First review: Elvis LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - My guess is that if there was a movie about Elvis Presley produced with the full consent and authorization of the estate of his lifelong agent, "Col." Tom Parker, it would show that Parker made all the right decisions, was persuasive and not coercive, exercised fatherly concern at all times and only did what was in the best interest of his star client. That movie doesn't exist. Instead, we have a miniseries about Presley stamped with the approval of his family and estate that, though not a whitewash, is nonetheless selective in its interpretation of the rock icon's life and career. That effort to shine the best possible light on Presley starts by ending the story in 1968, nearly a decade before the singer died of heart failure at age 42. Although he was only 33 when this miniseries fades to black, Presley's career was mostly over. What remained was playing Las Vegas, divorce from wife Priscilla and hospitalizations for taking more pills than even Rush Limbaugh could imagine. So what the heck? It's a miniseries, not a documentary. Why not accentuate the good times when Presley was an ambitious, rubber-legged kid, innocent and exuberant, whose goal was to be "the man in the big house?" This, then, is not so much a story of why Presley became a sensation as how. The first part, told as a long flashback, concludes with his Army enlistment in 1957. Yes, it's a story that's been told many times during many sweep periods but director James Sadwith and writer Patrick Sheane Duncan keep it fresh and spirited, with assists from a hard-working cast and the use of Presley's masters for the music. And when you get to the part where you need to explain the dozens of mediocre movies and countless forgettable songs, well there's always penny-pinching, money-grubbing Parker to pin that on. Although there's never been a shortage of Elvis impersonators, the starring role went to British actor Jonathan Rhys Meyers, whose efforts with a dialect coach paid dividends. He plays Presley with more intensity and complexity than is commonly associated with the rock icon, but that's crucial to the themes in this somewhat revisionist story. Presley's parents, Gladys and Vernon, are portrayed by Camryn Manheim and Robert Patrick. Both make good use of considerable screen time but it is Manheim's Gladys who comes off as perhaps the most compelling character in the production. Her ambivalence at her son's success provides both texture and dimension to the entire work. Randy Quaid is a marvelous scene-stealer as the manipulative Parker. The Greenblatt Janollari Studio and Jaffe/Braunstein Films Ltd. Cast: Elvis Presley: Jonathan Rhys Meyers; "Col." Tom Parker: Randy Quaid; Gladys Presley: Camryn Manheim; Vernon Presley: Robert Patrick; Sam Phillips: Tim Guinee; Priscilla Presley: Antonia Bernath; Steve Binder: Jack Noseworthy; Ann-Margret: Rose McGowan; Dixie Locke: Jennifer Rae Westley; Grandma Minnie: Marion Zinser. Executive producers: Howard Braunstein, Michael Jaffe, Robert Greenblatt, David Janollari; Co-executive producers: Jorg Westerkamp, Thomas Becker, Ilene Kahn Power; Producer: Judy Cairo-Simpson; Supervising producers: Malcom Petal, Kim Anderson; Director: James Sadwith; Writer: Patrick Sheane Duncan; Director of photography: Jon Joffin; Production designer: David Chapman; Editor: Katina Zinner; Music: Steve Dorff; Costume designer: Eduardo Castro; Casting: Mary Jo Slater, Steve Brookbank, Beth Blanks. Reuters/Hollywood Reporter home | new | the man | lisa marie | priscilla & others | fun | clothes | photos | records | movies | concerts | gifts | web | guide | e-cards | today | facts Click here for more info on the book The Girls' Guide to Elvis Click here to check out sister book The Girls' Guide to Country Click here to check out the latest sister book The Ultimate Guide to Chick Flicks