It looks like somebody uncorked a 70s time capsule and this came out. Was there a more bizarre pairing during the age? Did Chairman Mao ever have a summit with Benny Hill? One need only read the title to understand why Elvis & Nixon was made. Now … what do you want to do with this premise?
First off, keep your expectations low. The entirety of Act III is Elvis Presley (Michael Shannon) meeting President Richard Nixon (Kevin Spacey). That’s it. And the entirety of Acts I & II is the prelude to the White House-Graceland accord. This isn’t Scooby Doo; the Prez and the King don’t meet fifteen minutes in and then go solve mysteries. So don’t be all shook up expecting more than you get.
Nixon met Elvis before he started taping all his conversations, so it’s next-to-impossible to know exactly what went on, but rumor has it the King was frustrated with rampant drug abuse, anti-American jingoism and the Beatles; he wanted Nixon to dub him a special agent-at-large to get rid of all three. The first one strikes me as one of those tremendous ironies of life – like imagining Donald Trump being flattened to death under the wall he proposed to keep Mexicans out.
And with the combination of childlike clarity and naivete, Elvis woke up one day, shot his TV, left his compound alone, got on a plane to El Lay, collected his right hand man, Jerry (Alex Pettyfer), and then headed to the White House. Like any good Southerner, Elvis never went anywhere unarmed. And, it turns out, packing heat on commercial airlines was illegal even in the 1970s. The joy of this film lies entirely within the juxtaposition of two very indulged men who have surrounded themselves with sycophants. If push comes to shove, Elvis seems the more
down-to-Earth of the two, even grounded and introspective from time to time … and then the camera catches his hairspray, cape, and solid gold belt buckle.
It can’t be easy to attack a persona we know so well. And, of course, it’s done twice here – while Spacey doesn’t especially look like Tricky Dick any more than FrankenShannon can be mistaken for Velvet Elvis … I won’t be cruel: both of these men do justice to their targets. The picture works entirely because of these two; I don’t think it comes close with lesser actors in these roles. I, for one, am ecstatic to see Shannon back in the weird zone after that brief foray into normalcy – what was that about? Elvis & Nixon takes a while to develop, but Act III is worth it for those who know the men and know them well. Of course, fans of either will cringe; this picture is for people with long memories and short devotion.
♪Dickie let me be,
Your secret Feddy Bear
Put a badge around my neck
Dress me as a square
Oh let me be
Your Feddy Bear
I don’t want be a G-man
Don’t want to play that bluff
I don’t wanna be a T-man
Cause T-men ain’t the kind
Who shove enough
Just wanna be, your Feddy Bear
Undercover, party over
Hey Beatles, beware!
Oh let me be
Your Feddy Bear♫
Rated R, 86 Minutes
D: Liza Johnson
W: Joey Sagal & Hanala Sagal & Cary Elwes
Genre: Surreal history
Type of person most likely to enjoy this film: 70s wonks
Type of person least likely to enjoy this film: Actual fans of Nixon and/or Elvis
♪ Parody inspired by “Teddy Bear”
