Part one of the CBS mini-series "Elvis" was better than I expected, but not as good as it could have been. Jonathan Rhys-Meyers, while a good actor simply over exaggerated Elvis' southern drawl & lip curl and was too small in build & hight. It was nice having the real Elvis' singing voice, but the lip syncing was not convincing. And why did his hair always look like he just got out of the shower? Elvis' buddies use to kid him about all the time he spent sculpting his famous pompadour. Can't a Hollywood hair dresser come close the most iconic hair style in show-business?
That aside, the stand outs were Randy Quaid as Col. Tom Parker and Camryn Manheim as Gladys Presley. These two made the show worth watching. The actors playing Scotty Moore and Bill Black were as far off from the real thing as you could get.
As far as the story, it skipped too many important events in Elvis' career for only covering it up to 1958 (by the end of part 1). Besides several historical inaccuracies, it was not a bad story, and kept your interest. While not as good as the TV series of the same name in 1990 with Michael St. Gerard or the 1979 TV movie of the same name with Kurt Russell, it was miles better than most portrayals of the King's life (Elvis & The Beauty Queen, Elvis and The Col., Elvis Meets Nixon, Elvis and Me).
I do look forward to seeing the second half.
That aside, the stand outs were Randy Quaid as Col. Tom Parker and Camryn Manheim as Gladys Presley. These two made the show worth watching. The actors playing Scotty Moore and Bill Black were as far off from the real thing as you could get.
As far as the story, it skipped too many important events in Elvis' career for only covering it up to 1958 (by the end of part 1). Besides several historical inaccuracies, it was not a bad story, and kept your interest. While not as good as the TV series of the same name in 1990 with Michael St. Gerard or the 1979 TV movie of the same name with Kurt Russell, it was miles better than most portrayals of the King's life (Elvis & The Beauty Queen, Elvis and The Col., Elvis Meets Nixon, Elvis and Me).
I do look forward to seeing the second half.