Dick: The Documentary (Movie) Review
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Well, alrighty then. I’ll just jump right in here and tell you that no, this isn’t some play on words or a cleverly titled film about Nixon. It’s a documentary, about penises. Yep. And if it made you a little uncomfortable reading that (and let’s be honest here, it probably did), then perhaps you have […]
Well, alrighty then.
I’ll just jump right in here and tell you that no, this isn’t some play on words or a cleverly titled film about Nixon. It’s a documentary, about penises. Yep. And if it made you a little uncomfortable reading that (and let’s be honest here, it probably did), then perhaps you have some small inkling of why director Brian Fender chose to make this film. After all, it’s just a body part, like dozens of others, and yet society has decreed it be saved for whispered conversations and giggling on the playground.
Dick: The Documentary sets out to “demystify” the penis. And it has a rather…unique way of going about that. As you’d expect, there are dozens of men who are discovering their genitalia, their relationship with it, how puberty went for them, and how they’ve come to accept its often highly important place in their lives. There are sixty-three men in all, and they range from heavily muscled twenty-somethings to your average middle aged gay man to a sprightly eighty-two year old, and they all give some really good perspectives on what it is to be a man. They discuss the inevitable locker room comparisons, trouble with being able to perform, molestation, and even penile implants, and most of it is done with a matter of factness that seeks to take these discussions from guilty whispers to proud discourse.
And that’s rather unique on its own, but the real kick to Dick: The Documentary is that all of these men are buck naked. Not only that, but you never actually see any of their faces. Through the entirety of the documentary, viewers see a full-on shot of the genitalia of whoever happens to be speaking. The subjects are identified only by age and first name, and they give a really broad perspective on all things penis. They vary so much in age, life experience, sexual orientation, size, circumcision status, and so forth that they really do give a pretty well rounded perspective on the whole thing.
On the one hand, it certainly does the job of demystifying – by the end of the film, you’re pretty much desensitized to the sight. On the other hand, there’s something to be said for variety, and staring at penises for the entirety of the film certainly doesn’t give a lot of variety per se – although it does make the point that these things, like most, come in all shapes and sizes. It’s an interesting film, to be sure, but I can’t help feeling a little disappointed that more effort wasn’t made to actually explain some of the physical processes involved in the body. The film is solely anecdotal, based simply on leading questions and the men’s answers to them.
While Dick: The Documentary certainly won’t win any family film awards (seriously, not for kids), it follows through in spades on its promises to demystify the penis and create a more open discourse on sexuality in general. It’s an interesting film that tackles a subject few others do, and it manages to do so in a completely unique way.