You've seen the picture a million times — Elvis Presley in jumpsuit, glitter and full swagger, standing in the Oval Office shaking the hand of the ultimate easy listening president, Richard Nixon.
It's one of the greatest, weirdest mashups of pop and politics in our nation's history, a bizarre crossroads for both a King and a President figuring out how to hold onto America's rending social fabric.
So why is the movie version, "Elvis & Nixon," so deathly boring and soul-crushingly earnest? Why are great scenery-chewers like Kevin Spacey (as Nixon), Michael Shannon (as Elvis) and Johnny Knoxville (as Sonny, Elvis' aide) forced to play their roles as if they're in a Hallmark special about misunderstood men instead of one of the new wave of "based on true events" spoofs like "Argo" or "American Hustle"?
Because rookie director Liza Johnson blew it.
That's the only possible explanation when you take a great cast and a sure-fire premise and botch it so dramatically.
First, let's go over the history[1], all of which is in Johnson's film.
Michael Shannon (as the King) and Kevin Spacey (as the President) are both wasted in the new movie, "Elvis & Nixon."
On Dec. 21, 1970, a going-to-seed Elvis Presley shows up at the White House with a letter for the president bemoaning the sorry state of our country and his desire to serve as an undercover drug agent. Yes, this really happened.
The letter makes it to a key presidential aide who is somehow culturally aware enough to realize that Tricky Dick could benefit from being seen with the still-popular singer.
The aide arranges the same-day meeting between the still-incredulous president and the completely delusional King. The two bond. The photo is taken.
It remains the single most requested image from the National Archives.
Everyone loves that photo. Few will like the movie.
OLIVER F. ATKINS/AP This is the famous photo taken on Dec. 21, 1970.
Enlarge[2]
Steve Dietl / Amazon Studios & Bleecker Street The historic photo is recreated with Kevin Spacey as Richard Nixon and Michael Shannon as Elvis Presley.
Enlarge[3]The famous photo was taken on Dec. 21, 1970. In "Elvis & Nixon," it is recreated with Kevin Spacey as Richard Nixon and Michael Shannon as Elvis Presley.
Johnson's film is filled with tedium instead of delirium. At one point, the real Elvis is confronted by an Elvis impersonator, who takes the genuine article as one of his kitschy colleagues. That moment should have been hilarious. Instead, it's just sad.
And is a long, sappy monologue really the best way to make the point that Elvis feels like he's lost his real self under all the lamé and lights? Even a chase scene would have been better.
And when Elvis and Sonny are doing a kung-fu demonstration for the president, Johnson plays the moment like it's the moon landing. Watch "Catch Me if You Can," "Confessions of a Dangerous Mind" or "Wolf of Wall Street" — all of those films handle ridiculous real moments as they should be treated: with humor, a lightning-fast pace, a wink or some combination of all three.
Of course there's a place for serious-minded history in Hollywood. "Selma" needed to be dead-on earnest to make its point about oppression and justice. And the gravity of "Lincoln" made you feel like you got to know the real 16th president a bit.
But the historic events captured in "Elvis & Nixon" lack that gravitas, so Johnson should have channeled her inner Scorsese and ramped it up to 100 — the speed of Elvis.
References
- ^ let's go over the history (nsarchive.gwu.edu)
- ^ Enlarge (www.nydailynews.com)
- ^ Enlarge (www.nydailynews.com)
- ^ gkuntzman@nydailynews.com (www.nydailynews.com)
- ^ movie reviews (www.nydailynews.com)
- ^ elvis presley (www.nydailynews.com)
Source → Movie review: 'Elvis & Nixon� is tedious when it should have been delirious
