‘Elvis & Nixon’ is laugh out loud funny and will bring Oscar nominations

By Michael Medved

“Elvis & Nixon” is a hilarious film. It’s laugh-out-loud funny. It’s a marvelous piece of Americana and an audacious bit of filmmaking with great acting, writing and direction.

“Elvis & Nixon” get’s 3.5 out of 4 stars.

This is basically your thinking man’s “Batman Vs. Superman.” It’s two “superheroes” from the ’60s and ’70s — Elvis Presley and Richard Nixon — and the story behind the most requested photo in the White House archives. By far, the most requested photo is not Lincoln at his second inauguration and it’s not JFK. It’s Richard Nixon meeting Elvis Presley and shaking his hand.

Elvis wanted to meet the president because he wanted a badge from the Drug Enforcement Administration. He wanted the badge because he was worried about young people being corrupted by drugs. Elvis already got a badge from local Memphis police and he’s completely fixated on the DEA badge. The movie basically follows, almost in real time, the 48 hour period that Elvis goes to Washington with an entourage and camps out at the White House until the president will see him.

The key figure in expediting all this is Bud Krogh. He’s still around and a great philanthropist. In the film, he plays a sort of eager beaver, young White House aide who later went to jail in the Watergate scandal. He’s young enough to be an Elvis fan and he tries to introduce The King to the president.

Nixon, in addition to being a bizarre individual, was also hugely impressive and very smart. Here, basically, his aides are very smart. Nixon is more inclined to talk with Henry Kissinger, and doesn’t want to meet with this rock n’ roll star. But the aides bring in the ultimate weapon, which is the president’s daughters. And they want an autograph.

Michael Shannon plays Elvis — he is terrific in this film — a potential Oscar nominee. Kevin Spacey plays Nixon and no one plays Nixon as well as he does. The only problem with Michael Shannon’s portrayal of Elvis is that during this time, Elvis was a beefy guy — and Michael Shannon is in terrific shape.

“Elvis & Nixon” excels at all the basics of filmmaking. It’s a great reminder of why you go see movies. You go to movies, not necessarily to see impossible things and other worlds, but to be engaged with people you can believe on screen.

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