History Film / Dick

* SeventiesHair: Carl Bernstein sports a luxurious pompadour, spoofing Dustin Hoffman's look in ''AllThePresidentsMen''.

* UnintentionalPeriodPiece: Thanks to Mark Felt being revealed as Deep Throat in 2005.

* WhatCouldHaveBeen. Originally the film was to be called ''Beast of Burden'' and was to center on a single mother raising a bushel of kids amid the 1970's implosion. Screen writers Andrew Flemming and Sheryl Longin kept coming back to one of the daughters and her best friend. Eventually the two came up with the idea that it would be funny if these two were "Deep Throat"
** Flemming asked former Nixon advisor John Dean to look at the script and add some input. Dean insisted on writing his own version. Fleming didn't like the idea and the chairman of the studio backing the film was absolutely furious and advised Flemming to say no to the idea. Dean still insisted, but Flemming never read the draft Dean gave him saying its still sitting unread on his hard drive somewhere with only J Dean knowing what it contains.

1999 comedy film starring KirstenDunst, Michelle Williams and Dan Hedeya about the fall of UsefulNotes/RichardNixon (yes, that's who the [[IntentionallyAwkwardTitle title]] refers to; [[DoubleEntendre get your mind out of the gutter]]).

* AnachronismStew: By the time of Watergate, Checkers was long dead and Nixon had different dogs, but of course, Checkers is the one most associated with him.
** There is a short line where John Dean asks Nixon if he should be calling the dog King Timahoe by now, implying Nixon just calls all his dogs Checkers.

* DancePartyEnding: After the WhereAreTheyNowEpilogue announces that Betsy and Arlene went on to open a successful roller disco, the credits roll over the two skating around an [[StandardDiscoEquipment elaborately lit]] replica of the Oval Office.

* WhatCouldHaveBeen. Originally the film was to be called ''Beast of Burden'' and was to center on a single mother raising a bushel of kids amid the 1970's implosion. Screen writers Andrew Flemming and Sheryl Longin kept coming back to one of the daughters and her best friend. Eventually the two came up with the idea that it would be funny if these two were "Deep Thought"

** Additionally, the marijuana laced cookies the girls give Nixon help the talks with Leonid Brezhnev go smoothly, leading to the end of the UsefulNotes/VietnamWar; the eighteen minute gap in Nixon's tapes is because Arlene confessed her love for him on it and he erased the confession; and the two give Nixon the idea to do the VSign.

* MysteriousInformant: Parodied; "Deep Throat" is definitely ''not'' what Woodward and Bernstein were expecting.

Betsy and Arlene are two kind-hearted [[TheDitz but not overly bright]] best friends who, in sneaking out late at night to post an entry to a 'meet Bobby Sherman' contest, inadvertently cause the Watergate break-in to be discovered. Later, on a school trip to the White House, they are recognised and spirited away to be interrogated, which indirectly results in them meeting UsefulNotes/RichardNixon face to face. Nixon, recognising their lack of interest in politics of any kind but their great interest in petting his dog Checkers, buys their silence by naming them the 'official White House dog walkers', meaning that they are present for all the major moments of Nixon's presidency.

-->'''Nixon''':... [[{{Jerkass}} Who]]?

* TheGreatestStoryNeverTold: Because Woodward and Bernstein are too embarrassed they brought down the White House with the help of two teenage dog walkers.

1999 comedy film starring KirstenDunst, Michelle Williams and Dan Hedeya about the fall of RichardNixon (yes, that's who the [[IntentionallyAwkwardTitle title]] refers to; [[DoubleEntendre get your mind out of the gutter]]).

Betsy and Arlene are two kind-hearted [[TheDitz but not overly bright]] best friends who, in sneaking out late at night to post an entry to a 'meet Bobby Sherman' contest, inadvertently cause the Watergate break-in to be discovered. Later, on a school trip to the White House, they are recognised and spirited away to be interrogated, which indirectly results in them meeting RichardNixon face to face. Nixon, recognising their lack of interest in politics of any kind but their great interest in petting his dog Checkers, buys their silence by naming them the 'official White House dog walkers', meaning that they are present for all the major moments of Nixon's presidency.

* CastingGag: Both Dan Hedeya and Creator/SaulRubinek had minor roles in Oliver Stone's ''{{Nixon}}'', a 1995 biopic of Nixon. In this movie, they're promoted to RichardNixon and Henry Kissinger respectively.

** Additionally, the marijuana laced cookies the girls give Nixon help the talks with Leonid Brezhnev go smoothly, leading to the end of the VietnamWar; the eighteen minute gap in Nixon's tapes is because Arlene confessed her love for him on it and he erased the confession; and the two give Nixon the idea to do the VSign.

* AChildShallLeadThem: Parodied; in front of Nixon and his Cabinet, Arlene blurts out a rather naive anti-war statement ("War is not healthy for children and other living things.") This leads to a stunned silence, and then a lot of bickering about Vietnam ("If you want to complain about Vietnam, talk to [[LyndonJohnson Johnson]]!").

* HeyItsThatGuy: In one of his earlier movie roles, WillFerrell plays Bob Woodward.
** And his partner Bernstein is played by [[TheKidsInTheHall Bruce [=McCulloch=]]].
** Jim Breuer is John Dean, Dave Foley is Bob Halderman, and his son's college roommate is played by a very young Ryan Reynolds.
** The {{Expy}} of Larry King that is interviewing Woodward and Bernstein is French Stewart.

* CastingGag: Both Dan Hedeya and SaulRubinek had minor roles in Oliver Stone's ''{{Nixon}}'', a 1995 biopic of Nixon. In this movie, they're promoted to RichardNixon and Henry Kissinger respectively.

* AudienceAlienatingPremise: A comedy about Watergate told from the viewpoint of two teenage girls with a crush on the President is certainly going to be a hard sell.

* TheGreatestStoryNeverTold: Because Woodward and Bernstein are too embarassed they brought down the White House with the help of two teenage dog walkers.

** Jim Breuer is John Dean, Dave Foley is Bob Halderman, and his son is played by a very young Ryan Reynolds.

* FlagBikini

But their naive loyalty is shattered when they discover evidence that Nixon is mean to his dog (oh, [[ArsonMurderAndJaywalking and of his large-scale criminal activities and corruption]]) and vow to bring him down. And so, with the help of the title of Betty's brother's favourite porn movie and the bungling Woodward and Bernstein of the ''Washington Post'', [[MysteriousInformant Deep Throat]] is born...

* HistoricalInJoke: The movie was made before W. Mark Felt admitted he was the true identity of 'Deep Throat'.