Dirty Sanchez: Complete Filth

It a well-known fact that humour is an abstract beast that nobody in the universe can hope to understand. That magical spark of comedy can differ from person to person. Imagine you see a spoiled brat of a kid striding down the street eating a cream cake. Lost in their own little world they happen to slip on a banana peel, hit their head on a curb and begin to quiver and cry with pain as cream drips down their face. Do you run over to the poor little sprog and comfort them? Alternatively, do you stand still, point at their ill-fated situation and cackle like a banshee as a dog comes over to lick the cream from their face?

If you are engaged in a conversation down your local pub discussing the nuance of comedy, each person you talk to will have conflicting views on what they found 'funny'. What you and I might find humorous the person next to us might find repulsive. Take the wide-ranging world of stand-up comedy as an example of conflicting tastes. You might love the comedic talents of Frankie Boyle and find him intelligent, witty and edgy while the person next to you might think he's a sarcastic conceited lowlife git who has no understanding of taste or decency. How and why do we come to these conflicting conclusions?

We all have different ideas about what is funny. From someone who revels in the concept of bad taste (John Waters). To someone who relates their own personal (yet painful) experiences of life (Richard Pryor).  To someone who finds humour in the nuances of life (Ricky Gervais). All the way to someone who has a unique view of the world (Steven Wright). To someone who finds it funny to abuse the audience with offensive insults (Roy 'Chubby' Brown).

Comedy is moulded by our disposition, our sub-culture and our experiences.  Humour has many functions (to shock, to challenge, to inform, to repulse) but its core purpose is to make us laugh. The fascination is that not everybody agrees about that vital ingredient of what makes something funny. This confusion of taste brings us full-circle to four morally bankrupt self-injurious pain junkies who sheathe themselves in self-destructive lunacy, relentless pursuits of pain, foolhardy bravery and a burning desire to destroy the boundaries of taste and decency. Their names are Matthew Pitchard, Lee Dainton, Michael Locke (Pancho) and Dan Joyce. Some people call them 'pointless', 'crash', 'vulgar', 'crude', 'puerile' and 'wince-inducing'. My friend in the pub decreed their behaviour as being 'part of the downfall of western civilisation'. This reviewer likes to call them cultural icons for the down and out guttural generation. Their show Dirty Sanchez is hedonistic road kill television with a gross-out punk-rock trash aesthetic.

The program first aired on MTV in 2002 at the height of mental and physical debauchery (that other self-torture reality TV show from America was making millions). So the purveyors of bad taste at MTV Europe decided to commission a British version entitled Dirty Sanchez. The lad's genesis began in the enlightening youth movement of the late 90s when Limp Bizkit, KoRn, Cypress Hill and Rage Against the Machine were corrupting their fragile minds with fiendish music. The four lads were involved with the skateboarding subculture, entering competitions, drinking beer and generally making idiots of themselves with black hoodies and Judas Priest t-shirts.  One of the more progressive members of the group decided to buy a camcorder to film when their 'stunts went wrong'. They thought it would be clever to make an underground amateur video called Pritchard vs. Dainton, where they could challenge each other and make idiots of themselves with their misadventures by editing it together and passing it onto their idiotic friends. As they garnered a level of underground success, they asked their mates Pancho and Joycey to join in on the fun. Somehow, MTV got hold of this video cassette and the rest is history. The world of sophisticated comedy will never be the same again.


Dirty Sanchez is a compendium of chaos. From nailing their bits to wood, naked paintball fights, shooting each other with pallet guns, throwing darts at each other, eating pube pizzas, chewing on stinging nettles, drinking human fat, rubbing Tabasco sauce into their eyes, hitting each other over the head with various objects, fish slapping, skydiving, electrocution, throwing hot wax over each other, being kicked to near death by kung-fu experts, hitting their legs with meat tenderisers, jumping into frozen ice, ripping fish hooks from each other's ears, praying on each other's fears, hurting each other while they sleep, and that's just a taster of the delights from the wonderful world of Sanchez as their DVD boxset 'Complete Filth' will be released on Monday. Remember kids; don't even think about trying this at home, these guys are professional world-class idiots!


The release contains the first four series of Dirty Sanchez and a crappy promotional DVD by Nike called 'Precision meets Punishment'. The discs are packed to the brim with a wonderful array of special features that make this a must for any hardcore fan. Skimming over the basics:-

The Complete 1st Series contains the first 8 episodes of the show that laid the foundations for their maniacal madcap style. It contains an undiluted rawness that is hard to emulate.

The Complete 2nd Series follows the boyos as they try their luck in the world of employment from working as health and beauty professionals, to working on a building site, training in the martial arts, going through the motions of becoming royal marine commandos, training to become fire-fighters and last but not least going all the way to America to become cowboys!

The Complete 3rd Series is an ultra budget six week tour as the boyos invade countries like Scandinavia, Germany, Czech Republic, Greece, Italy and Spain spreading the Sanchez mantra around Europe.

The Complete 4th Series follows the boyos world tour while they were making a movie. The four nutters have to perform stunts around the seven deadly sins in six different countries. They start in England and Wales (Sloth), travel to Russia (Anger), Thailand (Lust and Envy), Japan (Pride), Mexico (Gluttony) and the Dominican Republic (Greed) performing crazy-ass stunts and making complete idiots of themselves.


The major criticism with this release is the omission of their 2008 series Sanchez gets High in which Dainton and Pritchard travel to Brazil, Mexico, Philippines, Australia, Cambodia, South Africa, India and Japan in search for the ultimate high. This series isn't available on DVD (god knows why) however you can watch it if you do a search on YouTube.


Special Features: There's just way too much to mention. Looking at it from a time point-of-view it would take you 12 hours to get through the special features (that's not including the 8 hours worth of episodes). It's great value for money for £34.99. The highlights of this release are the commentary tracks for the 1st series. Dainton, Joyce, Pritchard and Pancho are hilarious! The key to their success is their enduring yet unstable friendship. You feel like you're part of the group too.


Verdict: The best way to describe Dirty Sanchez is to use a schizophrenic array of cultural references: It's like a cross between Dumb and Dumber, Beavis and Butthead, Monty Python, Tom and Jerry Cartoons and National Lampoons Animal House. Pure tasteless delight, the Sanchez boys are legends of gross-out comedy! You know this s*** is Newport!