adore) as a wiseguy.
Sam Worthington comes across great as a slightly naive kid with a good heart just rolling with the punches and unsure of himself.
Bryan Brown performs admirably, Toni Collette continues to wow me (I had no idea she was actually an Aussie) and the rest of the cast acquits themselves well.All in all, a really charming movie chock full of 60's era flourishes and cultural differences.
Saw this stumbling my way through OZ on holiday and really glad i did - it's fast, funny and full of action.I had no idea before i saw this of the real history of the slot machine wars, so it was good to learn about that but FAR MORE IMPORTANTLY this is just a great night out and makes you leave the cinema wishing you could remember more of the many really good lines.The acting is fantastic throughout but John Goodman is just brillant.
In an age when the Australian movie scene is dominated by "larrikin" family comedies, gritty urban dramas shot on cheap film stock and whatever epic movie Peter Jackson gestates in the grit under his fingernails, David Caesar has crafted a small celluloid gem.
A movie about the enduring Australian goal of killing everything in our path until one day the entire world will hit itself on the thumb and say "Bugger!" instead of "Sh*t!", "Dirty Deeds" is a camp classic, a knowing pastiche of the Australia of the early 1970s with more lashings of violence than most people care to remember.
The film's depiction of Australian organized crime is in itself fantastic, the gangsters drink lager, run poker machines and swear a great deal.
Dirty Deeds - A Movie For Anyone Who Remembers Australian Criminal Activity.
Bryan Brown is respectable as the leading role and he is helped out greatly by his supporting cast, mainly John Goodman.
Goodman's trademark has almost always been the soft big guy type, and he proves in this film that he has playing those type of characters down to a science.
The action takes place in King Cross, an area where night life was the main attraction.David Caesar and his cinematographer, Geoffrey Hall, created a film that seems to have been shot in that era, as they have given the movie a faded look that works well with the story they are telling.
The inside joke seems to be about how to really make a good pizza, something that might not have been done at the time.The film makers have to be congratulated in bringing a brilliant cast together for the movie.
Toni Collette is one of the best actresses working in films, who is at home in drama as well as comedy, and she has a rare opportunity to show her talent playing Barry's wife, Sharon.
John Goodman is good as the American mafioso who is outsmarted by his Aussie counterpart.
The only one that has nothing to do is Sam Neill."Dirty Deeds" works well as a drama and a comedy because there are elements of both in it thanks to the way David Caesar presents his material on the screen..
Cardboard characters with zero dimension.Newcomer Sam Worthington needs a few years in acting school he DOES have an excuse.Toni Colette was ridiculous as Brown's wife.
True story, in the 1960s the American government was trying to control Vietnam and the American Mafia wanted to take over organised crime in Australia.Both failed, we know about Vietnam, this movie fictionalises what happened in Australia and uses it as a metaphor for what happened in Vietnam (and what is happening in Iraq today).It is fun, it is very Australian (it has Bryan Brown in it, what more can I say), it downplays Australian criminals abilities but shows them as brutal thugs capable of some quick thinking.It is not an American bashing movie and has a pro-American message and an Anti-American message that Americans could learn from.
Very good.Basically, I believe its a great plot, brilliantly casted, produced  and directed.I don't know how it'll go down in the US though because the story line doesn't have them saving the day as usual..
There is no real evidence, but perhaps Brown was trying to save his marriage to older, but still beautiful Toni Collette (as Sharon)...Not an Australian expert, but there isn't much here that looks like contemporary movies from 1969.
There is something extra to see within the end credit roll.***** Dirty Deeds (7/18/02) David Caesar ~ Bryan Brown, Sam Worthington, John Goodman, Toni Collette.
Sad to say, but despite a fantastic cast, great design and some genuine laughs, "Dirty Deeds" is ultimately a disappointment.
Toni Collette is equally good as his no-nonsense wife, while a solid cast of Aussie professionals such as William MacInnes, Sam Neil and Paul Chubb fill out an amusing ensemble.
Even the get-a-US-release stunt casting of John Goodman, as a Brown's even-tempered American rival fits nicely.In addition, the design of the film is wonderfully evocative of late sixties Australia, complete with garish curtains, funky wallpaper, beehives and bowler hats.
The romantic sub-plot featuring Sam Worthington (as Brown's straight-arrow nephew) and Kestie Morassi (as Brown's mistress) is flat and entirely predictable.Relative newcomer Worthington sadly sticks out like a sore thumb among the otherwise distinguished ensemble with an inexpressive, lifeless performance, which undermines certain crucial scenes.
Morassi is however a definite find and will certainly be one to watch in the future.A lot of excellent talent has gone into making "Dirty Deeds" and that only serves to make the end result an even greater disappointment..
I usually go for good actors when choosing a film to view, and that usually works, but as I said on the prior Aussie movie it did not.
Go and watch it you like funny Gangster comedies, want to get a feeling for the old Australia of the seventies and see some of Australia´s best actors in action.
David Caesar's 'Dirty Deeds' is a black comedy about gangsters set in 1960's Australia.
Moreover some of the main characters should have been more properly defined.The performances, mainly by Bryan Brown, Toni Collette, John Goodman and Sam Neill are brilliant.
The cinematography is good and the score is brilliant.'Dirty Deeds' thinks it's a smart black comedy and that may be so to an extent but it does have its share of flaws, a few big ones.
It was just an opportunity for a bunch of Aussies to have fun without having to do any acting (John Goodman or no) and the scriptwriter to not have to do any writing, and the photographer to not have to see anything, and they stick in Toni Collette as if that is going to help.
if you are a fan of john Goodman, this would be a great movie.
the only reason I gave it a 5 was because of a couple of twists that were worth the waste of time.showing the "heart" side of the Australian mob is not really the best plot in the world, either.
Bryan Brown is a good actor, but he adopts a completely different acting method and character in each scene.
"Two Hands' was preferred however as a similar style of Aussie gangster movie (also starring Bryan Brown) with more effective black humour with a darker plot..
Dirty, But Fun. Approached this one with caution after some iffy reviews, but shouldn't have worried.David Caesar shows he can handle big cast, big story, big entertainment;not just the character-driven, quirky little films he does so well.Bryan Brown shows there's still no better dinki-di larrikin than him.
The two young stars are good too, and Felix Williamson all but steals the show as John Goodman's not-too-bright, but definitely too vicious sidekick.The 1969 Sydney underworld setting is wonderfully captured (even to accurately having Hair playing at the Metro Theatre), and its great to here so many old songs, and old Aussie sayings, that are barely remembered (and no, hardly anyone had heard of pizzas here then, except in the lyrics of "That's Amore".)The design and camerawork are eyecatching, and all in all, while its not the deepest Australian film ever, it's very entertaining..
If you liked Two Hands and thought it was a bit dark you will love Dirty Deeds!
With an excellent cast (look it up) and excellent wry set design and hilarious costume styles so perfect for the time, DIRTY DEEDS looks great on a wide screen and is dangerous and funny in equal measures.
However, DIRTY DEEDS was released during a spate of OZ crim comedies: TWO HANDS (good); CHOPPER (excellent), BAD EGGS just OK), THE (shoddy miscast) POSTCARD BANDIT...
This film is thoroughly entertaining, perfectly representing Australian culture and giving insight into 1960's Australia.
Veteran Aussie actor Bryan Brown puts in a strong performance as hard arsed Barry Ryan with great performances by Toni Collette and John Goodman.Why the Australian people are so critical of films made in their own country continually shocks me.
Yes, at times 'Dirty Deeds' was a tad predictable and the characters in the film were mere extensions of the actors themselves, but to the man on the street, this is a clever film with a strong sense of Aussie humour highlighted by it's setting in 1960's Australia.'Dirt Deeds' deserves an 8 out of 10.
Two marks deducted for it's predictability and it's slightly disappointing ending thrown in as a 'feel good' denouement.See this for: the superb camera work, the bush jail, Toni Collette and Bryan Brown, the romantic tension between the four mains..
Dirty Deeds - the movie and the soundtrackDirty Deeds, is the latest movie from renowned Australian film-maker David Caesar (Mullet, Idiot Box).
The film features some of Australia's finest actors in lead roles (Bryan Brown as Barry, Toni Collette as Sharon) as well as Sam Neill and the US's John Goodman.
Set in Sydney in 1969, Dirty Deeds is a story about the American mafia wanting to be part of the illegal Sydney casino scene.
Convincing the Australian hillbillies' to hand over the reins of their business wasn't going to be as easy as the American's had expected.As with any big film, comes a soundtrack.
Tim Rogers (frontman of Aussie band You Am I) once again teams up with David Caesar as producer of the Dirty Deeds soundtrack.
Just like the movie, the soundtrack is a showcase of some of the best Australian talent around today, as well as from the past few decades.
Tex Perkins, Billy Thorpe, Powderfinger's Bernard Fanning and Grinspoon's Phil Jamieson are just a selection of musicians who can be heard on the soundtrack.While Dirty Deeds may just seem like another Australian crime film, following in the likes of Two Hands and The Hard Word, it is a surprisingly amusing and well-written script.
It seemed like a gratuitous Australianism directed at an American market.Attention to detail is important for a movie that is set over three decades ago.
At one point a camera seemed to go through a pig's gunshot wound, which was unnecessary because it felt like that particular effect was used for the simple reason that it could be done, not because it added meaning to the story.Australians know that it's best not to mess around with people's accents.
Caesar must have enjoyed poking fun at the Americans and showing their ignorance when Sal (Felix Williamson) and Tony (John Goodman) were discussing what language was spoken in Australia.
Some cultural differences like tipping were also addressed in the movie.As a refreshing change from many American movies, all the songs from the soundtrack were featured at some point in the film.
The soundtrack was a collaborative effort from Rogers and Caesar, making sure each song worked in the movie.
Great movie that non-Australians may find a bit hard to get.
Dirty Deeds sets itself apart from most other gangster films by thebrilliant portrayals of each of the main characters, and it's unusuallocation.Bryan Brown plays Barry Ryan, an Australian mobster who runsthe slot machines in Sydney in the late 1960's.
His nephew, Darcy(played by Sam Worthington) has just come back from Vietnamand is looking for work.
Meanwhile, Tony (John Goodman) andSal, Mafia mobsters from the US, come over to Australia to seewhat they can do about getting a piece of the action...What I loved about this film was that we didn't see all of the oldcliches come out about mobsters.
It's undeniable that John Goodman does an excellentjob of portraying a guy who knows what's expected of him, andhow to deal with things in a businesslike manner to get results.His confusion at Australian customs in the 1960's is amusing,and the movie plays up to the cultural differences very well.One other point to note is that this movie gives a great deal of timeto strong female roles.
The viewer is left with astrong sense of what is required to be married into 'the business'.I highly recommend this film to all gangster fans, but be warned,there are many Australian colloquialisms that non-Australiansmay find a little hard to follow.
Dirty Deeds however was immediately memorable and very savourable-meaning that the camera work, the acting, the direction, Caesar's script-all begged to be watched again because these aspects were so good.My wife and I thought the script was very rich in detail: the settings deserve special mention because they were so accurate by our memory of thirty years ago.
Because Dirty Deeds was a recent  "period piece" that had been done so well this viewer was left savouring each scene and each little snippet of dialogue-the clothes, the furniture, the cars-it all added up to a very rich feast.When I watch such a superb film my mind goes to the mush turned out by Hollywood year after year.
David Caesar seems to like films where everyone is threatened and seems to think its fine to use meaningless violence as entertainment.
Dirty Deeds is a fabulous representation of inner city Sydney, and many other Australian cities, of this time.
you can see that they are in a spot light, you can even see the outline of the light.but overall a great movie that you dont have to see at the movie, not going to be the film of the century, but still good.P.S. i am not normally a movie critic looking for flaws, these were just to obvious..
Bryan Brown plays the occer Australian perfectly, and it was good to see Toni Collette back on screen playing an Aussie.Whilst obviously not a big budget film, Dirty Deeds was as entertaining as many of the US blockbusters I have seen lately.
In an effort to get a US release, John Goodman has been cast as one of the American mafia, in Australia to promote their latest invention, the electronic poker machine and break into the potentially lucrative Australian market.
Overall, this is a great film to watch if you are ever feeling nostalgic for the days of terry towelling clothing, green and brown geometric prints and big hair.
I loved Dirty Deeds.the film I most enjoyed in recent times.
I loved the actors and their characters, most particularly the fabulous Sam Worthington, who plays young Darcy.
Sam Neill and John Goodman are classy and cool.A great Aussie film, a great film full stop..
Finally David Caesar makes a good film.
Dirty Deeds is set in 1969 Kings Cross where Barry Ryan (Bryan Brown) runs a crooked scheme siphoning off a large percentage of pokie machine winnings.
Other than the occasional tussle with competition this runs well for him when the US Mafia decides to get in on the scheme and send Sal (Felix Williamson) and Tony (John Goodman) to either buy or muscle their way in.Barry's nephew Darcy (Sam Worthington), having just returned from a tour of duty in Vietnam is recruited straight away by Barry to, amongst other things, look after his mistress Margaret (Kestie Morassi).
Neither really trusts the other and are not sure what the other is really up to.The film looks far bigger, budget wise, than anything David Caesar has done before and is far more entertaining to boot.
There's a lot of fun to be had with 60's fashion, particularly some of the wallpapers and room decors are worth the price of the movie ticket alone.Bryan Brown basically plays a similar character to most he's played so far, although here he is truly in mean mode.
He plays very much against character and is all the better for it.There's a bit of a running joke on the fact that no one in 60's Australia knows what Pizza is which I found a bit hard to believe.
Bryan Brown and Toni Collette are brilliant, however newcomer Sam Worthington really steals the show.
I'm getting the impression that both The Hard Word and Dirty Deeds followed the same rule book in making Australian crime movies.
Brian Brown played the part to a tee, there is no doubting that David Caeser was only thinking him when writing this film.
Brian Brown (I don't know why, but he always reminds me of Michael Caine), Toni Collette (far from her About a Boy role), John Goodman (has he ever been bad, even in bad movies?) and Sam Neill (Absolutely perfect as the matter-of-fact but easy-to-bribe police) + the rest of the cast of for me unknowns.Can we today even imagine that there was a time when there wasn't at least one pizza-place within a few blocks?