The movie is coming out in a couple of weeks in my country and I wanted to see it, but I've heard mixed reviews. So, I'd like to ask Elvis fans (since I love him as well): should I go in with no expectations? How true to life is this film?
Thank you!
Elvis meets Nixon made in '97 '98 is way better. Both are comedies loosely based actual events. I'd give this a 3 or 4 rating.
shareElvis & Nixon is an enjoyable little film. Nothing earth-shattering just a fun little movie. Some people are put off by Shannon's appearance but he's such a good actor that you soon forget it.
I can't fathom why anyone would think the overly long Elvis Meets Nixon is superior in any way. I'm beginning to think they must have a website where they're trying to sell it. It was a big snooze and couldn't wait for it to end. If you enjoy snarky, snobby comments of Dick Cavett and Graham Nash, a pill-popping Elvis and the worst Nixon impersonator of all time then by all means go watch that.
No! That's not true at all, Elvis takes 50% of everything I earn!Col. Tom Parker share
Thank you for your reply. Like I mentioned below, I still haven't decided whether I'm going or not, I might end up watching both movies at home.
shareThanks for your opinion :)
shareHi runaway,
I just saw it on a plane today (well, the first half, until the plane was landing). The movie was good and entertaining but it really bothered me that they cast Michael Shannon for this role. I think he's a terrific actor but I never felt he was Elvis... if anything, I felt like he was a bad Elvis impersonator from Vegas. Looks were off, accent was absent, personality was non-existent. Kevin Spacey was fantastic as Nixon, however. But because of Shannon's Elvis, I likely will not seek to see the rest of this movie, unless nothing else is on.
Though I liked Elvis, I was never a serious fan even though I was near the same age and grew up in Little Rock (not far from Memphis.) The film is enjoyable. As much about Elvis as Nixon. Not how sure true to life it is but am guessing pretty close.
He killed sixteen Czechoslovakians. Guy was an interior decorator.
That's so cool! May I ask what people around there thought of Elvis? Was he really loved by almost everybody?
shareElvis was loved by his fans. The media tried to tear him down at every turn. I just watch the Youtube concert from December 5th of 1976 that was actually a pretty good concert but the review just rip him. He wouldn't be as popular 39 years after his death if people didn't care.
shareI watched half of it last night and agree that the made-for-cable "Elvis Meets Nixon" was much better. For starters, the lead was much better than Shannon, who speaks with a whisper most of the time, seems quite ornery, doesn't look like Elvis, and comes off as more than a little crazy. By contrast, Rick Peters in the earlier film came off as fun, humorous, gluttonous, eccentric, ill-tempered, looked a lot like Elvis and conveyed loads of Southern boy charm ....all those things we've heard about the real Elvis, but very rarely captured in his mostly lurid screen portrayals. It did not, as an earlier poster noted, portray him as popping pills all the time, even though he evidently did in real life. There may have been one scene where we see him pop a pill. Other than that, it wasn't alluded to. As humorous as that movie was, the Elvis presented in it was not only likable, but an actual man with some less-than-savory bad habits. Also, after reading "Careless Love" (the definitive late-period Elvis biography), it seems clear that the earlier film was more accurate to real events, although both took liberties).
As far as the Nixon portrayers, Spacey is indeed much better than Bob Gunton, who was really a caricature. In fact, Spacey's one of the best-rounded versions I've seen (Nixon, amazingly, has shown up as a character in more films than, I believe, any president....save maybe for Lincoln; he was even in an X-Men movie for crying out loud).
Thanks, I really appreciate your opinion! :) I'm still undecided whether to go watch it or not… I may just wait until it's out on DVD.
shareBillyMac, yours is an informed and entertaining assessment.
Although I completely disagree with you about Spacey as Nixon. Spacey's recent choices in roles show declining discernment.BOTB, Kev?
He should consider retiring rather than perform wretched roles.
It's worth a look because it's a good movie that's well-played, smart and affectionate towards Elvis. But don't expect a documentary. The facts are skewed. But that's typical of biopics. It's a good movie.
shareIt was ok, but I was distracted with Michael Shannon. He didn't look like Elvis at all. Although he had the mannerisms. The best Elvis film every in my opinion is Elvis with Jonathan Rhys Meyers.
share"Elvis meets Nixon" made for cable in 1997 is way better in every way. Funny, entertaining and more accurate. It made you like Elvis, if you didn't already. It showed Elvis giving $500 to a Vietnam vet returning from the war (which really happened). Elvis buys a boy ice cream on the airplane. The boy says he misses his mother and Elvis gets a serious look on his face and says, "Yeah, I miss mine too." A clever gag has Elvis wondering who his daughter is going to marry one day while we hear a 5 year Michael Jackson singing on the radio. Very funny movie.
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