Elvis Meets Nixon (1997)

Pretty Good

Lack of good storyline.

Just what I expected

This is one of the best movies I’ve seen in a very long time. You have to go and see this on the big screen.

I found this movie late at night on the Bravo station in Canada. As an Elvis fan a thought why not stay up late and watch this movie. I thought it was going to be a crappy movie, but it turned out to be a good movie. I am not sure how real this movie is to the actual events, but it did give a good idea of how Elvis must have been feeling about himself. This movie is worth watching and I would sit through it again. It might just end up in my DVD collection if I can find it on DVD. Do not miss this movie if you are an Elvis or Nixon fan or just interested in a wacky event that took place at a difficult time in American history.

I admit I'm a sucker for movies with the real people being portrayed, especially when Elvis is one of the main characters. This is a very funny movie that purports to be factual, and yet the liberties are many, but since it a comedy really, I can excuse that. It's in all the reviews I've read so far, the one inconsistency that no one caught (and I really being picky here but I feel I have to mention it) and that is that Elvis drinks a Coke when he preferred Pepsi. This would probably simply product placement and nothing more. I mentioned it because I am a dedicated Coke drinker. But anyway, the way the two principals act is meant to be exaggerated. Certainly, Elvis wasn't quite so cloddish, but knowing what I know about Nixon, I don't think they were too far off the mark there. The lead, Rick Peters, does a very good impersonation of the KING, and I'm also a sucker for good impersonations, doing a few of them myself. I just wish I were half as good at doing Elvis, but this guy looks more like him that I ever could even if he isn't a dead ringer for the King. Perhaps the coolest thing about this movie are the real people whose comments appear in different parts of the film. People like Dick Cavett, Wayne Newton and Tony Curtis. My only problem with the movie is Elvis swearing.so much. I don't believe he did this so.frequently. It's worth checking out.

Funny thing about Elvis in this movie. He leaves LA for DC in a red Boeing 727 (3 engines), then in mid-air the plane becomes a BLUE DC-8 (4 engines). Only Elvis could change a 3 engine plane to a 4 engine plane while it was in-flight.

Bob Gunton's performance as Richard Nixon is astounding. He gives a humorous characterization of the man, yet shows the sadness of a personality racked with deep-rooted demons. His body twists and turns with emotional pain and paranoia. His performance puts to shame Anthony Hopkins and that turgid "Nixon" movie.Rick Peters is good but not great as Elvis, mainly because he's unable to capture the Elvis magnetism. But Peters is able to capture Elvis' naive, childlike quality: Just an ignorant country boy lost in the world.Although not historically accurate, the satire is based on a real-life meeting between Elvis and Nixon at the White House. The script is first rate and captures the times well. It provides keen insights into Elvis' entourage, father, Priscilla and the chaotic life at Graceland, and Nixon's corrupt White House run by Bob Haldeman. It's perhaps the most entertaining movie about Elvis ever made, and the only one I'd sit through again.