Elvis Meets Nixon (1997) (TV)

User Rating:

6.4/10   

Director:

Allan Arkush

Writer (WGA):

Alan Rosen (written by)

Release Date:

10 August 1997 (USA)

Genre:

Biography | Comedy | Drama

Tagline:

Truth is funnier than fiction!

Plot:

A "mockumentary" about Elvis's real-life trip to the White House to become a federal marshal under the DEA...

Plot Keywords:

Drugs | Mockumentary | Incognito | 1970s | Character Name In Title

Awards:

1 nomination

Cast

Rick Peters	...	Elvis Presley
Bob Gunton	...	Richard M. Nixon
Alyson Court	...	Priscilla Presley
Denny Doherty	...	Vernon
Jackie Burroughs	...	Dodger
Curtis Armstrong	...	Farley Hall
Gabriel Hogan	...	Bobby Bishop
Robbi Jay Thuet	...	Lisa Marie Presley
Thom Sears	...	Bodyguard #1
Wayne Ward	...	Bodyguard #2
Rick Wharton	...	Bodyguard #3
Keith Jones	...	Bodyguard #4
Robyn Stevan	...	Karen (airline agent)
Patrick McKenna	...	Karen's supervisor
Hamish McEwan	...	Wait carpenter

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for brief strong language and some drug content.

Runtime:

95 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Sound Mix:

Ultra Stereo

Certification:

UK:15 | USA:PG-13

Company:

Showtime Networks

Quotes:

Elvis Presley: You know there are no coincidences in this universe, man. Everything happens for a reason.

That's right I'm crazy man....crazy like a fox!

This movie kicks butt! Believe it or not, it may be the closest thing to portraying a `real' Elvis than has ever been made. And while Peters doesn't strike one as particularly Elvis-ish at first glance, he certainly nails the mannerisms cold and even DOES look creepily like the King in several shots (just check out the sly grin he flashes after handing out Christmas gifts to the Memphis Mob boys).

Let's face it. Elvis was one strange, eccentric dude.I guess that's what makes him so fascinating. To know that about him is to love him. And to be a fan means that you know how blown out of proportion his image has become. The closest representation we have of the actual man existing beneath the cape is the two painstakingly researched Gurlaick (yeah, I think I misspelled it) bios. But this movie, however, comes awfully close I think. And, as an added bonus, it's definitely light-hearted and fun, which was certainly a large part of Elvis' character.

The main drawback is certainly not the MINOR liberties taken with the facts per se (again - unbelievable - this story seems to be mostly true!), but the inclusion of the hippy run-ins on Sunset in LA. The flower kids in the record/head shop are sooooo stereotypical, and the one who has the sit-down with E in coffee shop has nothing but afterschool-special-you're-my-inpiration-type pap to lay on us. The only consolation is that Our Man doesn't fulfill his request to show up at his love-in protest or whatever (my boy, my boy!) These scenes I believe were well intended in their function to demonstrate how out of touch Elvis was with the real world, and could've been a great comedic culture clash but they, alas, are full of corn.