he year is 1975 and eight-year-old Joe Dirt is dumpster-diving at a Grand Canyon tourist stop. Emerging from the garbage, Joe realizes his parents are gone.

  Fast forward to 1994, where Joe, played by comedian David Spade (Tommy Boy and TV's Just Shoot Me), is working as a janitor at a top L.A. radio station. With a wildly out of date shag hairdo, acid washed jeans and a jacked up economy car, Joe is a prime target for ridicule by the radio station's shock jock Zander Kelly (Dennis Miller).

  One day Zander invites Joe to his morning show for a quick on-air interview where he proceeds to tell the tale of his bizarre life and the search for his parents. Captivated by his hilarious and often sad story, listeners begin to tune in daily to hear about Joe's stint as an alligator wrestler, his capture by a cannibalistic psycho and his other adventures.

  During his search for his folks, the eternally optimistic Joe is befriended by a strange cast of characters, including a high school janitor (Christopher Walken), an alligator trainer (Rosanna Arquette), a fireworks salesman (Adam Beach), the beautiful Brandy (Brittany Daniels) and his rival for her affection - Robby (Kid Rock).

 		actors
David Spade
Dennis Miller
Christopher Walken
Rosanna Arquette
Brittany Daniels
Kid Rock

director
Dennie Gordon

location
Los Angeles, California

outtake
One of David Spade's more daring scenes took place on a mock oil rig built in the desert outside L.A. He gets soaked with oil in the scene, which was shot in 110 degree heat. The spewing oil was made of chocolate syrup, glycerin and water.
  With so much publicity it is only a matter of time before the radio listeners join in to help Joe unearth the mystery of his parents' disappearance.

  "Joe Dirt is this plucky, brave, upbeat, nothing-gets-him-down guy," says director Dennie Gordon, who makes her feature film debut with Joe Dirt after directing such television series as Ally McBeal, The Practice and Chicago Hope.

  "I walked on coals to get this movie," says Gordon, who was excited about working with Spade, who co-wrote the original screenplay, as well as
Adam Sandler, who serves as an executive producer.

  "This is a role David Spade was born to play," adds Gordon. "David has this inherent sweetness that a lot of people haven't seen because his characters are kind of satirical and caustic."

  The movie co-stars fellow Saturday Night Live alumni Miller. "There's not many comedians that I would just go to and say, "Do whatever you want," says Spade. "I just ad-libbed with him and he drilled me. We got so much stuff from him."

  Joe Dirt also marks the big screen debut of Kid Rock. Gordon says she told him he would play a white trash guy, "who drives a big old honkin' Trans Am. You're the man for the part and you will kill. This is the role for you." He responded with, "All right."

  The Emmy winning Spade says this is the first time he has ever played a character that was likeable. "It's a big switch for me. I think it's fun for people to see something different," he says.

  "I mean here's a guy that's just trying to be a good guy and he's not mean to
people and he's not sarcastic. I think kids need to see the message there. Don't be a quitter. Work hard and get what you want."

  As Joe Dirt would say, "Life's a garden, dig it."

- Robin Stevenson