Kevin Spacey and Michael Shannon don’t look anything like their alter egos, but 10-minutes into Elvis & Nixon hardly anyone will notice or care. For both actors are master craftsmen at getting directly to the very essence of their protagonists.

The stranger-than-fiction, political satire uses as its springboard the Dec. 21, 1970 White House photograph of the famous handshake between the world’s most powerful leader and the king of rock ‘n’ roll. Since there’s no audio recording of their fateful meeting screenwriters Joey Sagal, Hanala Sagal, and Cary Elwes were free to provide their own narrative, one that brilliantly strikes just the right balance between dead serious and a laugh-out loud riot.

The 87-minute movie begins with a scene of Presley shooting out a television screen. On a whim, he then decides to fly to Washington with his Memphis Mafia sidekick Jerry Schilling (Alex Pettyfer) to get deputized as a “Federal Agent-at-Large,” for the Bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs. The “King” actually imagined himself going undercover to help curb the rising drug problem in America. A more accurate assessment later appeared in Priscilla Presley’s memoir that his real motivation was so he could “legally enter any country both wearing guns and carrying any drugs he wished.”

In preparing for the role, Spacey took to heart the advice his mentor Jack Lemmon once gave him – “Do it with total abandon.”

Ironically, this wasn’t the first stab Spacey got at playing the 37^th President of the United States. In New york for a round of interviews, the 57 year-old actor explained, “Weirdly, I had a previous experience trying to play Richard Nixon when I screen tested for Frost/Nixon, a part I did not get. I guess you might say that this is my revenge movie.

“I thought I had lost the DVD, however, I located it when I knew I was going to come on to this film and I was able to watch what I did wrong on that. Some of the major reasons I didn’t get that film became very clear when I watched years later. This is obviously a figure that people know a lot about, the way he presented himself. There’s so much public stuff, but not that much private stuff.

“I found a recent documentary that used a lot of footage of behind the scenes of Nixon at the White House, Power Nixon was what that was called. I also found a number of photographs of Nixon looking remarkably uncomfortable in a chair which I found very useful. I came away thinking that he swore more than any other human being I’ve ever heard, and he was decidedly very grumpy. What you wouldn’t think is that these two people had anything in common, yet at this meeting there was a sort of appreciation for each other.”

New Jersey-born and California-reared, he continued, “Both of these figures merit attention and respect. There’s so much already in popular culture – the mocking of these two people. Why add to that, life is too short. It’s such an amazing opportunity, because on the one hand this is a real event, and on the other hand an imaginary event. You don’t get that opportunity very often.”

Boasting a productive career that stretches back to his first profession gig in New York’s 1981 Shakespeare  Festival  staging of Henry I, Spacey went on to garner a Best Supporting statue for The Usual Suspects and returned to podium to collect another Oscar for American Beauty. In a surprising turn of events, he moved to London in 2003 to become artistic director of the Old Vic Theatre. During his decade long stint Spacey oversaw 39 plays, starring in seven, managed a staff of 75, and became quite adept at raising money.

The role that television readers would more quickly identify the enigmatic actor with is Frank Underwood of Netflix’s hit series House of Cards, which recently embarked on its fourth season. The idea was first proposed to Spacey when producer/director David Fincher was busy shooting Social Network.  The concept hinged on “a nasty politician, who could be devious, nefarious, cold blooded and cutthroat, but at the same time have television viewers rooting for him.”

No pilot episode, no audience testing, Netflix immediately jumped at the proposal and sealed the deal with a $100 million commitment for the first year.  Spacey admits, “I’ve always been interested in politics. Some elections are more amusing than others. I’m all for the entertainment factor. I love a good laugh and I very much enjoy doing House of Cards.  It’s an incredible job to have.

“I wouldn’t want to play any of the current people running for office. That would be poor casting.”

With his feet firmly planted again on the big screen, Spacey returns later this year with Billionaire Boys Club and Nine Lives. 

About the Author
Winnie Bonelli is a former entertainment editor for a daily metropolitan New York City area newspaper. She is passionate about movies and television and loves to take readers behind the scenes.

Susan Sarandon is enjoyable to watch as Marnie, a widow who can’t stop getting involved in other people’s lives. Most of the people love her advice and help. It’s her daughter Lori (Rose Byrne) who feels she is meddling too much and hovering over her since she moved from the East coast to Los Angeles to be with her. The Meddler is a fun film that takes audiences on an exploration of one woman’s struggle to move on with her life.

Marnie is getting used to her new life in Los Angeles. She spends a lot of time at The Grove, and outdoor mall. There she meets Freddy (Jerrod Carmichael), who works at the Apple store. Freddy is kind with a lot of patience, and helps Marnie with her new iPhone and iPad. Marnie enjoys the new tech world and uses her phone to constantly call her daughter.

Lori is struggling after an emotional breakup with her boyfriend Jacob (Jason Ritter). She can’t seem to move on with her life and wallows in the past. Lori can’t see that Marnie is trying to help her. All she sees is that Marnie won’t leave her alone.

When Lori goes to NYC for a few weeks to film a pilot, Marnie is left in Los Angeles without anyone to look out for. But that doesn’t last long. She takes Freddy under her wing and becomes his best friend. She also becomes a surrogate mother to Lori’s circle of friends. Having been left a lot of money from her late husband, Marnie is not shy about buying things for them. She buys iPads and even foots the tab for one of their weddings. How’s that for generosity? She enjoys making everyone happy and having them cherish her, something she wants that from her own daughter.

Marnie manages to find herself in a variety of situations, some of which are laugh-out-loud funny. For instance, she inadvertently walks onto a location shoot and unwittingly becomes an extra on set. It’s there she meets a guard who was a former police officer. Zipper (J.K. Simmons) is attracted to her. Later they run into each other at The Grove. Their friendship grows but Marnie cannot let herself fall for a man. She is not ready to move on with her life. Simmons is really delightful in this role.

This is a fun, whimsical, and often-emotional story about love, friendship, and the desire to be needed. Marnie and Lori both need to let go of the past. Interestingly, they are only able to do so once they reestablish their strong mother/daughter relationship. The story is in part based on the life of director Lorene Scafaria.

The Meddler is not only a cute and enjoyable movie, it’s also a great mother/daughter story. It’s rated PG-13 for brief drug content. The movie opens April 22, 2016.

About the Author

Francine Brokaw has been covering all aspects of the entertainment industry for 20 years. She also writes about products and travel. She has been published in national and international newspapers and magazines as well as Internet websites. She has written her own book, Beyond the Red Carpet The World of Entertainment Journalists, from Sourced Media Books.

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