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Unless you've grown nostalgically fond of Richard Nixon the past few years, you'll enjoy the satirical Dick. It'll help if you experienced the Watergate years personally, and have seen All the President's Men, but the film can stand on its own. You just won't understand all the references in the funniest comedy that I've seen since Blazing Saddles. (I'm talking about actual audible laughs here as opposed to numerous smiles and chuckles in films like Fargo and Election.)
I first suspected that I was going to enjoy Dick when the film began with a close-up of a typewriter (a la All the President's Men) that very slooooowly and inaccurately pecked out "1972" over the Jackson 5 tune "ABC." It turns out that two 15-year-old airheaded teens, Betsy (Kirsten Dunst) and Arlene (Michelle Williams), are laboriously creating a fan letter to Bobby Sherman. Since they live in the Watergate Hotel and have to sneak downstairs to mail their letter before midnight, the teens become embroiled in the biggest presidential scandal of the century.
And wouldn't you know that it all starts with the girls' use of duct tape! Betsy and Arlene soon run into Gordon Liddy (Harry Shearer) on the stairs, and they assume, after the police arrive, that he must be a jewel thief. During a school field trip, the girls are ushered into the West Wing and become President Nixon's official White House dog-walkers since Checkers doesn't seem to like the big guy anymore, but loves the girls.
Dick hilariously explains all the mysteries and musings we've had about the President most of us learned to hate and about the whole bungled Watergate affair. For instance:
- Who was Deep Throat—could it be that Woodward and Bernstein are still keeping this secret for their own protection? After all, their Pulitzer Prize might look a little ridiculous if we realized their secret source.
- Why was Nixon so paranoid—could it be that it has something to do with those special cookies that he ate?
- Why did Nixon end the war in Vietnam so suddenly—is it possible that he finally listened to a secret youth committee?
- What about that 18.5-minute gap in the Watergate tapes? Perhaps Nixon was really hiding a silly teen-girl's fantasy.
These and many more Watergate puzzles are smartly spoofed in the intelligent script by director Andrew Fleming and writer Sheryl Longin. As good as the writing is, it could fall flat without the proper timing and characterizations. The execution is nearly perfect—One scene with flawless timing and editing is near the end, during Nixon's exit from the White House, done to Carly Simon's "You're So Vain." The lyrics, coupled with the close-ups of the famous Nixon scowl as he strides towards the helicopter, cause me to laugh again as I peck on the keyboard.
The casting is ingenious.
The two lead girls are very likable despite their goofiness, and they carry the movie well. Dan Hedaya actually looks a bit like Nixon and perfectly caricatures the popular cultural views we have of the troubled President—with his social awkwardness, cluelessness, paranoia, and vindictiveness.
One of the better scenes occurs after Betsy and Arlene have discovered that Nixon has cursed his dog and badmouthed Jews. As they discussed their disillusionment with Nixon, my jaw dropped when the writers picked up on the infamous Nixon enemies' list with their excessive background checks. The President knows about Arlene's "strictly small-time" unknown father and even knows about their overdue library books. Righteously, the girls quit their dog-walking jobs because they know the President is a "bad man" who has kicked Checkers, is prejudiced, and has "a potty mouth." Hedaya's frustrated, angry reaction recaptures the worst qualities we imagined Nixon to have.
The supporting casting is right on too. Dave Foley and Jim Breuer portray Bob Halderman and John Dean extremely well, and Saul Rubinek could be mistaken for Henry Kissinger himself if Kissinger walked out on the street.
There are cultural aspects of the 1970s that are priceless as well. I expected the mod fashions to be incorporated, but was pleasantly surprised to hear the Charmin commercial replayed on the TV. Also, the schoolteachers of the period are briefly surveyed. On one extreme, we see the old-line traditional teacher who doesn't believe the "lies" of the girls and punishes the whole class by skipping the eagerly anticipated McDonald's lunch for cold sack lunches. The other extreme is the younger black teacher who exhorts his students to express themselves and thinks Betsy's story about the White House is "far out."
The only reservations I have that might turn off some viewers rest mostly in the viewer's sense of humor. This is satire. If you don't like satire or if you have deep respect for Richard Nixon, you may find this movie uncomfortable. Additionally, this comedy does require knowledge of the historical era, so I'd recommend viewing All the President's Men before viewing Dick.
A smaller quibble could be for the use of the title to gain a few cheap laughs. I expected to hear some references, but the second one fell very flatly. But this is a minute reservation to an otherwise brilliant comedy. Just don't take this seriously. Wasn't that one of Nixon's problems, anyway?
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