Elvis & Nixon (2016)
TOMATOMETER
AUDIENCE SCORE
Critic Consensus: Elvis & Nixon may not do much to expand on its absurdly iconic photographic source material, but it's rarely less than engaging thanks to its talented starring duo.
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Movie Info
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Cast
as Elvis Presley
as Richard Nixon
as Jerry Schilling
as Sonny
as Egil Krogh
as Dwight Chapin
as Charlotte
as John Finlator
as H.R. Haldeman
as Margaret
as Diane
as Grady
as Margaret (Ticket Agent)
as Mack
as Donald
as Stewardess #1
as Stewardess #2
as Stewardess #3
as Stewardess #4
as Elvis Impersonator
as White House Guard #1
as White House Guard #2
as Judy (Chapin's Secretary)
as Ronnie (Limo Driver)
as Stan
as Teenage Girl
as Secretary
as Rose Mary Woods
as Sondra (Krogh Secretary)
as Agent Duncan
as Charlotte's Dad
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Critic Reviews for Elvis & Nixon
All Critics (145) | Top Critics (33) | Fresh (111) | Rotten (34)
The spectacle of Presley visiting Nixon's buttoned-down White House in his jeweled sunglasses, silk scarf, open shirt, and giant gold belt is inherently farcical, but Elvis & Nixon might have delivered more than dumb laughs.
The dialogue sparkles with gems of historical allusion and perceptive asides, and the actors virtually sing it; the film plays like a whirling sociopolitical operetta.
As a surreal slice of history served up nearly half a century later, it feels oddly satisfying: A reminder not just of simpler times, but of all the other wild untold stories we may never know, just because no camera was there to capture them.
What the movie, directed by Liza Johnson, lacks in factual material it replaces with whimsy and quirky humour, helped greatly by the casting of Michael Shannon as Presley and Kevin Spacey as Nixon.
A sharper movie would have pushed this bizarre incident into psychological rawness, revealing a shared sense of paranoia. Breezy, comic and disposable, Elvis & Nixon is not that film.
Even when I didn't buy a word being said, I went with the flow. Why? Michael Shannon as Elvis and Kevin Spacey as Tricky Dick. Watching great actors swing for the fences is something special.
Audience Reviews for Elvis & Nixon
It's hard to say how much of this meeting is actually based on facts, and how much is fantasy. The two historical figures are not exactly portrayed very flatteringly, but is fun to see two acting giants like Spacey and Shannon meet. Their conversation is pretty quirky, just like the entire film, but not exactly laugh-out-loud-funny. That makes for an entertaining tale but not an entirely memorable one.
Super Reviewer
Even if it doesn't have that much to offer apart from being an amusing curiosity about an iconic moment immortalized in a photograph, the film is super funny and fun to watch, with great dialogue and two priceless performances by Michael Shannon and Kevin Spacey.
Super Reviewer
Quirky and fun, Elvis & Nixon is a lighthearted indie comedy about the surprisingly true story behind one of the most famous photographs in the National Archives. On the eve of Christmas 1970 the King of Rock 'n Roll, Elvis Presley, makes a surprise visit to the White House hoping to get a meeting with President Richard Nixon; who reluctantly takes the meeting and finds that Elvis is quite different than he had expected. Michael Shannon and Kevin Spacey both give excellent performances and do a great job with the dry humor. But the writing's a little weak; as the plot's a bit thin and doesn't go into much depth. And the directing is fairly pedestrian, not really bringing a lot of energy to the film. Yet the strong performances are able to elevate the material and make Elvis & Nixon incredibly interesting and quite entertaining.
Super Reviewer
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