| Dick | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | Andrew Fleming |
| Written by |
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| Produced by | Gale Anne Hurd |
| Starring | |
| Cinematography | Alexander Gruszynski |
| Edited by | Mia Goldman |
| Music by | John Debney |
Production companies | |
| Distributed by | Sony Pictures Releasing[1] |
Release date |
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Running time | 94 minutes |
| Countries | |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $13 million[2] |
| Box office | $6.3 million[2] |
| Watergate scandal |
|---|
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| Events |
| People |
Intelligence community |
Related
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Dick is a 1999alternate historycomedy film[3] directed byAndrew Fleming, co-written by Fleming and Sheryl Longin, and starringKirsten Dunst,Michelle Williams, andDan Hedaya. It portrays a comic reimagining of theWatergate scandal which ended the presidency ofRichard Nixon, in which two warm-hearted but unworldly 15-year-old friends, who—through various arbitrary circumstances—become the legendary "Deep Throat" figure who played a key role in bringing downthe presidency of Nixon. At the time of the film's release, the real identity of Deep Throat was not yet known to the public.
The film features several cast members fromSaturday Night Live andThe Kids in the Hall,[4] and includes fictionalized portrayals of U.S. historical and political figures involved in the Watergate scandal, includingHenry Kissinger,Bob Woodward,Carl Bernstein,H. R. Haldeman,John Dean,G. Gordon Liddy, andRose Mary Woods.
Released in the summer of 1999 bySony Pictures Releasing under theColumbia Pictures label,Dick was abox-office bomb, grossing $6.3 million against a $13 million budget,[2] though it received largely favorable reviews from film critics. In the years following its release, the film went on to develop acult following.[5]
Betsy Jobs and Arlene Lorenzo are two sweet-natured, ditzy teenagers living inWashington, D.C., in 1972. Betsy comes from a wealthyGeorgetown family, while Arlene lives with her widowed mother in an apartment in theWatergate building.
On the night of the Watergate break-in, the girls sneak out of Arlene's home to mail a letter to enter a contest to win a date with teen idol singerBobby Sherman. They sneak through the parking garage by taping the latch of a door, accidentally causing the break-in to be discovered. Seen byG. Gordon Liddy, they panic and run. The security guard is startled by the taped door and calls the police, who immediately arrest the burglars.
The next day, at theWhite House on a school tour, they happen across Liddy again. They do not recognize him, but he recognizes them and becomes suspicious. He points them out toH. R. Haldeman, who interrogates them. Their conversation (revealing the girls do not think about the president much) is interrupted by a phone call from his wife, and then byPresident Nixon himself, who takes Haldeman aside to complain about the bugging operation being fouled up.
The girls are awestruck at being in the same room as Nixon – but more so at being able to play with his dog, which gives him an idea. To keep their silence, he appoints them his official dogwalkers – which means they must be admitted repeatedly to the White House. On these visits they accidentally influence major events such as theVietnam peace process and the Nixon–Brezhnev accord, by bringing along cookies that they have inadvertently bakedmarijuana into.
Later, when Betsy's brother, Larry, reveals the cookies' "secret ingredient" and hears the President ate them, he concludes that this explains Nixon's paranoia. The girls become familiar with the Nixon administration's key players, includingHenry Kissinger, and accidentally learn the major secrets of theWatergate scandal.
Arlene, previously infatuated with Bobby Sherman, now falls equally hard for the president. Just after reading an18½-minute message of love into his tape recorder, she plays back another part of the tape, hears his coarse, brutal rantings, and realizes his true nature. When they confront Nixon, he fires and threatens them.
They now reevaluate what they have learned and decide to reveal everything to the "radical muckraking bastards" (Nixon's words) atThe Washington Post,Bob Woodward andCarl Bernstein. So they become informants: two 15-year-old girls are the true identity of the famousDeep Throat (Betsy's brother had just been caught watching thefilm of the same name).
Woodward and Bernstein – portrayed as petty, childish, and incompetent – are naturally skeptical of the two girls. To make matters worse, their only piece ofphysical evidence, a list of names of those involved from theCommittee to Re-Elect the President, is eaten by Betsy's dog.
Nixon's men realize the girls are a real threat and attempt tactics such asbugging andundercover agents to discover what they know, going so far as to break into Betsy's house and plant an agent as Arlene's mother's boyfriend. Eventually pushed to the limit after being chased by the Watergate"plumbers", they decide to take action.
Sneaking into Haldeman's house, the girls find and take a crucialtape recording. They give a transcription of it to Woodward and Bernstein (keeping the tape as a "souvenir"), thus ending Nixon's political career. Nixon finds Arlene's message on his tape and erases it, reasoning that he would be "crucified" if it was perceived that he had an affair with a 15-year-old girl.
Following his resignation, as his helicopter flies over Betsy's house, the girls hold up a sign with the phrase "You suck, Dick", further angering the now ex-president.
Writers Andrew Fleming and Sheryl Longin attempted to write several different scripts with teenage girls as protagonists. The idea of using the Watergate scandal came from a real-life experience Longin had with Nixon when her family stayed at the same hotel as Nixon. As a child, she and a friend pelted Nixon with ice cubes, causing a minor disturbance. Fleming said that he was surprised at the attempts to rehabilitate Nixon's image, and Longin cited the Watergate scandal as a defining political moment for their generation. She said she channeled the resulting anger and cynicism into the script. Several people told the duo that various gags went too far. Fleming, who believed Nixon got off easily, said they fought to keep everything.
Fleming and Longin approachedBen Bradlee andJohn Dean to play themselves, but both declined.[6] Fleming cast Dunst based on her performance inInterview with the Vampire (1994).[7] Fleming recalled of pairing Dunst and Michelle Williams: "Michelle and Kirsten did a little session together, and they were just hilarious and adorable and good. It took a long time to get the script sold and together, and then [the film itself] came together very, very quickly because Michelle had to go back toDawson’s Creek."[7]
Principal photography ofDick took place in the summer of 1998 in theToronto area,[8] with some additional photography occurring in Washington, D.C.
Sony's marketing research indicated teenage girls were the film's biggest demographic, so promotional material focused on Dunst and Williams instead of the political aspects.[6]Dick was released in the United States on August 4, 1999.[1]
On December 14, 1999,[9]Dick was released onVHS andDVD byColumbia TriStar Home Video.[nb 1] Eighteen years later, on November 6, 2018,[11] it was released onBlu-ray[12] bySony Pictures Home Entertainment.
Dick was abox-office bomb.[13] It earned $2,210,267 during its opening weekend in the United States across 1,522 theaters,[14] By the end of its theatrical run, it grossed a total of $6,262,878[14] against a $13 million budget.[2]
On thereview aggregator websiteRotten Tomatoes, 72% of 74 critics' reviews are positive. The website's consensus reads: "A clever, funny slice ofalternate history,Dick farcically re-imagines the Watergate era and largely succeeds, thanks to quirky, winning performances from Michelle Williams, Kirsten Dunst and Will Ferrell."[15]Metacritic, which uses aweighted average, assigned the film a score of 65 out of 100, based on 21 critics, indicating "generally favorable" reviews.[16]
Leonard Maltin gave the film three stars, calling it a "clever cross ofClueless andAll the President’s Men".[17]Todd McCarthy, in his review forVariety, called it an "audacious, imaginative political comedy" that will appeal more to adults than teenagers.[18]Stephen Holden ofThe New York Times described it as "an uproariously dizzy satire" that was inspired by theLewinsky scandal.[19]Roger Ebert awarded the film 3.5 out of 4 stars, praising the historical references and performance, adding: "Comedy like this depends on timing, invention and a cheerful cynicism about human nature. [Dick] is wiser and more wicked than the gross-out insult humor of many of the summer’s other comedies."[20]
Writing for theLos Angeles Times,Kevin Thomas said the film "is so sharp and funny it should appeal to all ages".[21] Rita Kempley ofThe Washington Post described it as "more fun than you ever thought you'd have with Richard Nixon".[22] The film's acting received critical commentary. Thomas positively compared Hedaya's performance toAnthony Hopkins inNixon,[21] and Kempley called Hedaya "no less adept" than Hopkins.[22] Holden wrote that Hedaya's portrayal of Nixon is "the year's funniest film caricature".[19] Thomas called Dunst and Williams "a constant delight".[21]
| Year | Award | Category | Subject | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | Satellite Awards | Best Motion Picture, Comedy or Musical | Dick | Nominated |
| Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role, Comedy or Musical | Dan Hedaya | Nominated | ||
| Young Artist Awards | Best Performance in a Feature Film - Leading Young Actress | Michelle Williams | Nominated | |
| YoungStar Award | Best Young Actress/Performance in a Motion Picture Comedy | Kirsten Dunst | Nominated |
| Original Motion Picture Soundtrack: Dick | |
|---|---|
| Soundtrack album by various artists | |
| Released | 1999 |
| Recorded | Ocean Way,Nashville (track 1 only) |
| Genre | 1970spopular music |
| Length | 50:29 |
| Label | Virgin |
| Producer | Ralph Sall |
All sixteen compositions areTop 40hit songs from the 1970s, but two were not recorded until after the Watergate scandal had ended.[23] They are "Lady Marmalade" and "Dancing Queen", which were released three months and two years later, respectively.Sixpence None the Richer'scover version of the latter song is the album's opening track and the only one recorded for the film.
Captain & Tennille's "Love Will Keep Us Together" had been considered for use in the film, but the politically conservativeDaryl Dragon andToni Tennille did not appreciate the film's irreverence and denied the rights to their cover.Led Zeppelin's "Over the Hills and Far Away" was originally intended to accompany the closing scene, but Fleming eventually realizedCarly Simon's "You're So Vain" was a better fit and used it instead.[4]
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Performer | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Dancing Queen" | Benny Andersson,Björn Ulvaeus,Stig Anderson | Sixpence None the Richer | 4:00 |
| 2. | "ABC" | Berry Gordy,Deke Richards,Alphonzo Mizell andFreddie Perren | The Jackson 5 | 2:57 |
| 3. | "Crocodile Rock" | Elton John,Bernie Taupin | Elton John | 3:53 |
| 4. | "Lady Marmalade" | Bob Crewe,Kenny Nolan | Labelle | 3:19 |
| 5. | "Rock On" | David Essex | David Essex | 3:24 |
| 6. | "Hooked on a Feeling" | Mark James | Blue Swede | 2:51 |
| 7. | "Popcorn" | Gershon Kingsley | Hot Butter | 2:31 |
| 8. | "Rock Your Baby" | Harry Wayne Casey,Richard Finch | George McCrae | 3:18 |
| 9. | "Love's Theme" | Barry White | The Love Unlimited Orchestra | 3:33 |
| 10. | "Mr. Big Stuff" | Joseph Broussard, Carrol Washington, Ralph George Williams | Jean Knight | 2:28 |
| 11. | "The Loco-Motion" | Gerry Goffin,Carole King | Grand Funk Railroad | 2:45 |
| 12. | "Come and Get Your Love" | Lolly Vegas | Redbone | 3:32 |
| 13. | "Coconut" | Harry Nilsson | Harry Nilsson | 3:46 |
| 14. | "Brother Louie" | Errol Brown,Tony Wilson | Stories | 3:55 |
| 15. | "You’re So Vain" | Carly Simon | Carly Simon | 4:17 |
