Film

Dick

Name: Dick
Genre: Comedy, Adventure
Released: 1999
Cast: Kirsten Dunst, Michelle Williams, Dan Hedaya, Will Ferrell, Bruce McCulloch

Parody
Light-hearted

Andrew Fleming's *Dick* is a deranged '70s comedy that reimagines Watergate through the eyes of two giggling teenage girls who accidentally become Nixon's confidantes. It's absurdist, gleefully anachronistic, and plays like a fever dream of '90s Nickelodeon energy filtered through presidential scandal. For anyone who loves comedy that swings for the fences.

TMDb rating

3.0

Should you watch it?

Watch it if you enjoy sharp, deadpan satire that treats one of history's grimmest scandals as a playground for teenage cheek and gleefully silly set pieces, in the spirit of Airplane! wearing a Nixon mask.

Skip it if you want Watergate handled with gravity or a comedy that builds through character, since this one runs on quick gags and a loose, scattershot energy that can feel thin at times.

What it asks of you: It runs a brisk ninety-four minutes and rarely pauses, so you need to be willing to go along with broad, cheeky jokes rather than waiting for depth to arrive.

Not sure? Find tonight's pick in a minute.

If you liked this

The Post2017

Meryl Streep and Tom Hanks navigate the Pentagon Papers and Nixon-era government secrecy with intelligence and warmth. A straight-faced, grown-up examination of the same era that *Dick* explodes into chaos.

But It's earnest and procedural—the opposite of *Dick's* manic energy. If you need constant jokes, you'll feel the dramatic heaviness.

Hairspray2007

John Waters' energy filtered through a big-hearted teen comedy with an ensemble cast revelling in the excess and absurdity of a specific era. Same DNA of joyful period comedy anarchy.

But The musical-theatre heaviness won't appeal to everyone. It's committed to the bit in a way that can feel exhausting.

Election1999

Alexander Payne's savage comedy about high-school politics and the adults who take them too seriously. Wicked and smart, with Reese Witherspoon giving a performance that somehow makes you hate and love her character.

But It's meaner-spirited than *Dick*. The comedy punches down at its characters in ways that don't always feel generous.

Not sure tonight? Get a pick in a minute, starting from Dick

The wildcard

Something you would not have found on your own.

Network1976

Both use period settings and real historical moments as scaffolding for satirical chaos about power and how the public is duped. The Watergate era seen as both comedy and catastrophe.

Sidney Lumet's prophetic satire about media, performance, and the American power structure is relentless and visionary. Peter Finch's meltdown is one of cinema's great scenes. It's *Dick's* furious older sibling.

But It's from 1976, in black-and-white, and takes itself seriously. If you need *Dick's* playfulness, this will feel like being lectured at.

Wet Hot American Summer2001

David Wain's absurdist summer-camp comedy built on non-sequiturs and committed weirdness. Every scene is packed with bizarre jokes and a cast that understood they were making something wonderfully unhinged.

But The humour is scattershot. Not every joke lands, and some scenes drag. It values chaos over coherence.

Clueless1995

Amy Heckerling's perfect teen comedy that uses its high-school setting to comment on class, fashion, and morality with actual intelligence. Witty, warm, and genuinely clever about how teenage girls navigate the world.

But It's a '90s time capsule that's started to feel a little dated. The romance plot is conventional compared to *Dick's* weirdness.

Mean Girls2004

Tina Fey and Mark Waters made a teen comedy that's actually about something—social hierarchies, female cruelty, complicity. Smart and funny without winking at its audience.

But It's the obvious choice. It's been everywhere and imitated to death. There's nothing surprising left in it for most people.

Heathers1989

A pitch-black teen comedy that deconstructs the high-school movie while being genuinely hilarious and genuinely dark. Winona Ryder and Christian Slater commit fully to the chaos.

But It's much darker than *Dick*—people actually die, the stakes feel real. If you want pure comedy lightness, this will unsettle you.

Freaky Friday2003

Mark Waters again, but here making a body-swap comedy that's funny for adults and kids. Lindsay Lohan and Jamie Lee Curtis both go for it, and the film's got genuine heart underneath the premise.

But It's warm and family-friendly in ways that might feel saccharine if you're in the mood for something weirder. There's no edge here.

Grease 21982

Michelle Pfeiffer in a sequel that nobody asked for, made with strange confidence and genuine musical-theatre commitment. It's camp and weird in ways that shouldn't work but somehow do.

But It's genuinely confusing and the musical numbers are odd. You have to be in the mood to let it wash over you without asking questions.

Veep2012

Same era, same targets. *Dick* giggles at Watergate; *Veep* screams at modern politics. One is teenage glee, one is adult horror, but they're raging at the same machine.

Armando Iannucci's HBO series about American political incompetence is relentless, foul-mouthed, and brilliant. Seven seasons of characters destroying themselves through ego and stupidity. Julia Louis-Dreyfus is extraordinary.

But It's a grind—the comedy is built on humiliation and failure in every scene. There's no warmth. After a few episodes, the bleakness can feel punishing.

A Serious Man2009

Both films use a very specific historical moment and era-appropriate details as cover for deeper anxiety about meaning and authority. *Dick* does it with laughter; *A Serious Man* does it with vertigo.

The Coen Brothers made a black comedy about a Jewish physicist in 1960s Minnesota watching his life collapse in absurd, bureaucratic detail. Michael Stuhlbarg is extraordinary. It's dread and jokes operating at the same frequency.

But It's deliberately obtuse and offers no resolution. The jokes don't land in comfortable places. You'll leave unsettled rather than entertained.