America’s 37th president was an easy target for satire, hence a slew of comedy films released in the runup to the 1972 election—if the goal of these films was to discourage voters from re-electing Richard M. Nixon, then Another Nice Mess (1972), Hail (1972), Millhouse: A White Comedy (1971), and this film botched the job. Arguably the least interesting of a bad batch (Another Nice Mess is dumber but livelier), Richard lacks a comedic premise beyond the notion of craven political advisors investing years in getting Nixon ready for prime time. The movie begins with the newly elected president relaxing one evening in the White House residence, his voiceover indicating that he’s thinking back on the path that lead to his presidency. Cue a series of black-and-white flashbacks depicting Nixon’s early years like scenes from a wholesome old-time movie, as if to indicate that “Tricky Dick” began his life with good intentions. Then Nixon falls in with a trio of advisors who suggest he needs a new face, triggering a brief sequence during which a mad scientist (John Carradine) reconstructs Nixon’s visage, only to be shocked when the result is the puffy-cheeked scowl we all know so well. (In the old-timey scenes, Nixon is played by Dan Resin; in later scenes, he’s played by an impersonator who performed under the name “Richard M. Dixon”; and in several lengthy sequences, archival footage of the real Nixon is featured.)
Richard is wildly uneven—about one-third of the scenes are unvarnished recitations of familiar events, and the rest are farcical riffs. (Is there a musical number? Yes, there’s a musical number.) Most of the farcial stuff falls flat, as when Mickey Rooney plays a guardian angel sent by God (!) to help Nixon fulfill his destiny. The closest Richard gets to wit is the stretch during which Nixon’s advisors strap him into a version of the Clockwork Orange medical harness (the one with the metal clamps holding the patient’s eyes open), then condition him to gag whenever he evokes the “old” Nixon as a means of warming up his persona. So what’s the takeaway here? That politicians are inauthentic? That Nixon sold his soul? That political operatives will do anything to get their candidates elected? Even though it only runs about 80 minutes (the version watched for this review was 76 minutes, but multiple online sources list the length as 83), Richard is a tedious journey into the obvious and the unfunny.
Richard is wildly uneven—about one-third of the scenes are unvarnished recitations of familiar events, and the rest are farcical riffs. (Is there a musical number? Yes, there’s a musical number.) Most of the farcial stuff falls flat, as when Mickey Rooney plays a guardian angel sent by God (!) to help Nixon fulfill his destiny. The closest Richard gets to wit is the stretch during which Nixon’s advisors strap him into a version of the Clockwork Orange medical harness (the one with the metal clamps holding the patient’s eyes open), then condition him to gag whenever he evokes the “old” Nixon as a means of warming up his persona. So what’s the takeaway here? That politicians are inauthentic? That Nixon sold his soul? That political operatives will do anything to get their candidates elected? Even though it only runs about 80 minutes (the version watched for this review was 76 minutes, but multiple online sources list the length as 83), Richard is a tedious journey into the obvious and the unfunny.
Richard: LAME
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