REVIEW: ‘Graceland’ has no saving grace
What do you get when you put Kevin Costner, Kurt Russell and Courtney Cox in a movie steeped in Elvis-culture and a story that is too slow, violent and predictable to be enjoyable in any way? The answer: “3,000 Miles to Graceland.”
Richard Recco, credited for writing the screenplay, begins the movie strong. During an Elvis impersonator convention in Las Vegas, a group of thieves, all dressed as the King of Rock and Roll, rob a casino of more than $3 million, getting into a massive gun battle with security guards and police. This part of the movie is good, well shot and unique as it flashes back and forth between the shoot-out and an Elvis impersonator on stage singing and wiggling his hips. After the heist is up, though, the movie turns into a slightly intriguing run for the border that ultimately leaves the audience wondering why it is taking the characters so long to get there.
This movie marks the second attempt in the movie industry by director Demian Lichtenstein. Lichtenstein has a great deal of experience in the music video industry, including directing music videos for Sting, Eric Clapton and Queen Latifah. Lichtenstein’s mini-movie background may be one of the reasons “3,000 Miles to Graceland” begins so strong and pitters out after the first action scene.
Kevin Costner (“For Love of the Game” and “Thirteen Days”) continues his search to play deep and interesting characters, ultimately choosing parts in movies that are unfulfilling and painful to watch. His character, Murphy, is no exception. An ex-con, Murphy is an angry and violent person who is presumably an illegitimate child of Elvis Presley. Although a lot of time is spent with Murphy’s character, his motives – other than money – are never really explained.
Kurt Russell (“Breakdown” and “Escape from LA”), who also played Elvis in the 1979 TV movie “Elvis” did a pretty good Elvis impression, but left a poor impression with the audience as Michael, the bad guy with a conscience. Courtney Cox plays Russell’s love interest, Cybil Waingrow, who becomes intertwined with the outlaws because of her son, Jesse. Played by David Kaye, Jesse turns out to be one of the brighter parts of the film.
Most of the strong performance came from the supporting cast. Thomas Haden Church and Kevin Pollak play a pair of pretty funny U.S. marshalls and David Arquette, Christian Slater and Bokeem Woodbine complete the team of rhinestone-studded outlaws.
Other stars who play smaller roles in the film are Howie Long, Jon Lovitz and Ice-T.
The film is fairly well shot in an overly-artistic form for the content it is trying to convey and is slow – very slow, most of the time. And the acting is not enough to save the story by any means.
If you are an Elvis fanatic, you might enjoy a lot of “3,000 Miles to Graceland.” Otherwise, leave your blue suede shoes in your closet and stay away from this flick.
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