White House Plumbers Review: Woody Harrelson And Justin Theroux Bumble Into Watergate
When it came to Watergate, it wasn't the crime, it was the coverup. Had Richard Nixon and his men not covered up the White House's involvement in the break-in — and had Nixon not recorded so many conversations — the president might have survived. Indeed, it's strange to look back at the Watergate affair and think that such a small, petty crime — a "third-rate burglary," in Nixon's own words — could bring down a president, especially in this modern age when politicians are wildly, flagrantly corrupt and suffer almost no consequences.
The story of Watergate and its aftermath has been covered frequently in film and TV, most notably in "All the President's Men." Now, HBO's "White House Plumbers" takes us back to the '70s and focuses on the men who made it happen — the men who, through their own ineptitude, helped destroy Richard Nixon, a president they professed to love. Who were these men? Well, in the words of Deep Throat in "All the President's Men," "The truth is, these are not very bright guys, and things got out of hand."
"White House Plumbers" is a quasi comedy, because it hammers home again and again that the Watergate masterminds were bumbling, bungling fools; men with inflated senses of ego, playing spy games and tripping over their own feet in the process. Their ineptitude would help change the country forever.
An unlikely pairing
Is this comedic approach the right one? It's hard to say. The fact is the real Watergate masterminds were a bunch of clueless creeps. But portraying them as silly clowns feels like it lets them off the hook; that it forgives a lifetime of dirty tricks — or "ratf***king" as they called it — in the name of humor. Sure, they were goofballs — but they were insidious goofballs. As such, "White House Plumbers" starts to feel less like "All the President's Men," and more like the underrated Watergate comedy "Dick." And while there's nothing wrong with that — "Dick" is a good movie! — it never quite gels with what's unfolding.
The series is told primarily through the eyes of E. Howard Hunt, played by Woody Harrelson, who does most of his acting here with his jutting lower jaw. Hunt is a former CIA man who may or may not have been involved with the Kennedy assassination (the miniseries treats this as a running punchline), and who has fallen on hard times — the agency thinks of him as a joke, and he spends his days penning spy novels. Then, a big break comes: after Daniel Ellsberg leaks the Pentagon Papers detailing the failures of the Vietnam War, the Nixon White House wants revenge. And so they recruit Hunt to dig up dirt on Ellsberg.
Hunt won't be working alone, though. He's teamed up with batty former FBI agent G. Gordon Liddy (Justin Theroux, sporting a killer mustache). Hunt is a dyed-in-the-wool right winger; a man who loathes "leftist propaganda" and sees re-electing Nixon as a victory for democracy. But as committed to the cause as Hunt is, he can't hold a candle to Liddy, a zealot who states he's willing to die for Nixon if need be, and he's not just saying that — he means it.
Not very bright guys
"White House Plumbers" begins by building a kind of bromance between Hunt and Liddy. These men, fond of dirty deeds, see kindred spirits in each other. But eventually, even Hunt begins to realize Liddy is off his rocker. In one genuinely laugh-out-loud funny scene, Liddy and his wife Fran (a criminally underused Judy Greer) have Hunt and his wife Dorothy (Lena Headey, who has more to do here than Greer) over for dinner. As the evening begins, Liddy puts on a record of Hitler's speeches at full volume, much to the confusion of the Hunts. This results in a moment where Greer's Fran serves the guests a cheese plate as Hitler screams and shouts in the background.
Liddy is also addicted to the faux espionage of it all. Hunt clearly enjoys that too, but not nearly on the zealous level of Liddy. And eventually, these two men, and others, will move on from Ellsberg to other dirty deeds. Liddy comes up with a whole presentation of outlandishly illegal activities, but the operation that's decided upon involves bugging the Democratic headquarters in the Watergate.
Harrelson and Theroux play off each other nicely, but both of their performances are extremely broad. In fact, most of "White House Plumbers" is broad; an over-the-top spy game that starts to lose its momentum rather quickly. There are some fun flourishes — the series opens in medias res with what we think is the big break-in, only to have the burglars foiled by the wrong lock-picking tools. Here, text on the screen informs us that the burglars made four attempts to break into the Watergate offices, and this is merely the second time. But as "White House Plumbers" unfolds, you begin to get the sense that this would all work much better as a movie rather than a miniseries. And the brief stabs at pathos — the series tries to paint Hunt as a somewhat sympathetic figure, someone who isn't on board with the break-in, which feels misguided — don't click. A less silly, more streamlined approach is what this story needed, but you won't find that here. You will find a sporadically funny series about not-very-bright guys letting things get out of hand, though, and maybe that's enough.
"White House Plumbers" premieres on HBO on May 1, 2023.