I was not a big Elvis Presley fan, but after seeing his first T.V. appearances on the Dorsey Brothers show on youtube a few weeks back, I have been reconsidering him. I have started watching his old movies and reading more about him.
I was born in 1953, so I essentially missed his excellent early movies and only saw one of his less than stellar later ones growing up. I think it was "Roustabout" and I wasn't too impressed. I liked his singing, but I really was more of the Dylan-Beatles generation.
I was expecting the film to be like "Elvis has Left the Building" just a comedy making fun of Elvis impersonators. It is not like that at all. It was a bitter-sweet romantic road tale. See "Rafferty and the Gold Dust Twins" "Easy Rider" "The Last Detail" or "Trains,Plains and Automobiles" for other examples. Basically the formula is incompatibles find themselves traveling together to a common destination and having adventures along the way that bring them together.
Harvey Keitel is not a great Elvis impersonator and Bridget Fonda is not a great Marilyn Monroe impersonator. This is a weakness in the film, but on the other hand, they do build sincere, believable, and likable characters. Keitel and Fonda are wonderful actors and this film does give them some room to work and show off their craft.
The film is pleasant to watch and has a few nice comedy moments. Most of these have to do with Keitel trying to cheer up melancholy Johnathon Schaech. However, I think the film gets more soulful and touching towards the end when the characters do make it to Memphis. The scenes inside and outside of "Graceland" are fascinating.
The film basically says that Elvis Presley was a wonderful singer and a nice guy and we miss him like we miss all dead people in our lives that we loved. It is sweet and respectful of Elvis. You get the feeling that it is exactly the type of film he would have made if he had knowingly chosen to make a last film.
The writer-director David Winkler hasn't done anything this nice and personal since. Hopefully, he will get to make another movie in this genre.
I was born in 1953, so I essentially missed his excellent early movies and only saw one of his less than stellar later ones growing up. I think it was "Roustabout" and I wasn't too impressed. I liked his singing, but I really was more of the Dylan-Beatles generation.
I was expecting the film to be like "Elvis has Left the Building" just a comedy making fun of Elvis impersonators. It is not like that at all. It was a bitter-sweet romantic road tale. See "Rafferty and the Gold Dust Twins" "Easy Rider" "The Last Detail" or "Trains,Plains and Automobiles" for other examples. Basically the formula is incompatibles find themselves traveling together to a common destination and having adventures along the way that bring them together.
Harvey Keitel is not a great Elvis impersonator and Bridget Fonda is not a great Marilyn Monroe impersonator. This is a weakness in the film, but on the other hand, they do build sincere, believable, and likable characters. Keitel and Fonda are wonderful actors and this film does give them some room to work and show off their craft.
The film is pleasant to watch and has a few nice comedy moments. Most of these have to do with Keitel trying to cheer up melancholy Johnathon Schaech. However, I think the film gets more soulful and touching towards the end when the characters do make it to Memphis. The scenes inside and outside of "Graceland" are fascinating.
The film basically says that Elvis Presley was a wonderful singer and a nice guy and we miss him like we miss all dead people in our lives that we loved. It is sweet and respectful of Elvis. You get the feeling that it is exactly the type of film he would have made if he had knowingly chosen to make a last film.
The writer-director David Winkler hasn't done anything this nice and personal since. Hopefully, he will get to make another movie in this genre.