“This has to be one of the most bizarre films I’ve ever seen. Bizarre, but wonderfully quirky and fun.
Michael Shannon and Kevin Spacey star in this strange but true (though somewhat embellished) story of the day when Elvis Presley met President Nixon, the resultant photo is one of the most requested in the national archives. The film serves to fill in some of the gaps of what happened on that fateful and strange day.
Cutting straight to the chase, the performances are the reason to see this. We know that Shannon and Spacey are good. They’re some of the best intense and most serious actors on screen today. This movie is a rare chance (especially for Shannon) to see them cut loose and just have fun. If you’ve been reading ExpDel a while, you’ll know I love little more than to see a favorite actor have a blast chewing some scenery. And c’mon, think of how many times we’ve seen Shannon tower on screen, in how many of those has the man gotten to crack a smile?
Throughout this short movie, I constantly found myself chuckling with joy and/or surprise. I really can’t even begin to describe it, it’s just something that should be experienced. These are two of the biggest, most famous and influential men in history, interacting and being completely baffled by the other. It’s just so bizarre, and yet so humanizing for a couple of larger than life historic figures. You know, just when I think I’ve seen it all, and that there’s nothing left for Hollywood to surprise me with, a movie like this happens. And that’s why I religiously spend every Saturday afternoon at the movies, hoping for this type of experience that only sometimes comes along.
Elvis and Nixon – \m/ \m/ \m/ \m/”