User Reviews

It's December 1970. Entertainer Elvis Presley (Michael Shannon) is distressed about the effects of drugs and the counter-culture on America. He recruits his friend Jerry Schilling (Alex Pettyfer) on a mission to be named Federal-Agent-At-Large to go undercover. They show up at a White House gate to get a meeting with President Richard Nixon (Kevin Spacey). Nixon refuses at first despite his aides Egil Krogh (Colin Hanks) and Dwight Chapin (Evan Peters)'s pleas. Jerry has the idea to get Nixon through his daughter Julie.

This movie is mildly amusing. The history is possible. The performances of Shannon and Spacey are intriguing. Shannon may not be completely correct but he brings a self-possessed actualized personality to the role. The movie plays it mostly straight. There aren't any big surprises but I do like Nixon's initial refusal. There are plenty of light moments which leaves the movie feeling lightly fun. It would be more compelling to go overboard with the broad comedy or go darker. This ends up existing in the milky white toast middle.

Elvis & Nixon very much relies on the performances of Kevin Spacey and Michael Shannon, and thrives on what they bring to the eventual meeting between both men. The movie is based on a true story that's better documented than is suggested here. Making Elvis & Nixon fanciful and fabricated in spite of how unusual this event actually was. Which is fine, because most biopics and fact-based dramas exist on creative licence. Although this is a movie that could have been equally successful had more of the facts been more closely adhered to in the script.

What matters, however, is how interesting and appealing Spacey and Shannon make the film's central characters. But we find a way into their respective worlds by way of Colin Hanks' Bud Krogh and Alex Pettyfer's Jerry Schilling. Schilling in particular, whose fingerprints are evident throughout the movie ("me and a guy named Elvis" is a line of dialogue at one point") and who acts almost like an audience surrogate.

Schilling, who we first encounter working at Paramount Studios, is encouraged back "in" with Elvis as we are taken on a journey to the White House that's foreshadowed in our first glimpse of the man, himself. Watching Dr. Strangelove on one of his three televisions in a nicely recreated Graceland television room. But this isn't just a reference to one of Elvis's favourite movies, the scene from Kubrick's film that's used here foreshadows the nature and tone of his meeting with Nixon. No fighting in the War Room? How about karate in the Oval Office?!

Along the way, Shannon, who doesn't resemble Elvis but embodies the role with gestures small and grand, speech patterns, glances and a physicality that's undoubtedly been studied, becomes believable as Elvis. This isn't a caricature. The caricature is what Elvis actually became. Which is appreciated in the way he expresses concerns about his identity to Schilling, and in a touching monologue about his stillborn brother, Jessie Garon.

Shannon finds genuine nuance and pathos in Elvis. Although Liza Johnson's direction doesn't quite allow the excitement and elation of meeting Nixon to be juxtaposed with crushing lows or an indication of how such ultimately manifested itself in Elvis over subsequent years. We see him disappointed when things aren't going his way and when meeting Nixon seems lost at one point, but standing slumped and resigned isn't enough to encourage deeper sympathy for Elvis. Whilst the ultimate irony was missed in failing to depict his own problems with drugs.

As Nixon, Spacey also finds nuance and manages to make the former President larger than life from behind a desk and despite his reservations about meeting Elvis, and just about everything else. He has less to work with than Shannon, but Spacey gets Nixon just right and manages to refrain from caricature whilst exploring amusing traits and mannerisms. Both physical and psychological.

Beyond the two central characters, the screenplay and some variable stock footage encourages political and cultural touch-points that aren't dwelled upon. Although it's clear that Nixon isn't adverse to finding good PR opportunities or impressing his daughters. A trend that crops up throughout the movie, with Elvis using such as a free pass at his convenience. For him, good PR opportunities are also valuable.

In many ways, however, Elvis and Nixon suffer the same issues with loneliness, isolation and concerns about their image. Which is something Elvis is portrayed as being more in touch with than Nixon, who laments about not looking like a Kennedy and tries to boost his ego by asking Krogh if he could take Elvis in a fight. Elvis, on the other hand, is aware of his image and the performance that's required just to be Elvis Presley. Which is something that was also expressed by Michelle Williams' Marilyn Monroe in Simon Curtis' 2011 film, My Week With Marilyn.

By the time Elvis and Nixon eventually meet, both characters have been fully established, and whilst the vignettes along the way are both funny and geared towards comedy, some miss the mark completely. Such as a clandestine meeting between Elvis and Nixon's aides, that hints towards All the Presidents Men but plays more like a parents' meeting. Although Elvis's visit to a doughnut shop that's populated by a streetwise and vocal black clientele shows him comfortable with all walks of life and able to keep his ego in check.

This is in stark contrast to his meeting with Nixon, where Elvis is far from humbled and tries to impress upon the President with bizarre notions and one-upmanship. In one shot, Elvis seems to dwarf Nixon in the way both men are framed. But Spacey plays the President with quick wit and more than a little bemusement at what's in front of him. He sees what see in Elvis. But can't see that he's playing him for his own gain.

Unfortunately, the pacing and editing falters during the final act, with Schilling's personal dilemma of getting home to his girlfriend breaking the meeting up at one point. Whilst Evan Peters and Johnny Knoxville's Dwight Chapin and Sonny West, respectively, linger in thankless roles.

What's also noticeable is a lack of Elvis's music in the film's soundtrack, which is quite good regardless. Although Ed Shearmur's score is transparent and obtrusive at times. But Elvis & Nixon isn't about Elvis and his music. It's about a quest to find something fulfilling in his life. Which is expressed with profound sincerity in the way Michael Shannon plays Elvis. Getting under his skin and contrasting charisma and personality with a pensive nature and moments of uncertainty. It's a warm, affectionate and earnest performance in a movie that's skewed towards comedy, but has an acute understating of not only Elvis and Nixon, but celebrity and politics.

Michael Shannon as Elvis and Kevin Spacey (the king of impressions as Nixon? You sold me. Elvis & Nixon tells the untold 'true' story behind one of the most famous photos of all time between Elvis and Nixon at the Oval office. Shannon and Spacey deliver captivating performances as two icons in what is otherwise a very forgettable film.

At only an hour and twenty five minutes, Elvis & Nixon is a rather short film that is based on a true story, but it doesn't feel like it. It takes a while for the film to get going as it decidedly focuses primarily on Elvis for the first 45 minutes or so leading up to the meeting. You get glimpses of Spacey's Nixon here and there but we don't get the two on screen together until nearly an hour in. I would have much rather watched a full hour and a half of these two guys talking to each other. The story of Elvis' friend Jerry Schilling or anybody inside the White House, I didn't care about.

I understand you need to at least follow the true story to a point, but no one truly know the events that went down that day, so you might as well structure it to the strengths of your film. No matter, the time spent on screen with the two leads is a joy to watch. They are far from an SNL impression as they both create their own distinct interpretations of Elvis and Nixon. Even if it's an extremely slow burn, the last 30 minutes are definitely worth watching. If only a better movie surrounded the two great performances.

+Two lead performances

+Entertaining final 30 minutes

-Extremely slow burn

-Focus on side characters

6.6/10

One is the king of rock and roll, one is the king of the United States. Whoever would have thought these two very different minds of two very different backgrounds would ever be seen in the same photo together? No transcript exists on these events, just a photograph that now has become the most requested photo from the US National Archives. Now here, in Elvis & Nixon, director Liza Johnson gives her interpretation of these events. ​ It opens with the president receiving notification that the King has planned a visit, then this rather funny scene transitions immediately into a fun opening credits sequence full of 70's pop art against historical photographs of the two figures. From here, you learn some engaging facts that encourage further research, which sadly is supported by little excitement and little drama.

This historical documentation surveys an entirely separate side of Elvis from what the millennials may know about him. Did you know that he had a deputy's badge from Memphis? I sure didn't. It also turns out that he went to meet Nixon so that he could become a Federal Agent At Large in order to influence the American youth that tainted the country's image with the Hippie movement. Being America's most famous icon of the time, he decided to take advantage of his image by proposing possible anti-drug initiatives to the White House, including some drug-themed songs with other singers. The politicians all found it absurd to let someone like Elvis Presley meet the president of the United States, but since he's won the heart of all the voters in the south, the meeting gets the approval seal.

Revolutionary Road's Michael Shannon plays the King of Rock, and he talks as smooth, calm and collected as you'd think Elvis would be while not in front of a crowd. Unfortunately, he's not quite the right fit for the role, as he doesn't carry the project as well as he could. It's not that he's bad, he just doesn't put enough soul into the part.

It's otherwise intriguing to see what details are used to illustrate Mr. Presley. He still has all his little quirks that you expect from the King: he orders a maple bar from a donut shop, he calls the Beatles anti-American, and he says "thank you, thank you very much" right before sending people off with "sayonara." He watches three different television screens simultaneously and carries an assortment of diamond-studded pistols. There's more: he also had a twin brother who was born thirty-five minutes before him, only to die minutes later, and it makes him question how things would have gone if he was born first. It's stimulating and almost inspiring to see this unknown side to Elvis that actually cared about the American image and took the initiative for his beliefs.

However, this fascinating approach is supported by a rather clumsy first half. Elvis & Nixon was intended to generate laughter, but the laughs are far and few in-between, with dull scenes that either go nowhere or are composed of odd pauses between sentences. There are great additions such as fangirls working at the Bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs obsessing over Elvis's visit; the issue is that it's just too underplayed for what it had potential for. ​ In fact, Elvis's interaction with Nixon should have started right from the get-go without an hour-long setup, because that is where the real funny begins. These moments express some beautifully uncomfortable humor between a celebrity and the president, made all the better by the naturally flowing chemistry between Michael Shannon and Kevin Spacey. I will admit, Spacey probably wasn't the right fit for the part: his mouth looks just like Nixon's but not his eyes. But that's more a bash on the casting director than the actor himself. Spacey still talks just as raspy as Mr. Nixon, and it's easy to tell that he took the character as seriously as if on House of Cards.

This is not the most spectacular piece of work you will ever see, you may not even remember it a week after seeing it, but it still gives a thought-provoking perspective on the influence that our celebrities have on our politics. Think of the artists of today. Consider how Taylor Swift's 1989 album influenced everyone's relationship expectations. Think back on the influence that John Lennon's Imagine shaped the hope everyone felt on the world. And don't get me started on all that Justin Bieber's went through. If you aren't dying to see Elvis & Nixon a second or even a first time, you can still bear in mind how our American icons influence far more than what we listen to in our spare time; the actions they take define what makes America the great nation we see it as.

Overall Grade: C+

Kevin Spacey is good as Nixon.Don't get me wrong, he is one of my favorite actors. Michael Shannon though just kills it. I absolutely love everything Michael Shannon is in. I admit I would have loved to have seen Kevin Spacey as Nixon a bit more but this is mostly Shannons movie. There are two scenes, one where he's talking to his best friend and another where he's talking to himself in the mirror, these two scenes blew me away.So deep and moving.In a better movie I believe just these two scenes would have gained Shannon an Oscar nomination. Years from now when they are finding Shannons best scenes I hope they pick up the two in Elvis and Nixon. The supporting cast are fine here. The movie runs at 86 minutes which is really like 81 minutes without the credits at the end. It could have been an hour long movie though. At times it drags especially the scenes of Alex Pettyfer's character but other than that Elvis and Nixon is a delightful little movie with a great performance from Michael Shannon. You will have the giggles throughout and you will be entertained for sure by the ridiculousness of the whole movie. I really enjoyed it. ***1/2 out of stars.

Greetings again from the darkness. The tagline nails the tone of the film: "On August 21, 1970 two of America's greatest recording artists met for the first time." Director Liza Johnson proceeds to tell the story of worlds colliding – an Oval Office meeting with President Richard Nixon and Elvis Presley. Of course, this is a fictionalized and satirical accounting, since Nixon didn't kickoff his recording passion until the following year.

It would be pretty easy to bash the film as heavy on cheese and light on historical accuracy, but that would be missing the point. These two public figures couldn't have been much different from each other, but the script (Joey and Hanala Sagal, and Cary Elwes) finds a way to have these two icons hold a conversation … bonding over their mutual hatred of The Beatles.

The terrific opening credit sequence perfectly captures the time period and is a work of art unto itself. We first see Elvis shooting out the picture tubes in the TV room at Graceland. He's disgusted with the news reports of Woodstock and drug use among America's youth. Constructing a loose plot to meet with President Nixon and offer his service as a Federal Agent-at-large, Elvis is mostly interested in adding a federal badge to his collection.

Michael Shannon plays Elvis and Kevin Spacey takes on the Nixon role. Rather than a finely tuned impersonation, Shannon goes after more of an impression or re-imagining of The King. It's a perfect fit for this setting, and there is nothing like watching Shannon give an impromptu karate demonstration for the leader of the free world in the most famous room in America. Spacey, on the other hand, is spot on in capturing the posture, mannerisms, sound and essence of a man who carried much personal baggage with his political power.

The chain of events leading up to the meeting plays a bit like a farcical comedy. Nixon's staff of Bud Krough (Colin Hanks), Dwight Chapin (Evan Peters) and HR Haldeman (Tate Donovan) is equal parts incredulous and opportunistic. We get two members of Elvis' "Memphis Maphia" with Alex Pettyfer playing Jerry Schilling and Johnny Knoxville adding even more humor as Sonny West. There is a nice blend of "little" comedy moments and outright laughers – Elvis impersonators confronting him in an airport, the Secret Service reaction to Elvis' gift to Nixon of collectible WWII pistols, and Elvis meeting with a DEA official played by Tracy Letts.

I found myself smiling throughout, with full understanding that this satirical look at a meeting between two famous men with little common ground has no real historical importance … other than resulting in the all-time most requested photograph from the National Archives. But for 86 minutes of smiling, I say to the filmmakers and actors … Thank you. Thank you very much.

I had heard the story of Elvis' meeting with Nixon, but not how it came about. How true this story is, is open to conjecture. The wonderful Kevin Spacey is totally acceptable as Nixon. The look, the voice and the stooped deportment, are spot on. Unfortunately, I never for on moment thought that I was looking at Elvis. Michael Shannon's wig was about the only thing that was on the money. Elvis was very handsome, with tremendous charisma, and a good build. Shannon had none of that going for him. Colin Hanks is improving every time I see him. His portrayal of a Nixon aide was nicely drawn. Johnny Knoxville was rather wasted, as part of the Elvis 'mafia'. It's not a bad bad film and is not padded out too much, though it would probably have made a better television show.

I really hadn't heard much about this film, and certainly wasn't going in expecting an Elvis impersonator or someone looking exactly like President Nixon. Wasn't disappointed there in regard to Elvis. Michael Shannon didn't look much like Elvis, but he did have the soft voice, the southern charm thing going for him. He did a fine job with this role. And actually, Kevin Spacey did manage to look a great deal like Nixon. Sounded like him, too. Everyone in this movie did a good job, and worked the roles of those involved in this slightly absurd moment in history to justice. So, I guess what I was, was really pleasantly surprised by this picture. Totally enjoyed myself with lots of laughs and a few poignant moments. I dimly remember this episode with Elvis showing up at the White House wanting to become an FBI Agent Abroad. With a badge. And at the time I recall thinking that only Elvis could be that naïve and yet that brash at the same time. In all honesty, this picture managed to show all of that, and more. What a colorful moment in American history all wrapped up in this fine little film.

Good performances, tongue in cheek comedy, worth watching if you haven't yet heard the story.

Still not as funny as the 1997 original Elvis Meets Nixon, narrated by Dick Cavett. That was a quicker paced outright 'mockumentary', no big names but excellent acting all the way. Hard to find though.

I've been waiting to see this movie for a year or longer. Eric Bana was originally supposed to play Elvis, and he would have been a much better fit than Michael Shannon. Michael doesn't look anything like Elvis, and he didn't show any charisma in his performance. Elvis is one of the best looking and most charismatic men to ever live, so it was painful to see this casting train wreck. There are several scenes in the original Elvis Meets Nixon that were left out of this remake: the beginning airport scene where the airline clerk asked Elvis for payment of his ticket and he says "can you send the bill to the Colonel as he has no cash or check book, the scene where he was taken off the plane for carrying a pistol, and the taxicab scene when a Michael Jackson song was playing on the radio. Those were just 3 missed opportunities to spice the movie up. The only redeeming thing about this movie was the convincing performance that Kevin Spacey gave. He looked and played that part to the hilt. I really wanted to love this movie, and I am so disappointed that I could not do so.

"What kind of man would I be if I didn't offer to help?" The most requested photograph in the National Archives is the handshake picture between Elvis and President Nixon at the White House. This is the story of that meeting. Elvis (Shannon) flies to Washington D.C. in order to meet with the President (Spacey) in hopes of becoming a federal undercover agent for the CIA. This is a crazy movie. There are things in here that are so over the top and absurd that you think they have to be made up. Then again when you think the two characters are Elvis and Nixon you think it could all be true. This is not a movie that will become a classic and one that will be seen for years and years to come. It is also not a movie that history classes will view for accuracy. What this is though is tremendously entertaining and watchable. I laughed quite a bit during this and thought the casting choices were perfect. This is a movie you can just watch and not have to think about. Overall, funny and fast paced. Crazy and makes you wonder how much is true. I did like this one. I give it a B.

All the impersonators in the world and they picked this guy???

The single most requested photograph held by the American National Archives is one of Elvis Presley shaking hands with Richard Nixon. That meeting has become the stuff of legend: a past- his-prime rock 'n roll star and an unpopular President, both destined to leave their mark on history for very different reasons. The film Elvis & Nixon (2016) is a humorous historical account of this unlikely encounter between soul-mates from different worlds. But that story is merely the picture frame, within which is a deep and brooding portrait of two troubled souls.

It's a moment in time that speaks volumes for an era. By December 1970, the shining star that was the iconic Elvis (Michael Shannon) is beginning to fade. His marriage to Priscilla is on the rocks, the Beatles invaded then left America after making a fortune, and drugs and alcohol are taking their toll on brand Elvis. Meanwhile, Richard Nixon (Kevin Spacey) is an anxious president who desperately wants to be loved, and is quite possibly a lonely neurotic if Oliver Stone's excellent film Nixon (1995) is to be believed. Despite Nixon's misgivings, the two stars are fated to collide.

A few days before Christmas 1970, Elvis spontaneously composes an admiring letter to Nixon asking for a meeting and delivers it personally at the White House gates. Nixon is fretting about his rising unpopularity, particularly amongst the youth vote, and he grudgingly agrees to meet the music legend for a few minutes. The presidential staff are all over the place with excitement while the meeting becomes a prolonged chat between two people lightening each other's personal baggage. And history was made.

There is much to enjoy in this film. Shannon and Spacey are so brilliant that it is easy to ignore how little they resemble Elvis and Nixon. Both portray emotional vulnerability to perfection, with Elvis borderline delusional about getting an undercover narcotics agent badge and solving the nation's youth-drug problem, while Nixon obsesses about getting an autograph for his daughter so he can be a cool dad. While these two flawed yet powerful figures fret about how the mop-headed singers from England were mobbed by adoring crowds, the world was in the midst of a nuclear arms race, the black rights movement and the Vietnam War. This film captures it all, with broad brush-strokes that linger on funny details while it sweeps an era of history into a thoroughly enjoyable and entertaining story.

Who comes to your mind if you have to choose from the current crop of Hollywood actors to play Elvis? A slightly middle-aged Elvis? If I had to answer, I wouldn't have chosen Michael Shannon in a million years. That's a bold decision but I think it definitely paid off. Michael Shannon brings in the charisma, style and mannerisms right and has indeed pulled off an Elvis eloquently.

Elvis Presley (Michael Shannon) once had an impulsive thought to become a Federal Agent of the United States to play his part fighting against drug culture in America. With this in mind, he travels to Washington with a couple of his associates and directly walks to the White House gate, handover a handwritten letter addressed to the President at the gate. Once seen by Krogh (Colin Hanks) a bureaucrat working directly with President Nixon envisions a win-win situation if they collaborate with Elvis and pushes the idea forward. What happens when one of the world's most loved personalities and the other most hated (not quite by then) personalities meet?

While the actual incident has happened (by the proof of the original photos from National Archives), the journey towards that incident may not be as accurate since it involves multiple perceptions and opinions which is quite difficult to gather honestly. The treatment is understandably and appropriately light-hearted with an excellent background score right from the start. The revelation however is Michael Shannon's portrayal of the King which blew me away. I have been a follower of this guy who has been choosing smart and independent scripts very intelligently where the plot and execution are generally quite good and he has a good scope for performance too. This movie is no different. Since the movie is driven from Elvis's perspective, the character obviously has more screen presence where the eccentricity and aura are superbly portrayed.

While most of the first half of the movie is about the setup of this meeting and what each character does to make this happen, the screen comes to life once both the famous personalities finally meet. Considering Nixon is down and out and has been portrayed much worse in other sections of the media, giving a higher hand to Elvis might be OK here. But if Nixon was a President who got down from the office respectfully, even though the incident was true - it might have never seen the light of the day. Elvis making a mockery of the President of the United States shown as true story released in America was never going to happen with any other president. Colin Hanks does an adequate job as President's associate but the character Jerry (Alex Pettyfer) who is an Elvis associate could have done a lot more. Last but not the least, Kevin Spacey is a veteran in Hollywood and having seen a lot of his work - it is difficult to digest him as Nixon even though he has done a commendable job.

Fun, funny, excellent acting coupled with even better background score brings this untold story of 2 famous personalities to life.

Yes Nixon met The King way back in 1970 and this is a recreation of how that came about and what happened when the King met Mr Watergate himself in the Oval Office.

Now this is very amusing indeed and for the most part the period detail and make up are all excellent. Kevin Spacey as Nixon is just superb – as always. I am also a big fan of Michael Shannon believing him to be a great character actor – but this was a stretch for him which he did very well for the most part.

Jonny Knoxville also appears as does Colin Hanks and they are all spot on, however Alex Pettyfer as Elvis's friend Jerry got the most interesting role – with space to grow and give a fine performance. There has been some chatter about the veracity of this film but I am firmly in the camp that says 'never let the truth get in the way of a good story' and by jingo this is a ruddy good story – recommended.

Elvis & Nixon is a historical comedy-drama starring Michael Shannon and Kevin Spacey. Based on the 1970 meeting between U.S. President Richard Nixon and rock star Elvis Presley, the film is an interesting look into an unlikely get-together of two highly recognisable figures of that era.

In December 1970, the world famous singer Elvis Presley (Michael Shannon) requests an important meeting with President Richard Nixon (Kevin Spacey). However, due to Nixon's busy schedule and lack of understanding of what is popular with younger voters, Elvis' inquiry is repeatedly rejected. Eventually, though, some strings are pulled and the iconic king of rock 'n' roll manages to secure a one-on-one with the President.

Despite the relatively thin source material to work from, the film makes fairly good use of it. There are some scenes in the film that feel like they were added to pad out the runtime to a reasonable movie-length rather than expand upon the story. Michael Shannon's convincing performance as the king of rock 'n' roll is fun to watch, he nails Elvis' voice and body language. One can't help but feel amused at the laid-back way Elvis acts in front of one of the most powerful men in the world. Kevin Spacey was quite good too as President Nixon, but like Anthony Hopkins in the 1995 film Nixon, he mainly relies on playing the role through impersonating his voice and slouching, due to his lack of physical resemblance to the real person. Also, it is quite strange seeing Spacey play a real-life President after seeing him play a noteworthy fictional one on House of Cards.

I rate it 6.5/10.

Billed as "The untold true story behind the meeting between the King of Rock 'n Roll and President Nixon", directed by Liza Johnson, this is a wild comedic fantasy built around a brief encounter between Elvis Pressley and President Richard Nixon at the White House in 1974. The introductory credit sequence in dazzling colors and cartoon flavors serves notice that we are in for a wild ride with no holds barred. Unfortunately what the picture offers is a Frankenstein like edition of Elvis (Michael Shannon) in a long tedious buildup to the final confrontation in the Oval Office with an uncannily accurate Nixon, played with zest and four letter zeal by Kevin Spacey in a remarkable comedic turn. The final sequence in the president's office is hilarious enough to make the boring buildup worth sitting through but one wishes the first two thirds of the picture would have been highly compressed -- to maybe twenty minutes. As is, what we get is a view of a super patriotic Pressley which presents him as a very right wing anti-counter culture icon (altho in real life he was a symbol of the counter culture) who despises the Beatles and wants to save the youth of America from drugs, wanton sex and subversive politics by becoming an undercover agent for the government and infiltrating "anti-American organizations". To this end he needs a badge naming him as an official Undercover Government agent, which only the president can issue. His obsession with obtaining such a badge is the central conceit of the film and is a poor excuse for a premise around which to build an entire movie. However, as said before, the tedious introduction (which takes up most of the film) during which Elvis is desperately trying to set up a meeting with the president, and during which we see that Nixon is not interested in meeting a Rock musician and keeps turning such a proposal down, is just barely worth sitting through to get to the riotously funny conclusion in the Oval office when his assistants finally convince the president to agree to a five minute meeting with Elvis -- but just five minutes, no more -- because it will enhance his fading public image -- and on condition that Elvis takes a picture with Nixon autographed for his daughter who is a big Elvis fan. When Nixon finally meets Elvis he finds to his surprise that they have much in common and the five minutes is extended indefinitely, during which time Elvis massages the president's ego and takes off his shirt to perform a karate exhibition as many other bizarre revelations take place. Actor Michael Shannon captured much of the mannerisms and speech patterns of Pressley in a very subtle manner but his look is simply too old and too hard -- Frankenstein in long hair and black bell bottoms! Most of the dialogue of the film as written is just dull and pedestrian until we get into the Oval Office when it suddenly sparkles. Spacey's Nixon is a total riot and more convincing than the Tricky Dick rendition by Anthony Hopkins in the Oliver Stone presidential biopic. Overall I would have to say that this picture is one long bore with a final scene that is comedic genius, especially on the part of Kevin Spacey. Viewed at the Westwood Landmark in L.A. On April 23, 2016 at a special advance screening in the presence of Producer Jerry Schilling who was a lifelong friend of Elvis who avowed that much of the Elvis antics portrayed in the film were "in character" even if they didn't actually happen. Asked if Elvis would approve of this film he expressed honest reservations.

This film almost passed me by until I stumbled across it on Amazon Prime. From the 'in period' opening credits to the bad wigs to the bro's in the coffee shop the cheese is strong and thick, but it's a very enjoyable film whichever way you approach it. Michael Shannon (who was completely new to me) neither looks nor sounds like Elvis but somehow fills the role very well, exposing a rather sad, isolated individual who just wants to be noticed for something other than being 'The King'. But the film is stolen IMO by Kevin Spacey, who captures ol' Tricky Dicky perfectly - the growling voice, the stoop, the hand gestures. Not only that, but he injects a wry wit to his part which goes a long way toward lifting this movie out of a dullness which threatened to engulf it at several points. I could easily watch it again.

Know this before going into the theater (or, if you're reading this later on, on DVD/VoD/et al) that this is a slight movie. It's only deep insofar as it tackles a subject that has been dealt with before in movies and media and will be dealt with again: the cult of celebrity. By this of course this movie has as its focus that meeting between Elvis Presley and Richard Nixon, and when the photo of the two of them was taken (which the movie dutifully tells us at the end is the most "requested" photo in the National Archives, which reminds me of TRL from the 90's or something). It's only 86 minutes long and only the second half features Nixon prominently (and I can never get enough Nixon, as far as seeing the worst this country had to offer at the time, but that's just me). But I'd be lying if I said I didn't have a fun time.

A lot of it comes back to the celebrity and what impressions people give off to others. Elvis had to make himself "Elvis" whenever he went out in public - as he tells his friend-cum-assistant Jerry (Pettyfer in a sort of thankless role), when people see him they think of their first kiss or when they left seeing Blue Hawaii, not really *the* Elvis - and yet that was something that he carefully cultivated and wouldn't have any other way. It was one of the things that made him special to a lot of people and so recognizable, not unlike a comic book character (hell, along with his penchant for guns and badges he knew his karate, like he was prepared in case he ever got into a street fight - though as such a figure he might've had his reasons, but I digress). And likewise Nixon did this too, and put out this friendly-fatherly figure to the public while behind closed doors he was basically a total nutter against supposed Communists and druggies and anyone out to "get" him (this was also pre-tapes, but it didn't mean much of a difference).

So the meeting of these two men does make for some compelling viewing - first for the cringe-comedy factor, of seeing all of the guidelines that have to be put in place for Elvis (and that Elvis' guys, one of them also an ideally cast Johnny Knoxville, puts forward to Nixon's guys), and then how Elvis says 'f*** it' in less words and does what he wants to anyway with the M&M's and Dr. Pepper - and then secondly as something else. A lot of what comes down to men in high positions of power and influence comes with what kind of show they can put on to one another. While this is imagined, I suspect this was closer to how their meeting actually was, with the gift from "The King" to Millhouse a commemorative WW2 pistol, and them comparing the size of their, uh, "estates" of Graceland vs the White House. No, really, that's the metaphor man! Both actors are really wonderful at channeling what the public knows how these men acted, whether it was behind closed doors or in "public", while not really looking much at all like the figures. This is actually more Shannon's movie than Spacey's, as Nixon only comes into play when the letter/request first come to the president's attention.

Shannon once again shows why he's one of the most strangely compelling presences in American film, an actor who in his way is kind of attractive, but also has that ability to lunge at any moment. He does do that a couple of times here, and when it happens it's like "oh, hey, here's a SCARY Elvis, not sure we've seen that in movies yet," and yet there's also a vulnerability underneath it. The most captivating scene to me is one of the quietest, as Elvis waits in the minutes before the meeting as he tries to figure what he'll say to Nixon, and rehearses the tragic tale of his stillborn twin brother's birth and death (which is true - see The Identical for more on that whopper), and yet there's this feeling like 'is he saying this to be genuine, or is he saying it to appear genuine, to bring some of the "person" Elvis into the gun-totting, hippie-hating, Good-Ol'-boy Elvis? I'd say a little from column A and B, and Shannon makes that gray area wonderful).

Now I should emphasize this isn't terribly deep; the motions to try to bring up Elvis' relationship with his friends/co-horts like Jerry are alright but they seem kind of placed in here to emphasize Elvis' true lonely state of affairs (we never see Priscilla or Lisa Marie by the way, which may be part of the point) and it may be because Shannon's such a powerhouse but Pettyfer comes off just slightly (not totally) weak in acting comparison. But if you look past the fact that it's barely a story, more like a situation, regarding two men with delusions of grandeur and who happened to find power by using their images to maximum effect, it's fascinating and very funny.

Michael Shannon was the wrong actor to play Elvis. They should have got Rick Peters, from the Elvis meets Nixon movie from 1997, he was excellent as Elvis. Spacy as Nixon was good but they could have brought out more of his character. They could, and should, have done a lot more with this movie.