Dick

Dick was released on August 4, 1999. The film was directed by Andrew Fleming from a script he co-wrote with Sheryl Longin. It is a comic reimagining of the Watergate scandal which ended the presidency of Richard Nixon. It starred Kirsten Dunst and Michelle Williams star as Betsy and Arlene, two warm-hearted but unworldly 15-year-old friends, who – through various arbitrary circumstances – become the legendary "Deep Throat" figure who played a key role in bringing down the presidency of Nixon (played by Dan Hedaya). At the time of the film's release, the real identity of Deep Throat was not yet known to the public. In 2005, six years after this movie was made, the true identity of "Deep Throat" was revealed to be Mark Felt, an FBI agent during the time of the Watergate scandal. Teri Garr, Will Ferrell, Dave Foley, Ryan Reynolds, Bruce McCulloch, Harry Shearer, Ana Gasteyer, Saul Rubinek, Ted McGinley and G. D. Spradlin were also in the cast. Kirsten Dunst and Michelle Williams felt that Dan Hedaya was exaggerating his part as former President Richard Nixon. The pair were born after Nixon's administration. The older people working on the set assured the pair Hedaya was not overacting.

Writers Andrew Fleming and Sheryl Longin attempted to write several different scripts with teenage girls as protagonists. The idea of using the Watergate scandal came from a real-life experience Longin had with Nixon when her family stayed at the same hotel as Nixon. As a child, she and a friend pelted Nixon with ice cubes, causing a minor disturbance. Fleming said that he was surprised at the attempts to rehabilitate Nixon's image, and Longin cited the Watergate scandal as a defining political moment for their generation. She said she channeled the resulting anger and cynicism into the script. Several people told the duo that various gags went too far. Fleming, who believed Nixon got off easily, said they fought to keep everything. They approached Ben Bradlee and John Dean to play themselves, but both declined Fleming said of this film, former President Richard Nixon, and the Watergate scandal to the Washington Post: "Originally, we thought it was an irreverent way to treat something serious. But in reading the transcripts of the tapes, we felt that he was irreverent. He violated us, lied to us. Did things that were illegal and seriously, permanently damaged this country. I'm amazed there is this effort to rehabilitate his image." Co-writer and director Andrew Fleming wanted the feel of a 1970s movie, and tried to frame scenes as he thought they might have been framed in a comedy from that era. He also used analogue tape editing tools, rather than digital, to maintain this feel. The Marine One helicopter seen at the end is the same Marine One Sikorsky make and model chopper in which former President Richard Nixon departed after he resigned in 1974. The helicopter was lent to the production by producer Gale Anne Hurd.

According to director Andrew Fleming, the scene where Betsy and Arlene are in Haldeman's house was filmed the day Phil Hartman was killed. David Foley, who had worked with Phil on NewsRadio (1995), was a large part of the scene and had a hard time filming as he fell into deep depression. Ryan Reynolds (Chip) was cast at a very late stage. Andrew Fleming said: "We needed a guy and couldn't find anybody we really liked. It was very last minute. I don't even know if he read for it, but casting director Pam Dixon said, 'This guy is really good. Trust me.' It was very clear he had charisma at a young age." When Arlene's mother Helen (Teri Garr) and Roderick (Ted McGinley) tell Arlene (Michelle Williams) how they met, they talk about how they literally crashed into each other and how they said to each other "your peanut butter is on my chocolate, and your chocolate is in my peanut butter." This was a reference to the 1970's commercials for Reese's Peanut Butter Cups, which told us how they were invented. Bob Woodward (Will Ferrell) tells Carl Bernstein (Bruce McCulloch) he "smells like cabbage," a reference to one of McCulloch's most famous characters on The Kids in the Hall (1988). Both Dan Hedaya and Saul Rubinek who played Henry Kissinger appeared in Oliver Stone's Nixon (1995). It was the final theatrical feature film of G.D. Spradlin (Ben Bradlee). Spradlin retired from acting after this role.

Dan Hedaya steals the film as President Nixon who attempts to divert the girls but ends up being made a fool. Bruce McCulloch and Will Ferrell are superb as struggling journalists who were portrayed by Robert Redford and Dustin Hoffman in All the President's Men (1976) Whether it appeals to adults or teenagers doesn't take away from the fact this is a funny and insightful comedy where it is learned that sometimes the most unlikely factors can overthrow the big and powerful. Todd McCarthy, in his review for Variety, called it an "audacious, imaginative political comedy" that will appeal more to adults than teenagers The film was badly marketed as a teen comedy, Sony's marketing research indicated teenage girls were the film's biggest demographic, so promotional material focused on Dunst and Williams instead of the political aspects. The film bombed in its initial release, grossing $2.2 million in its opening weekend, opening at No. 12 in 1522 theaters. It went on to gross $6.3 million in the US., it has since become a cult film due to showings on cable and home video releases.