Review: Elvis & Nixon
Perhaps one of the oddest moments in White House history occurred on December 21, 1970. That was the day the King of Rock and Roll met with the President of the United States. The photograph of Elvis Presley shaking hands with Richard Nixon in the Oval Office is the most requested image from the millions housed in the National Archives, and it's no small wonder. Apart from the fact that they were two of the most famous men of their time, the moment captured a time when both were about to tip into the oft-imitated caricatures they would go on to be.
At the time of their meeting, Nixon was two months away from fully embracing his tricky dickness by installing his infamous taping system in the White House. Presley was 35, bloat taking over his pretty boy features and sausaged into his caped jumpsuits; he wasn't quite over the hill but he was getting there and fast. Elvis & Nixon, directed by Liza Johnson (Hateship Loveship) and written by Joey Sagal, Hanala Sagal and Cary Elwes, imagines how these two larger-than-life characters came to cross paths.
Riled by the news reports of the various problems plaguing the world, Presley decides to fly out to Washington, D.C., intending to meet the President so that he can become a Federal Agent-at-Large and bust all the Commie hippies. His plan is initially thwarted by White House guards, who are so swayed by his presence that they agree to forgo the usual security clearances and deliver Presley's handwritten request to the President. The request is seen by Nixon's aides, Egil "Bud" Krough (Colin Hanks) and Dwight Chapin (Evan Peters), who attempt to convince a reluctant Nixon that the meeting would be a golden PR opportunity to not only appear more hip to the younger voters but to win over all the demographics. Everybody loves Elvis, they reason. The Commander-in-Chief eventually yields, especially after his starstruck daughter Julie personally calls to sway him.
The meeting is the highlight of this slight and insubstantial film. Elvis immediately disregards all protocol - helping himself to the President's off-limits bowl of M&M's, sending the Secret Service into a tizzy by gifting Nixon with a World War II-era Colt pistol - and to observe Nixon succumb to Presley's celebrity is one of the film's few unalloyed delights. Nixon may be President but Presley is without a doubt the most powerful man in the room. "Looks a little like my place," Presley remarks about the White House. When Nixon proudly shares a moon rock given to him by Buzz Aldrin, Presley deflates him: "That's cool, man. Buzz sent me one, too."
Spacey's gift for mimicry serves him well though it's difficult not to mistake his Nixon for a muted Frank Underwood at times. Shannon makes no concession to look and sound like Presley, but he perfectly and often poignantly captures the King's awareness of how his celebrity isolates, entitles and empowers. He hides behind the persona, using it to get his way, even though he often wishes that people would get to know the man behind the image. He may wield his celebrity like a shield, but it's also a prison and his exchanges with longtime confidante Jerry Schilling (Alex Pettyfer) attest to the weariness at having to be Elvis when he perhaps only wants to be a boy from Tupelo, Mississippi.
Elvis & Nixon doesn't really get anywhere and side stories such as Jerry's conflict over remaining Presley's sidekick or breaking free to have his own life gain very little traction. There are several kicky moments, such as Presley's encounter with a pair of impersonators and the scene in which all the females working in the Bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs just about lose their minds at the prospect of meeting the King. Ultimately, as frequently entertaining as these scenes are, they're mere fripperies from the main event which truly enlivens the film and to which more focus should have been given.
Elvis & Nixon
Directed by: Liza Johnson
Written by: Joey Sagal, Hanala Sagal, Cary Elwes
Starring: Michael Shannon, Kevin Spacey, Alex Pettyfer, Colin Hanks, Evan Peters, Johnny Knoxville, Tate Donovan, Sky Ferreira, Tracy Letts, Ashley Benson
