Dick is a high-concept movie: what if the Watergate
burglary discovery was made possible by two teenagers mailing a
love letter to Bobby Sherman who just happen to bump into Liddy?
What would Nixon do? Why, he would ask them to be his official
dogwalker and secret youth advisers, of course.
The national nightmare has to be over, if it can be fodder for
a genial spoof that might show up on Saturday Night Live: The
Interim (in between Bill Murray and Eddie Murphy).
If you enjoyed Nixon and All the Presidents Men, chances are
you'll sneeze at this little piece of fluff. If you thought the
movies were self-important glumfests, then you might enjoy
director Fleming's take on the period more than I did.
It wasn't all bad. The screenplay moved along nicely. Kirsten
Dunst and Michelle Williams were note perfect as the teens.
Hedaya was a scream as Nixon, and Dave Foley has an incredibly
convincing crewcut as Haldeman. Saul Rubinek's Kissinger routine
is very funny, but he's given nothing to do with it. The Woodward
and Bernstein duo was really weak, more due to bad writing than
their performances. Teri Garr was wasted--and looked it.
The movie looked wonderful, and there really were some very
funny bits that you had to wait for. I particularly enjoyed the
gamut of scowls the girls had to face when their class trip
didn't get to have lunch as they planned.
I didn't so much dislike Dick, rather I thought it
pointless. It wasn't sharp or vicious, it wasn't particularly
clever, and I never really cared for SNL in its glory days, much less
the Interim. If you run across it on HBO and have nothing better
to do, it's certainly not going to ruin your day. Besides,
there's always a chance you'll agree with the many critics who
have raved over it.
The most memorable aspect of the movie was its soundtrack,
which I bought the same day. Lots of fun 70s tunes that I hadn't
heard in a while.
