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Let’s face it. Whether we’re talking about movies, music, books or whatever, we all think we have great taste. Because we only see things from our own perspectives, we usually use our personal tastes as a way to judge quality.

But even so, we all have our guilty pleasures. I’m talking about that song you stop humming when someone walks into the room. Or maybe it’s that movie you claim your significant other dragged you to. Whatever the case, we all have guilty pleasures and that includes me, of course. With this column I’m going to try to encourage people to stop being embarrassed for liking things they normally wouldn’t or that aren’t considered cool. I’m going to do this by celebrating movies that are my personal guilty pleasures.

There are some things that just make it impossible to take someone seriously. If you’re talking to someone wearing a fanny pack or sporting a mullet, chances are you’re going to pretend to listen but really you’ll be snickering to yourself. And when the main character of a movie has one of the most ridiculous and distracting mullets…ever, it’s very understandable that some audiences will find it hard to give that movie a fair chance. This was the case with Joe Dirt, (2001) starring David Spade and directed by Dennie Gordon.

The character’s hairpiece is so ridiculous that at first glance it seems like the movie should have been a very short and bad skit on SNL. And when you see the character tossing said mullet in the air like a girl from a ‘80s music video, it seems that the filmmakers weren’t interested in making a good movie. And this is why Joe Dirt was written off by many people who just saw its trailers. But that’s too bad, because beneath the ridiculous mullet there is pretty funny movie with a likable cast, funny performances, that is - at times - surprisingly moving.

The movie begins with Joe Dirt (David Spade) working as a janitor at a Los Angeles radio station. Joes is not exactly Mr. Popularity at his workplace and everyone gives him a hard time. One day as he’s being bullied, popular DJ Zander Kelly (Dennis Miller) takes notice of Joe. Zander is so taken back by Joe’s appearance that he has to talk to him. In fact Zander is so fascinated that he decides to put Joe on the air to tell his life story.

Not surprisingly, the tone of the radio interview is initially mocking. Zander can’t resist having fun at Joe’s expense and the audience laughs along. But as Joe recounts his story, he slowly wins over the listeners and Zander. They - and hopefully the movie viewers - become emotionally invested in Joe’s journey. And of course as he talks about his life, we get to see things unfold through flashbacks.

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