Elvis und der Präsident

This satiric and somewhat surreal Showtime comedy details Elvis Presley's historic meeting with Richard Nixon not long before Watergate and while the Vietnam War was still raging, and does so in an oddly affectionate manner. Rick Peters portrays the drug-taking, purple cape-wearing, Vegas-playing Elvis who had long ago been eclipsed by the Beatles. Elvis sadly finds out how far over the hill he is when he finds his albums in the oldies section of an L.A. record shop. Nixon of course was the paranoid, vindictive, petty tyrant we knew and hated, particularly bitter about the protests taking place over a war he tells everyone he didn't start. Bob Gunton, a wonderful character actor best known as the chief villain in THE GLIMMER MAN, nails Nixon cold. In fact, the entire cast, right down to the White House security guards, are spot-on. For instance, Richard Beymer playing H.R. Haldemann will give those who remember the real deal absolute chills. And keep a close eye on the very talented Canadian actor Gabriel Hogan as Bobby, Elvis' right-hand man. Some real-life folks, including Wayne Newton and Tony Curtis, whimsically portray themselves as they help narrate the story. In the end, this is a movie about two extraordinary and ill-fated men, each fighting his own particular demons, thrown together under highly unusual circumstances. Director Arkush does an exceptional job.

This is a tongue in cheek look at an actual meeting between Elvis Presley and Richard Nixon. On December 21, 1970, Elvis, armed with a gun and chemically enhanced, met in the Oval Office with President Nixon. The reason for the meeting was Elvis' request for a badge from the Bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs, thus making him an agent-at-large of the DEA. Hard to believe, but true...the visit was a success.

Rick Peters does an over the top parody of Presley. Bob Gunton is a very laughable President Nixon. Also in the cast are: Curtis Armstrong, Alyson Court and Denny Doherty.

Quite a bizzarre event and in retrospect you see the hypocrisy and contrasting truth to be pretty silly.

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.

First off, don't expect anything super authentic. This is an imagining of what Elvis might have done on his way to meet Nixon.

The actor that plays Elvis doesn't do the best imitation that I've seen by any stretch of the imagination, but he captures the narcissism, and swagger of Presley very well. It's fun to watch him interact with normal people without his handlers around. I liked the scenes that stressed how far removed from the reality of the sixties that Elvis was, being that he hated the hippies, the Viet Nam protesters, and the Beatles (who stole his thunder).

A good laugh is also when you get to see Nixon's enemies list. Definitely give it a go if you see it aired, I've seen it twice, and it really has a charm to it.

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.