Cast overview, first billed only: | |||
Stephanie Zimbalist | ... |
Linda Thompson
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Don Johnson | ... | ||
Ann Dusenberry | ... |
Jeannie
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Rick Lenz | ... |
David Briggs
(as Richard Lenz)
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Ann Wedgeworth | ... |
Aunt Betty
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Richard Herd | ... |
Thompson
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Jay W. MacIntosh | ... |
Mrs. Thompson
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Ruta Lee | ... |
Su-Su
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Edward Edwards | ... |
Sam Thompson
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John Crawford | ... |
Vernon Presley
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Darrell Fetty | ... |
Pete Moore
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Richard Winterstein | ... |
Bobby Farr
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Gary Lee Davis | ... |
Ray
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John Ashton | ... |
Jake
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Bobbi Jordan | ... |
Pregnant Woman
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One of many biographical films involving Elvis Presley. Shortly after Elvis' separation from Priscilla in February 1972, Elvis met a former Memphis beauty queen, Linda Thompson, and her friend Jeannie Lemay at a movie theater in Memphis in July 1972. This made for TV movie stars Stephanie Zimbalist as Linda Thimpson and Don a Johnson as Elvis Presley and focuses on their turbulent 4 year relationship, which focuses primarily on Elvis' drug abuse & his affairs with other women. This movie does not portray Elvis in the best light, so fans who are easily offended in regards to negative stories involving Elvis may want to pass on this one.
You may say to yourself, "Don Johnson as Elvis? Can that work? Is it possible? Seems like an terrible choice to me, but perhaps I should have an open mind. Maybe I'll be surprised. Maybe he can pull it off."
NOT!
Don Johnson is not a bad actor. But he is an awful Elvis. He's too short, too weak-voiced, too sharply featured ... well you've already imagined how bad he would be. Add to that a hokey black wig and heavy-handed eye-liner and mascara and it's a big fat embarrassing mess.
The best I can say is that since Johnson's acting is decent and since his impersonation is so far off, after a while you don't even think of him as Elvis anymore. You see him as some other crazed pop star instead. Then, on that level, the movie becomes watchable.
Stephanie Zimbalist is also not ideally cast as the tall, beauty queen, Linda Thompson. But she is attractive in her own right and plays the part with the honesty, elegance and intelligence we've come to expect from all her roles. There may be too much intelligence in her performance. You have to be kind of a dope to stick with a dope abusing dope.
There's nothing new to this story; we've heard it many times before. If you've looking for new info or insight, you won't find it. It's told as a love story - an unrequited one: Linda for Elvis and Elvis for drugs.