General Information:
Created by — Alex Gregory and Peter Huyck
Starring — Woody Harrelson (E. Howard Hunt), Justin Theroux (G. Gordon Liddy), Lena Heady (Dorothy Hunt), and Domhnall Gleeson (John Dean)
Synopsis — Based on the novel “Integrity” by Egil and Matthew Krogh and the real life events that took place, we follow the masterminds of the Watergate break-in during the Nixon presidency, doing whatever they could to secure the president’s upcoming reelection.
Where to Watch — Miniseries on Max
Review:
One day, I saw my boyfriend watching the first episode of “White House Plumbers” and I asked him about it. He said it was about the people behind the famous Watergate scandal. Now, I was not a huge history buff in high school but I knew that this scandal was the reason Nixon resigned before he could be impeached. That was as in depth that we really seemed to go into (or at least that is what I gathered from school), so I was down to see what happened. Turns out, this was a lot more complex than I had originally thought nearly 10 years ago in the classroom.
This miniseries adds nothing too original to the biopic-style of show, but the reason why I found this so entertaining was because of the acting. Woody Harrelson and Justin Theroux star as the main idealists behind the break-in and their chemistry on screen is amazing. Theroux is a riot as Liddy to the point where I could not stand his character. Harrelson and Theroux are great when they have their individual scenes throughout the show, but it is when they are together that makes the show thrive. Lena Heady as Harrelson’s wife is also another scene stealer; I did not even recognize that I was watching Cersei Lannister at first because she was so deep into this role. Her and Harrelson also work well together — you believe them as a struggling couple but they need to keep it together for the sake of their family. Their children — Saint John (Liam James), Lisa (Zoe Levine), David (Tre Ryder) and Kevan (Kiernan Shipka) — also each have the opportunity to stand out and give us more of a background of how the Hunt family operates. And everyone’s favorite best girlfriend, Judy Greer, is here as Theroux’s wife Fran and she is bringing all of the Judy Greer-ness that you can expect from her. Everyone works so well together it makes the show worth watching. If anything, I wish we were able to go into more depth with the characters that helped with the break-in alongside Hunt and Liddy. Each of them were fun to watch, but if they were given more screen time, I feel as though they could have only elevated the show as they all had great chemistry with their counterparts as well.
The main format of the show is that you are not really sure if what they are doing is what actually happened. There is a lot of secrecy between the characters that it adds to the mysterious element of the show. Even though we are taught a lot of our history and how the government works, we will never have the full story of what really goes on behind the scenes. This aspect also made me realize how much I either 1. did not pay attention to this lesson in class or 2. we were not taught much about the details of Watergate. I genuinely was confused about the history behind this scandal because the show kept me questioning. At certain points, I think it was because the dialogue can get lost with some of the scenes, but I also think it was done intentionally to give it a mysterious undertone. While I can see some viewers may not feel this way about the format and writing, I think it worked in order to elevate the show from basic biopic to an intriguing story.
If you are a history buff or want to learn more about a mysterious part of America’s history, then you should check out “White House Plumbers.” Even if the writing is not up to par, stick around for the chemistry between all of the characters.
