2001's 3000 Miles to Graceland refers to a line from the film. Oh and uh, there's plenty of nods to the late Elvis Presley moreover, whether it be impersonators, ditties, or nostalgic thoughts about that almighty "King".
"Graceland", well it stars Kevin Costner and Kurt Russell, two heavyweights who go mano a mano on each other. One of their characters sadistic, the other rather imperturbable. They both want to leave the country and reclaim over $3 mil from a Las Vegas, casino robbery sort of gone amok. "You ready to play?" Ha, if that was even a question.
Along with Costner and Russell (who play Michael Zane and Thomas J. Murphy respectfully), 3000 Miles to Graceland has a bunch of known actors who pretty much make pseudo cameos (Ice-T, Christian Slater, Courtney Cox, and Howie Long to name a few). Everyone seems to be doing this swipe for the paycheck but at least they're having fun slumming it. Oh and I almost forgot, Jon Lovitz is in "Graceland" too and he plays a money launderer hanging out at a taxidermy establishment in Idaho. I mean you see it everyday.
So OK, 3000 Miles to Graceland is the movie equivalent of an abstract painting where everything is thrown at the canvas to see if it sticks. The pic along with being completely outre, is violent, nearly misogynistic, and laced with remorseless, offhanded humor. Director Demian Lichtenstein, well he makes you squirm one minute and then gets your heart fluttering the next. He uses every cinematic trick in the book to film his shootout sequences and yeah, it doesn't hurt that his heavy metal/techno soundtrack fits the rhythms of said sequences perfectly. Full disclosure: I've seen "Graceland" at least 50 times. It's not considered a cult classic but I think it should be. With every viewing, there's more bloody, B-movie mayhem to snicker at, more to nervously enjoy. Going the extra "miles".
Written by Jesse Burleson
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