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12 out of 15 people found the following review useful: Very Silly…But I Laughed a Lot, 20 January 2006 Author: Claudio Carvalho from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
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")
9 out of 10 people found the following review useful: It's just a little fun., 30 December 2005 Author: dlitt-1 from United States
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.
7 out of 10 people found the following review useful: Return to Sender, 8 April 2006 Author: zsenorsock from Argentina
Elvis has left the building and he's lucky because he didn't have to watch this unfunny stinker. Scene after scene director Joel Zwick finds ways to make an unfunny script even less amusing. Filled with unfunny deaths, trite gay characteratures, and hack jokes, this film is more desperate than amusing. This is the sort of film that makes one hope Kim Basinger follows Doris Day into premature retirement. Let us remember her the way she was (talented) and not what she's become. David Leisure, the delicious Dennis Richards and the rest are all wasted talents here. Zwick finds a way to minimize their talents at every turn. The guy playing Elvis sounds more like Gomer than the King.The only really good bit of casting is the young girl who plays Basinger as a preteen. She really looks like her and is actually pretty good. The only other reason to watch this film at all is to look for the Tom Hanks cameo. The cameo isn't all that funny, but at least its not painful. One has to wonder if Zwick has incriminating pictures of Hanks or something that would make him do this movie.
3 out of 3 people found the following review useful: How did this get a 5.3 ??!, 11 May 2008 Author: gpaltrow2001 from USA
OMG! The only reason I'm giving this movie a 2 instead of a 1 is because Tom Hanks is funny as an Elvis-in-the-box. Apart from that, how did this halfway decent cast sign on to do such a lame movie?? Maybe it seemed like a good idea at the time... There are no laughs to mention, the stereotypes are pathetic, the cast is wasted, the direction is amateurish. Now that I think about it, most of the blame probably lies with the director, Joel Zwick. He brings out nothing but flat performances from all involved. Don't waste your time like I did; but then, I enjoy a good train wreck. Geez, now the system is telling me I need more lines-- here ya go: This movie should be called Return to Sender. Okay, now THAT was funnier than anything in the movie...
3 out of 3 people found the following review useful: Wacky Movie, 31 May 2006 Author: siderite from Romania
This is a comedy of coincidence, where Kim Basinger is a traveling saleswoman for the Pink Lady cosmetics company, driving a pink Cadillac and wearing pink all over. Add to this horror the bad taste of Elvis impersonators appearing everywhere and the fact that whenever Kim is around some Elvis impersonator dies accidentally, and you have a wacky comedy.Of course, there is a bit of romantic comedy hidden in this movie, a bit of the "neorealist" trend with the two investigating cops being the complete opposite of each other and also a couple, talking even more nonsense than Travolta and Jackson in Pulp Fiction. But the main theme of the movie seems to me the breakthrough of life from the sea of mediocre bad taste.In the end Kim wears black, finds her true love and Elvis takes revenge on the silly people emulating him. Can't say it's a good movie, but it has that bit of originality that makes it stand out. And it's fun, too, if you don't feel the need for something profound.
3 out of 3 people found the following review useful: Very entertaining and several laughs, 10 March 2006 Author: pruepp from Switzerland
*** This review may contain spoilers ***
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?
6 out of 9 people found the following review useful: YOU might want to leave the building......, 25 May 2006 Author: Pietruck from United States
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!
7 out of 11 people found the following review useful: funny, funny, funny, 15 September 2005 Author: reliles from United States
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.
2 out of 2 people found the following review useful: Dead or alive, Elvis should sue..., 10 August 2008 Author: moonspinner55 from redlands, ca
Darkly comic serendipity about a cosmetics saleswoman, with odd ties to Elvis Presley, running into a sea of Elvis impersonators while speaking at conventions in Nevada...and accidentally killing each one of them through little fault of her own. Kim Basinger, a still-attractive actress of considerable merit, likes to pick quirky movies to play in, but this dreadful screenplay (by Mitchell Ganem and Adam-Michael Garber) hasn't an iota of good humor. The stereotypes and low-ball gags are not meant to be the stuff of classic comedy, but even on a shambling, shameful level, the picture is crude and sloppy. If you do watch, see if you can count how much extraneous shots there are of Basinger behind the wheel of her pink Cadillac, hands always in the same position and a non-plussed look on her face. Hopefully both she and Elvis were well paid. NO STARS from ****
2 out of 2 people found the following review useful: a cute movie..., 31 May 2008 Author: matsid from Canada
I liked Kim in this movie (this movie is principally following her character around) and I haven't always liked the characters she has played. Entirely believable. The movie has an interesting premise: co-incidental deaths of Elvis impersonators prior to a major Elvis convention. Corbet plays Corbet; that is, if you liked him in Zwick's 'Big Fat' movie, you'll like him in this. The accidental deaths are funny. Richard Kind was great. David Leisure psyched. Tom Hanks, well, for those who are getting kind of tired of Tom Hanks, you'll probably love this one. Critics who pan this, to quote Sheryl Crow, outta "lighten up." There are some better movies, but there are many more that are worse, and you probably have some of them. The directing is good. The story is well-cut. It flows. It doesn't go stale. It is a very light romantic comedy about Pink Lady, dying Elvis impersonators, and old connections eventually working out. The ending was a hoot! Full marks for Zwick. Hope he does more.
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