Release Date: August 4, 1999
Starring: Kirsten Dunst, Michelle Williams, Dan Hedaya, Will Ferrell, Bruce McCulloch, Dave Foley, Jim Breuer
Directed by: Andrew Fleming
Distributed by: Sony Pictures Entertainment
MPAA Rating: PG-13 (sex-related humor, drug content, language)
Idiot humor is one of the guilty pleasures of sketch comedy, designed to elicit quick laughs on the premise that the majority (if not the entirety) of the viewing audience is smarter than the character at hand. The character's own actions and dialogue are the expense of the laughter. Done correctly, this sort of thing is a welcome addition to any parody or satire.
Take Forrest Gump, for instance, in which Tom Hanks plays an idiot from Alabama who perseveres through life on wisdom from his mother and ends up influencing or being part of every major event in history in the last quarter of the twentieth century. This is the same sort of historical misadventure that director Andrew Fleming wants to create in his latest comedy, Dick, albeit on a much smaller scale. However, Dick lacks the decisive charm and feel-good message of Forrest Gump, as well as the intelligence, foresight, and depth. Put simply, Dick is a lighthearted affair that falls flat on its face.
The story is riddled with many implausible situations: two girls (Michelle Williams and Kirsten Dunst), ditzy airheads from head to toe, stumble upon the Watergate scandal and are made official White House dog-walkers for their troubles. Their constant presence in the president's home gives way to the allowance that sooner or later they're going to stumble upon something: eventually they come into possession of some of Nixon's secret tapes and send transcripts to reporters at the Washington Post.
A lot of comedy is inherent in this story, but unfortunately, none of it is ever used. Fleming, who co-wrote the script with Sheryl Longin, has no taste for anything original, witty, or sharp -- at his best he invents clever ways to explain away idiosyncrasies of the Watergate scandal and the Nixon administration. (For example, Nixon's famed pose of holding up two peace signs is attributed to a casual conversation with one of the girls in which she uses the same gesture.) As Nixon, Dan Hedaya is uncharacteristically bland, and while he does a serviceable job of portraying the late former President, he could have gone much farther over the top.
Leads Williams and Dunst are also a disappointment, although their roles leave them little to work with. In fact, the only moments of comedy come from the supporting roles of Post writers Bob Woodward (Will Ferrell) and Carl Bernstein (Bruce McCulloch). These two have got their game on, making the most of two small roles by injecting enthusiasm and shtick into the parts.
The poor performance of the acting corps stumbles through a muddled storyline which transitions itself awkwardly from out-and-out comedy to a bit of a suspense feel. Fleming can't tell which one he wants, though, because the final product is a mess across the board. This is one comedy that should've been cut in its early stages of development, because there's not much money to be made on something as bad as this.
all contents © 1999 Craig Roush