Elvis Has Left the Building (2004) Reviews

• It's just a little fun.

  dlitt-12005-12-30

  Okay, it's not Spielberg, but it's a little movie that's a lot of fun. Competent performances by Basinger and Corbett certainly help sell the premise, but it's a screwball comedy a la "The Russians Are Coming". Besides, how bad could a dark comedy be whose focus is on an Elvis impersonator convention? Help comes in many forms including appearances by Denise Richards, Angie Dickenson, Pat Morita, Richard Kind, and Annie Potts. Other cameos spice things a bit. If don't mind spending 90 minutes on a little quirky movie that delivers a few good laughs and a lot of amusing moments rent the DVD. It's worth it. This last line is in here because IMDb makes you write ten lines.

• Very Silly…But I Laughed a Lot

  claudio_carvalho2006-01-20

  The successful Pink Lady cosmetics saleswoman Harmony Jones (Kim Bassinger), who uses lipsticks of her competitor to protect her lips, is very connected to Elvis Presley since she was seven years old and met him. She presently wishes to have a boy-friend and raise a family of her own, being lucky in business and unlucky in love. While traveling nearby Las Vegas, she accidentally kills three Elvis Presley impersonators, and she believes the police is chasing her. Meanwhile, she also meets Miles Taylor (John Corbett), who works in an advertising agency in New York, and is traveling to Las Vegas to finalize his divorce process with his former wife, Belinda (Denise Richards). She wants her Elvis Presley clothes back as the final condition to sign the divorce papers. Harmony sees the clothes in Miles' hands and believing he is another Elvis impersonator, she avoids him, afraid of hurting him. My wife is a great fan of Elvis Presley (but she is not an Elvis impersonators), and I bought this DVD for her. For me, the great attraction was the always sexy and gorgeous Kim Bassinger. Denise Richards, Angie Dickinson, John Corbett, Tom Hanks and other names completed a really good cast, and we have just watched this movie. "Elvis Has Left the Building" is a very silly romantic comedy, with a quite ridiculous script near to the non-sense, but with lots of black humor. Although alternating good moments with very bad ones, I really laughed a lot. There are really funny situations and although very irregular, it entertains. My vote is six. Title (Brazil): "Elvis Ainda Não Morreu" ("Elvis Has not Died Yet")

• funny, funny, funny

  reliles2005-09-15

  This movie was a delightful surprise. I laughed all the way through it. Although it poked some gentle fun at Elvis impressionists and a number of other things, it left the memory of the King alive and well. I wish I had seen it on the big screen. I enjoyed seeing Kim Basinger in this movie and she was quite funny. She is still looking good.The romance in the movie was a bit predictable, but didn't take away from it at all. You just need to be in the mood to watch something silly and enjoy it for what it is. The cameo appearances by some well known actors added to the film. I had to check the credits to make sure I was seeing who I thought I was seeing in one scene.

• YOU might want to leave the building......

  Pietruck2006-05-25

  My main comment on this movie is how Zwick was able to get credible actors to work on this movie? Impressive cast – even for the supporting characters, none of which helps this movie really. I have to admit though, Tom Hank's cameo almost made it worth it – what was that about Tom? Did you lose a bet? The best cameo of the movie was Joe Isuzu though - by far a classic! The premise is good. Basinger's character, struggling with existence as a Pink Lady, is making her way toward Vegas motel by motel pitching the glorious pyramid of cosmetic sales. This happens as Corbett's character is on his way to Vegas to deliver an Elvis suit to his soon to be ex-wife motivated by….what else….extortion. As they both make their way, they have numerous run-ins with Elvis impersonators who on their way to an Elvis impersonating convention in Vegas. Soon, the FBI gets involved and begins to track what they think is an Elvis impersonator serial killer. Unfortunately, premise doesn't mean the movie was good. When watching this movie, imagine you are back in the first grade – when story lines and continuity aren't really important. It is much more enjoyable to just watch Basinger look beautiful in her Pink Lady outfit rather than wondering why what she is doing doesn't really make sense. The movie tries hard, but ultimately falls way way way short. Ultimately, it is filled with ideas that could have theoretically been funny but in practice were not that funny. It isn't the worst, but you may find you yourself feel like leaving the building when watching this one…… Don't say I didn't warn you!

• Very entertaining and several laughs

  pruepp2006-03-10

  Call me sick, but seeing bad Elvis impersonators get offed by the score is my idea of fun. How many times have they offended our eyes, ears and occasionally even our noses - It was high time that someone would pay them back! My wife and I laughed out loud in several instances and she kept rewinding the mailbox scene so many times that I thought she was trying to kill me as well, rolling on the floor and choking on my laughter as I was. The whole movie was very entertaining and plain fun, the actors seemed to understand that this movie is not to be taken as a dead serious comedy either and overplayed their roles suitably. I loved the gay receptionist - Yes, clichéd, overplayed and absolutely unrealistic, but he was portraying the quintessential caricature of a gay receptionist with a lot of warmth and good natured humor. The other characters reactions to him were a sight to behold. The only thing that could have improved this movie would have been another few dead Elvis impersonators offed one by one, not all at once. Oh well, one can always hope for a sequel?