Elvis & Nixon

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

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.

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+

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.

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.