Dick (1999) Timeline Explained – Every Event in Order

Nixon appoints Betsy and Arlene as official dog walkers to ensure their silence about what they witnessed during the Watergate break-in. After they accidentally stumbled upon the burglary and encountered Liddy and Haldeman at the White House, Nixon needed a way to keep them close and prevent them from talking. By giving them a seemingly innocuous job, he could monitor them while keeping them loyal.

Foreshadowing: Earlier, the girls mention being more interested in Nixon's dog than his conversation about bugging, which gives Nixon the idea.

• Nixon
• dog walkers
• silence
• Watergate
• cover-up

During their visits as dog walkers, Betsy and Arlene bring homemade cookies to the White House that are infused with marijuana. These cookies are unknowingly consumed by Nixon and other officials during key moments like the Vietnam peace negotiations and the Nixon-Brezhnev summit. The drug exposure contributes to Nixon's increasingly erratic behavior and paranoia, which ultimately weakens his judgment during the scandal.

• cookies
• marijuana
• Vietnam
• summit
• paranoia
• Nixon

When Betsy and Arlene go to the Washington Post with their story, Woodward and Bernstein jokingly refer to them as "Deep Throat", the same code name used for the secret Watergate informant. This is a comedic twist in the film, especially given that Betsy's brother Larry had just been caught watching an adult film of the same name. The girls never actually function as informants in the real historical sense; they're just two teenagers with a wild story.

• Deep Throat
• Washington Post
• Woodward
• Bernstein
• informant

After being pursued by Nixon's "plumbers" (the secret operatives), Betsy and Arlene decide to take matters into their own hands. They sneak into H.R. Haldeman's residence under the cover of night and successfully steal the crucial tape recording that contains evidence of Nixon's involvement in the Watergate cover-up. They provide a transcription to Woodward and Bernstein while keeping the actual tape as a "souvenir."

Foreshadowing: The girls had already demonstrated their willingness to take risks, from sneaking out during the break-in to confronting Nixon directly.

• tape
• Haldeman
• theft
• evidence
• Woodward
• Bernstein

Arlene initially develops a teenage crush on Nixon, seeing him as a father figure and powerful political figure. She even records an 18½-minute message expressing her adoration. However, when she plays back a clip of Nixon speaking, she hears his grim, crude language and realizes his true character, not the charming persona she imagined. This harsh reality check leads her to confront him directly, calling him out for kicking Checkers, being prejudiced, and having "a potty mouth."

• Arlene
• Nixon
• crush
• confrontation
• disillusionment

The girls obtain a crucial piece of physical evidence, a list of names connected to the Committee to Re-Elect the President (CRP). However, while they're meeting with Woodward and Bernstein, Betsy's dog accidentally consumes the list. This unfortunate event further undermines their credibility with the journalists and complicates their story, making them appear even more incompetent and childish in the reporters' eyes.

• evidence
• dog
• list
• Committee to Re-Elect the President
• credibility

After Nixon threatens and dismisses them with the warning "You don't mess with the big boys!" the girls reconsider their position. Faced with the reality that Nixon's aides are actively surveilling them, breaking into Betsy's home, and pursuing them through illegal means, they decide to fight back. They approach Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein at the Washington Post, hoping to expose the truth and protect themselves from further retaliation.

Foreshadowing: Nixon's threat directly motivates their decision to become whistleblowers.

• Washington Post
• Woodward
• Bernstein
• whistleblower
• Nixon
• threat

The girls' stolen tape recording from Haldeman's home provides the Washington Post with concrete evidence of Nixon's involvement in the Watergate cover-up. This evidence, combined with other revelations, creates insurmountable pressure on Nixon, leading to his resignation. The film ends with the girls watching Nixon's helicopter depart from Betsy's house, holding a sign that reads "You suck, Dick" as a final act of defiance.

Foreshadowing: The tape they steal contains the smoking gun that ties Nixon directly to the cover-up.

• Nixon
• resignation
• tape
• evidence
• downfall
• Watergate

Betsy and Arlene sneak out of Arlene's home one night to mail a letter for a contest to win a date with Bobby Sherman. As they exit through the parking garage of the Watergate building, they accidentally stumble upon the ongoing break-in. They mistakenly believe G. Gordon Liddy is involved in a jewel heist, panic, and flee, managing to tape the door latch open on their way out, which ultimately leads to the burglars' quick arrest.

• Watergate
• break-in
• Liddy
• witness
• burglars
• Bobby Sherman

Once H.R. Haldeman realizes the girls witnessed the break-in and have been visiting the White House, Nixon's aides view them as a potential threat to the cover-up. They send the "Watergate plumbers" to surveil, infiltrate, and gather information about what the girls know. This escalates to breaking into Betsy's home and posing as Arlene's mother's boyfriend, all to prevent two teenage girls from exposing the scandal.

Foreshadowing: Liddy's suspicion of the girls during the White House tour sets the stage for the later pursuit.

• plumbers
• Haldeman
• surveillance
• threat
• Nixon aides