Kevin Costner is a pretty famous guy. He has proven over and over again he can be a big draw at the box office.
It seems, however, that every time he manages to do something great, he must follow it with a bomb or two.
Look at The Postman, or Waterworld, two of the biggest bombs in Hollywood history. Remember, this is the same guy who made Field of Dreams, and For the Love of the Game.
So what should you expect from his latest outing as an ex-con turned Elvis impersonator/casino robber in 3000 Miles To Graceland, which opened last weekend? Did you just hear what I said? An Elvis impersonator who happens to be a casino robber! That is all that you need to know to realize how bad this sucks.
Kurt Russell, also an Elvis look-a-like robber, has had his career highs and lows as well. So maybe this wasn't the best role for two guys aging pretty fast by Hollywood standards.
I will give Costner and Russell this: they did make the best out of an almost unbearable script. The characters the superstars played were interesting and unique -- the story behind them was just a bit too tangled.
Costner plays Murphy, the take-charge bad Elvis, while Russell plays the sensitive, soft-spot-for-kids, good Elvis.
The two join forces with David Arquette, Christian Slater and Howie Long to pull off a $3.2 million Las Vegas casino heist.
One thing leads to another and all of the guys end up looking out for their own personal interest and covering their own backs.
Bring in Courteney Cox Arquette, the one bright spot in this cluttered mess. She plays a poor, single mother named Cybil ("with a C," as you are reminded time and time again) who catches the eye of Russell. She ends up getting forced into the middle of the entire thing.
This also means her annoying little son, Jesse (David Kaye), must tag along as well. The kid winds up having more importance in the movie than either Costner or Russell, and that is unfortunate because Kaye is never able to make you like him enough to care what happens.
Cox may actually be the first of the Friends cast to show her acting chops in a mainstream movie.
Jennifer Aniston and David Schwimmer haven't found roles to fit them yet, and while Matthew Perry did a great job in The Whole Nine Yards, he was virtually playing his Chandler Bing.
Cox is charming and sexy in a redneck kind of way and that is pretty hard to pull off. She does it perfectly though.
The first time we meet Cybil (with a C) she swears that it will take more than a cup of coffee to get her into bed. The very next second we see her with her legs high in the air. This is truly an unclassy role for a someone who seems like a pretty classy lady, and that's what acting is all about.
There are a few too many coincidences that lead to the culmination of this film. It becomes unbelievable. They even go as far as letting you know that Murphy (Costner) is possibly Elvis' illegitimate child and this connection to the King might be behind his lifelong infatuation with him.
This fact alone somehow helps the cops track him down. Speaking of the cops, Kevin Pollak plays Marshall Damitry, who shows he doesn't need peanut butter and banana sandwich crumbs to track the bad guys, because every shred of evidence somehow falls right into his lap. Pollak is a proven actor and would have done a great job in this role. However, director Demian Lichtenstein chose to only give Pollak and his cop buddies about five minutes of screen time.
Blasts and explosions are aplenty, just as they are in every action movie today. There are hundreds of bullets fired, always managing to just miss the intended target.
Too bad the writers and director couldn't decide if this movie was an action flick, a comedy or a Quentin Tarantino rip-off. Trying to be all three at one time leaves moviegoers extremely glad these guys are still 3000 miles from Graceland</>!
Movie Grade: D
(R, 125 minutes)
