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Quint learns about and likes DICK
Well, our boy Quint finally set out to learn about DICK, following the example made by Moriarty to examine DICK. Many folks around Quint often accuse him of not knowing DICK, but after today... He can say that he not only knows DICK, but once he got a full hour plus taste of it... He really liked DICK. Oh sure, he says it drug a little here and there, but then... That's part of what knowing about the DICK teaches ya. So without further ado, let's get ready for the impression left on Quint by DICK...
Hey, Harry. Greetings and salutations, constant readers. Quint here once
again with a review of Dick. Alright, stop it. No, I mean it. Stop giggling.
Especially you, Harry. You know I mean the movie. Have you settled down? OK,
now on to business.
Kirsten Dunst and Michelle Williams (of Interview With A Vampire and H20 fame
respectively) star as two blonde ditzes who stumble upon the Watergate
scandal and help bring everything to light... of course, they have no
earthly idea what is going on through most of the movie. Wacky hijinks
abound.
It's a little hard for me to write this review up in any kind of coherent way
because Dick is one of those movies that you really don't feel strongly about
either way. It's not awful, but it's not great. It's not mediocre, either. It
just is, you know. Some of the comedy falls short, but some of it passes with
flying colors, like the Hello Dolly scenes, both the cookies and the musical.
You'll know it when you see it.
The actors were all well cast. Dunst and Williams both pull off their dumb
blonde performances well and believable. Of course that incredibly sexy getup
they wear at the end, briefly glimpsed in the trailer, was well cast, too.
Though, I'd have to put the spotlight on Dan Hedaya as Tricky Dick and SNL's
Will Ferrell and Kids in the Hall's David McCulloch as Woodward and
Bernstein.
Dan Hedaya, probably most known as Alicia Silverstone's dad in Clueless or
the hairy-backed soldier guy from Alien Resurrection, is perfectly cast as
Nixon. Having been a fan of this character actor for years, when I saw the
trailer for Dick, I was just pleased as punch that Hedaya got the title role.
He is just perfect for the role. He physically looks like Nixon and even
though at times over exaggerated, he has the voice down, too.
As for Ferrell and McCulloch, they just explode with chemistry whenever on
screen together. I like the fact that they show Woodward and Bernstein as not
exactly the best of buddies. They play out their characters like bitter
rivals and it provides for great moments in the film. Are they perfect as
Woodward and Bernstein? Yes and no. Yes, because they are the perfect comedy
version of Woodward and Bernstein. No, because Hoffman and Redford perfected
the roles in All the President's Men, the serious version of the Watergate
Scandal.
The bad: the film dragged here and there and some of the jokes just came off
as stupid. The good: some truly hilarious moments, again the Hello Dolly
cookies, and some top notch, for this kind of film anyway, acting. I think
that those who lived through the actual scandal and watched it unfolding
night after night on their TV screens will have the most fun with it. There
was a guy behind me that yelled out the names of all the players in the
scandal as they were introduced on screen. "Ha, it's G. Gordon Liddy!" It
would have been annoying if it wasn't for his enthusiasm.
Being a huge fan of the music of the '70s, I really dug the soundtrack for
this film. A great, non-disco, selection of '70s music. Don't get me wrong, I
don't hate disco, but it's almost a rule now in Hollywood that if your movie
takes place or mentions the '70s in anyway, then you have to put in at least
one Bee Gees song. It's a little refreshing to have a '70s movie with some
good '70s rock and roll for a change. OK, it does have some pop, translated
as The Jackson 5, but I can live with it.
I'd like to take a momentary tangent at this juncture. Care to join me?
Harry brought this subject up in some of his recent reviews, but what's with
the people that want to hate every movie they see. That want to break it down
and only see the flaws? That refuse to have any kind of fun at all. I don't
really see the point. If you won't let yourself have fun with movies like
Deep Blue Sea or Dick, then why go? So you can complain about you wasting
your money? Sure, the probability that two dumb blondes would just happen to
find the CREEP (Campaign to Re-Elect the President) payoff list while taking
a white house tour, then bumping into Nixon and being appointed Presidential
Dog Walkers is about slim to none. Just about the same sort of logic, or lack
thereof, is held in Deep Blue Sea. If there are big, smart, bloodthirsty
killer sharks after your ass, then, when possible, stay away from the water.
But you know what? That makes for a boring movie. Suspension of disbelief is
essential for summer popcorn films like DBS and Dick. If you can't or won't
do it, then it's more your fault than the movie's.
But, all in all, this movie has its laughs, though not as frequently as I
would have preferred. I think you guys will have fun with it, especially
those that remember the time period well. Personally, of the movies opening
this week, having seen Mystery Men, Deep Blue Sea and Dick, Dick comes in
last place, with Deep Blue Sea edging out Mystery Men by high gore points.
What can I say? I have a soft spot for Jaws rip-offs, from Alligator to
Piranha to Blood Beach, one of the worst movies with the best tag line ever.
Just when you thought it was safe to go back into the water, you couldn't get
there! Gotta love it. Anyway, go have fun this weekend. There are three films
coming out that are well worth a matinee price.
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+ Expand All
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He's a good friend of mine. And Quint, YOU'RE NO DICK!!
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The David from Kids in the Hall was David Foley
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I apologize for screwing up Bruce McCulloch's name in the review. I even went to IMDB just to make sure I had the spelling right and I just ended up, for reasons unknown, typing David instead of Bruce. I looked at my notes and saw that I wrote Bruce, but for some reason, possibly brain fart, while I was writing the review I went and put David. To quote Ghostbusters: "Sorry, my fault. I did that!"
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Darth Maul here again... nice review.. I do plan on seeing some Dick this weekend. So Dan Heyeda's Dick is entertaining? That's good. Ok I'll stop now... Nice Review Quint, I totally agree that people should concentrate on going to movies to have fun. That's what movies are all about, right? There is a point where it gets rediculous though... take a movie like The Haunting... ummmm no fun there. People were laughing at it because itw as so stupid and absurd that we were all kinda trying to make light of an otherwise awful moviegoing experience. I'm not one to bitch and moan about movies, but sometimes these summer movies just SUCK. Deep Blue Sea is on the other end of the spectrum. It's really stupid and pointless and actually a pretty bad movie if you THINK about it... but you're not supposed to think about it and it's otherwise a SHITLOAD of fun. If The Haunting was that much fun I'd be a happy camper, but oh well... go see Deep Blue Sea guys, it's great! And I'll go see Dick :)
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I saw it last night at a preview here in Atlanta, and was going to send in a review but I completely agree with yours, Quint. Thanks for saving me the trouble. The movie really works when its placing the girls in the various historical situations. I love the explanation for the missing 18.5 min. on the Nixon tapes. But when it stays from the history stuff the movie drags and isn't funny. I wish they could have stayed away from so many obvious Dick jokes, but when your movie is named Dick, I guess its a prerequisite.
I also enjoyed the soundtrack, especially the appearance of Yes, one of my favorite groups from the period. It was not as cool as their Buffalo 66 appearance, but still well used.
Dick definitely has its moments and is worth seeing, just don't expect to be laughing every minute. -
At least, the preview before American Pie fell as flat as any comedy preview I've ever seen. Dead silence with that "this sucks" vibe. The only real laugh was the first shot of Bruce McCulloch as Bernstein...a LOT of people cracked up. All I can figure is that it's because we're right outside of DC and half of the Watergate players are still actively around. I'll pass, thanks.
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The movie, Dick. The movie.
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When a character in a movie does something incredibly unbelievable, I for one get pissed off. Event Horizon and Godzilla are two prime examples. Why would that girl in Event Horizon chase that little kid when any logical person would run away, and why would a drug store still be open when New York's being destroyed? Do these filmmakers realize these things or just hope the audience is too stupid to notice? When those things happen I usually just turn off and have hatred for the rest of the film, but when a character has intelligence and acts logically then I get emotionally involved in both the plot and the characters. Blowing money on trash only insures that more trash will get made.
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grrrrr....
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