WILLIAM WILEY

Not as good as the Johnny Cash biopic “Walk the Line” The actor who plays Elvis is a pretty good Elvis Impersonator — but do we need another person impersonating Elvis? In the end what we have is a overwrought caricature with a 21 Century emphasis on race and economic disparity. The sycophantic parading of Elvis’ hideous post surgical octogenarian ex wife is like a circus side show. In the legal world her endorsement would be nullified by the conflict of interest. What else would we expect her to say? The truth is Elvis was a phenomenon of his time. But in the end he had gone from being godlike to being an Everyman. Bloated. Diseased. Addicted. Broke. Living in the shadow of unprecedented success — he was now surrounded by friends, family, fortuitous acquaintances and lord of pharmaceuticals. Bernard Lansky (“I put Rlvis first suit on him, and his last”), the owner of the Beale Street clothing store, told me in 2001 that Elvis would check in to either Baptist Memorial or the top floor suite the last days of his life, to “get away from the pain”. That would be a story to tell.