There are few things more disappointing than a movie that looks promising in previews but crashes and burns in the theater. "3,000 Miles to Graceland" is one such movie.
With a star-studded cast including Kevin Costner, Kurt Russell, Christian Slater and Courtney Cox, with Ice-T and Howie Long in supporting roles, there are few reasons why the movie shouldn't be a smash hit. But as happens too often toady, the actors can act, but the scriptwriters can't write.
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The plot of the movie is simple. Five men dressed as Elvis plan to knock off the Riviera Hotel and Casino. Leading the group are former cellmates Murphy (Costner) and Mitchell (Russell), whose plan revolves around the Elvis convention at the Riviera. Naturally they all walk in dressed as Elvis impersonators, thus giving them the perfect disguise for their crime.
The plan goes awry when the killing starts. They arrive back at the hotel where Murphy attempts to kill the rest of the group. He's successful except for the small and insignificant fact that he really didn't kill Mitchell, who (of course), while still a bad dude, is attempting to reform, get away and live the rest of his life as peacefully as possible.
It is by sheer luck that Mitchell manages to get the money before Murphy. The rest of the movie isn't simply Costner chasing Russell and the cash. At the hotel a twist is thrown into the plot. Cybil (Cox), the hotel's owner, and her son, Jesse (David Kaye), want in on the action. The money constantly changes hands, a love affair is added to the mix, and it all boils down in a battle of the guns.
At least, that is what is supposed to happen. And to a certain extent, it is what happens - it's just nowhere as exciting as it sounds.
The gunfights involve some really cool guns, a great amount of dead people and lots of extremely ungripping action. Almost every time a gun goes off, the entire scene feels contrived. Gunfights should be smooth and flowing; these are so choppy and disjointed that scenes are composed only of dead bodies flying around.
The love affair between Mitchell and Cybil is one of the weakest ever developed in a movie. Their relationship starts out as a one-night stand, but somewhere along the way, almost invisible to the audience, it turns into full-blossomed, true love.
But the movie still has the Elvis background going for it, right? "The King" is still pushing this movie along, isn't he? Wrong. No. Never happened.
"The King" plays a miniscule part in the movie. In fact, the movie easily could have been written with no mention of him at all and been just as bad.
The audience is not even treated to any real Elvis impersonations by the stars. There is a single song in which a couple of other impersonators are singing, but the movie's stars never take stage and, what's more, never really seem to have anything to do with the King. Rather, the only real significance that "The King" lends to the movie, other than the costumes, is the title. Apparently "3,000 Miles to Graceland" is actually referring to Canada, the "Graceland" to which the criminals try to escape.
The movie does have its bright spots, however. Kaye has real potential to be a star, Costner has great sideburns, and Cox shows that she does have the ability to play a role other than Monica on "Friends." Also, Russell looks really good in an Elvis costume, but of course he was previously nominated for an Emmy for his portrayal of "The King" in a 1979 made-for-TV movie.
The most entertaining parts of the movie are the opening and ending credit sequences. The beginning features two scorpions fighting, one black (obviously bad), the other white (obviously good). But this is only interesting because it is different, and not until the end of the movie does its meaning become apparent.
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The ending credits, on the other hand, features an Elvis song, with Russell lip-syncing and dancing to the music, Costner playing with consistently bigger guns, and the rest of the cast making quick cameos. If, during the actual movie, Russell had done more Elvis-impersonating, this short cut would have helped strengthen the Elvis theme. But once again, Hollywood tried to squeeze too much into a movie.
Overall, this movie, one that started with such promise for action and excitement, ended with the only real satisfaction coming from the fact that it was over. While there were moments when the movie seemed to gel, for the most part, Elvis had left the building.
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