Cast
Betsy Jobs (Kirsten Dunst)
Arlene Lorenzo (Michelle Williams)
Dick (Dan Hedaya)
Bob Woodward (Will Ferrell)
Carl Bernstein (Bruce McCullock)
G. Gordon Litty (Harry Shearer)
Henry Kissinger (Saul Rubinek)
H.R. "Bob" Haldeman (Dave Foley)
John Dean (Jim Breuer)
Rose Mary Woods (Ana Gasteyer)
Directed by Andrew Fleming Written by Andrew Fleming and Sheryl
Longin Rated PG-13 for sex-related humor, drug content, and
language
Running Time: 90 minutes Distributed by Columbia
Dick
is a funny and well-written comedy. The film is a comedic
satire of one's depiction of what really happened in the Watergate
scandal. Two best friends, Betsy Jobs (Dunst) and Arlene Lorenzo
(Williams), reveal the mysteries that were never solved. The
film is a great mix of politics, scandals, and comedy involving
President Richard "Dick" Nixon (Hedaya) and his staff in the
70's. Betsy and Arlene are two typical 15 year-old airheads
that have witnessed some of the crimes, but are too dumb to
even know what is going on with go. Dick decides to try and
keep them quiet by making the girls official White House dog
walkers. After becoming official White House dog walkers,
the two friends find out more and more about Dick and Watergate.
Thus, leading the two friends to becoming involved in all
the unknown mysteries revolving around the Watergate scandals.
Dick
is a smart and fun movie to watch. It does have its stupid
moments with the two airheaded teenagers, but it is so accurate
with the events in the Watergate scandal. Dick is a spoof
of the 1976 film All the President's Men mixed with pieces
of the 1995 film Clueless. All the President's Men is a film
of the true story of the two Washington Post reporters that
cracked the Watergate crimes. The two reporters, Bob Woodward
(Ferrell) and Carl Bernstein (McCullock) are depicted hilariously
in Dick. One of the biggest mysteries in United States history
is who was "Deep Throat", which was supposedly the unknown
source for Woodward that became pivotal in cracking the scandal.
Of course in the Dick, "Deep Throat" is Betsy and Arlene.
The
acting in Dick is well done. Dunst and Williams looked to
have matured by taking a smarter movie, rather than maybe
doing a blockbuster. Will Ferrell and Bruce McCullock are
outstanding as Woodward and Bernstein. McCullock's gestures
and wavy hair moments are classic. Dave Foley is hysterical
as Dick's right hand man in the oval office, H.R. "Bob" Haldeman.
The brightspot in the film however, is the performance by
Dan Hedaya as Dick. Hedaya does an amazing job resembling
President Nixon, his little quirks are totally accurate to
Nixon, who was a character himself.
Dick was directed and co-written by Andrew Fleming. Fleming
previous feature film was the dark witch story, The Craft.
Fleming does a great job of mixing the accurate events and
mysteries surrounding the White house in the 70's, in addition
with a Saturday Night Live or Mad TV type of humor.
I
believe that older audiences that lived through and remembered
Richard Nixon will relate to this film the most. I was not
born yet when the scandals happen, but I have learned a lot
about it. I suggest to watch All the President's Men and Nixon
before going to see Dick, it will be a lot funnier.
Overall,
Dick is a sharp comedy that is a lot better than what its
title sounds like. If you like political comedies and crazy
Saturday Night Live related spoofs, then you will really enjoy
Dick.
Report
Card Grade: B
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