While mailing a love letter to '70s heartthrob Bobby Sherman, two high school blondes witness the Watergate break-in and, as part of the cover-up, are given jobs as "official White House dog-walkers & youth advisers." As Nixon replaces Bobby Sherman in their hero worship, they become caught up in the shredding, the bugging, the payoffs, and the President's dislike of dogs. An absurdly fascinating premise starts off as well as "The President's Analyst" and promises just as much before losing its way & crossing the fine line into silliness. Dunst, who has the potential of Audrey Hepburn, brings grace, poise & even dignity to the role of twiggy airhead Betsy. Williams has the more interesting role of Arlene, whose unrequited love & heartbreaking loss frame much of the story. The film's strength is the surprising depth of the two girls, who could easily have been caricatures of shallow American teenagers from any generation, and the talent of the two young stars who bring them to life. It's interesting that the film resists the temptation to throw in one or more male love interests, taking the story away from the girls but possibly bringing in the ticket sales that this film deserved but didn't get. Hedaya nearly steals the show as Nixon, fine-tuning the character to stop short of a parody but not scaring us the way Anthony Hopkins did. Arlene's fantasy beach dance with him is a comedy classic, as is the "background check" in which the girls learn, to their horror, that the White House knows all about their overdue library books. When Woodward & Bernstein arrive, the film loses its way. The reporters immortalized by Hoffman & Redford are portrayed as selfish, bumbling nerds--about all the acting range that Ferrell has, anyway--which sadly lowers the film's satirical credibility. The accomplished, talented Teri Garr makes no impact here as Arlene's deliberately clueless mother. "Dick" makes use of light sexual innuendo worthy of a Marx Brothers film. Perhaps, if this had been cruder, it would have brought in more teenaged boys. The title is of course a play on both Nixon's first name and the moniker of the secret source, taken from the first mainstream porn movie, and the dialog makes hilarious use of both. It's easy to see why "Dick" is a marketing challenge: it's too deep for a light chick flick, too light for a satire, both too cute & too sophisticated for a teen movie, with no sex and little action. But it is an original, if not daring effort, so the makers & cast deserve much credit for the effort. The delightful ending of "Dick" redeems much of its faults, but it seems that too few viewers were willing to hang around for that privilege.
Review of Dick
