The opposite of “All the President’s Men,” “Dick,” finally explains all of the mysteries surrounding the Watergate crisis, including how duct tape got on the Watergate lock, the identity of Deep Throat, and the origin of the 18 1/2-minute gap on the White House tapes. The fact that Richard M. Nixon’s dog can’t meet him around with love like the Kennedy and Johnson dogs is also revealed; at one point, he growls, “Checkers, shut up! You’ll be fed to the Chinese, I swear! The film is a lively and sarcastic comedy that examines Watergate solely from the perspective of its key players, who are later identified as two 15-year-old girls.
Dick Movie Plot
Best friends Betsy Jobs (Kirsten Dunst) and Arlene Lorenzo (Michelle Williams) live in the Watergate building, and one evening they quietly slip downstairs to send a note to the Bobby Sherman Fan Club. They tape the door lock, a security guard notices it, and the White House burglars are caught inside the Democratic national headquarters.
But that’s not the end of it, I see. When the girls are visiting the White House as a class, they recognize a man from the Watergate scandal. They become split from their group and wander the White House hallways, overhearing meaningful discussions in the Oval Office itself. He is G. Gordon Liddy (Harry Shearer), but they are unaware of this.
Concerned with how much they may well have heard, President Nixon (Dan Hedaya, who is hilarious) puts on an act of fake cheer: “Would you want to walk the dogs at the White House, young ladies? As they call each day to walk Checkers, they begin to suspect that things are not as they ought to be in the White House. The storyline explains how they came to be known as Deep Throat, why John Dean had a conscience crisis, and why their cover of Olivia Newton-“In John’s Rosemary Woods’ desk drawer, a tape with the song “I Honestly Love You” was found.
Yes, the apple-cheeked girl with the happy smile, Arlene, starts to have feelings for Nixon. The dream scenario when he rides up to her on the shore on a white charger is amusing, but the classroom scene where, like countless other adolescent girls before her, she tests out a husband’s surname by writing it in her notepad is more hilarious.
Dick Movie Cast
- Kirsten Dunst as Betsy Jobs
- Michelle Williams as Arlene Lorenzo
- Dan Hedaya as President Richard “Dick” Nixon
- Bruce McCulloch as Carl Bernstein
- Will Ferrell as Bob Woodward
- Saul Rubinek as Henry Kissinger
- Teri Garr as Helen Lorenzo
- Dave Foley as H. R. Haldeman
- Harry Shearer as G. Gordon Liddy
- Ted McGinley as Roderick
- Karl Pruner as Frank Jobs
- Devon Gummersall as Larry Jobs
- Jim Breuer as John Dean
- G. D. Spradlin as Ben Bradlee
- Ryan Reynolds as Chip
- French Stewart as The Interviewer
Dick Movie Making
The film “Dick,” which was directed by Andrew Fleming and scripted by Fleming and Sheryl Longin, strikes the ideal satirical tone: As the girls, who are hardly geniuses, stumble upon one damning secret after another, they are not shrill or weird, but rather kind of honest and purposeful. Their drive appears to come from typical adolescent traits like curiosity, idealism, and romanticism.
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On the other side, Will Ferrell and Bruce McCulloch’s portrayals of the campaigning journalists Woodward and Bernstein (Woodward as a self-important totem pole and Bernstein as an insecure runt) are portrayed more broadly. Their Watergate coverage, which appears so impressive from the outside, is actually the product of two ambitious reporters who are on a power trip and who believe whatever the young ditzos tell them. They are always attempting to take the phone away from one another. This kind of comedy requires timing, creativity, and a positive skepticism about human nature. Compared to the disgusting insult comedy of many other summer comedies, it is wiser and more evil.
Dick Movie Review
Think about the moment in which the girls unintentionally use a hidden medicinal ingredient from their brother’s cache to bake cookies, which they then bring to Nixon, who gives one to Leonid Brezhnev, whose demeanor is so changed that Nixon tells them.
The president played by Hedaya resembles Richard Nixon somewhat, and the similarity in a public image is uncanny as he bemoans his opponents, anxieties, and dog to Henry Kissinger (Saul Rubinek). As his administration crumbles around him, he becomes resentful and eventually turns to liquor and finger-pointing. Meanwhile, even the devoted Arlene loses interest in him.
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Will the movie appeal to younger Kirsten Dunst fans who don’t remember Watergate? I believe it does since it provides all the facts the audience actually needs to know. Older audiences, however, will appreciate the number of cross-references because they relate to instances like when the Plumbers offer Nixon a menu of nefarious tactics. “Dick” is a cunning little comedic gem.
