I thought of this movie and came here expecting to find hundreds of fans. Does no one remember this made for HBO film of the nineties? It was absolutely hilarious! I watched it with my dad last year and he laughed through the whole thing, proving that it was hilarious. I can't believe there aren't more people on this board.
shareMe neither really...Due to all the Elvis movies being shown this past week (the week of August 12th-August 18th), I was inspired to track down my taped copy of the movie. I hadn't seen it in a while, but have since watched it 3 times (and today's the 18th). This movie is awesome, one of the best cable produced movies of all time. The reason I like it so much is the narration/documentary styling, the acting is a lot of fun, and it makes these historical big timers (Elvis and Nixon) seem real. In other words, the movie humanizes individuals some treat as deities....and it's done so well. It does border on cartoonish but it's such a likable portrayal of the "King," and for that matter Nixon as well...The line delivery is really funny from "Nixon:"
"They hhhhhaaate me!"
Also, Elvis' assistant (one of the Memphis Mafia dudes/Booger from Revenge of the Nerds):
"PILLS WASN'T DRUGS TO ELVIS! DRUGS WAS POT, ACID, ALL THOSE DRUGS MADE FAMOUS BY THE *QUIETLY SAID* gawt damn BEATLES!"
and of course Elvis:
"Muh boy, Muh boy!"
I really don't understand why there's not more fans of this movie. Some would suggest that this is a put-down of Elvis...I disagree. They make him seem cool and patriotic in this movie. Nixon, on the other hand, seems like a bit of a mockery....YET, you almost begin to feel sorry for the old dude. He just wants to be liked...hahaha...Until this movie is released on DVD, I'll have to be satisfied watching my snowy taped copy...Thanks for reading! A correction: This was a Showtime movie, not HBO...not that it really matters much, it just is what it is. My copy still has the Showtime intro on it, hence how I know this to be a fact.
I like this movie, too. It deserves to be rated more highly. Much of it is not strictly factual but it's true enough. (See the National Archives online "exhibit" that has the full text of Elvis' letter. He was NOT traveling or staying alone at the hotel.) Jerry Schilling and Red West, his two top bodyguards from his "Memphis Mafia," were with him in D.C.
Still, it's great fun and a revealing look at Elvis. The scene on Sunset Blvd. just had to be true. My favorite part (out of many others): when he's in the record store, confronting the two potsmoking hippies, the girl (instead of being impressed by being in his presence) laughing at him when he reveals that he's Elvis and saying, "I didn't realize you were so old!" (little twit), and Elvis, barging outside, saying, "This is like something out of the Twilight Zone." That has to be the truest line in the movie. Elvis was sequestered and (sorry to say) in a drug haze much of the time (those prescriptions legalized his drug use--an important LEGAL distinction that did nothing to lessen their impact on his mind and body). His reaction on entering a record store for the first time in fifteen years must have been like stepping out of a time machine--with no going back.