Back to the 90s!

I liked it better that I remembered but a couple of days after watching the film and my initial enthusiasm is waning some. I thought Kevin Costner made a good adult Wyatt Earp but I didn't buy his portrayal of a young and unjaded Earp...there was just too much of Costner's own personality in the young adult Earp scenes for me to buy it. The story structure was good and having watched a number of documentaries on Wyatt Earp and the shootout at the O.K. Corral I have to say they got the major facts of Earp's life correct. Of course no one agrees what actually happened at the shootout other than it wasn't at the O.K. Corral but in a vacant lot adjacent to a photography studio.

The stand out actor was Dennis Quaid in what has to be the most believable Doc Holiday I've ever seen on film. I liked the sets, especially the wood framed buildings with canvas walls and ceiling...that's authentic to a boom town as it's the fastest way to get something like a bar up and running. It also makes for awesome looking set lighting as all of the ambient light is diffused through the canvas, lighting everything inside equally and yet softly which adds a unique look.

Interesting screenplay and overall idea but some of the casting (Johnathon Schaech) didn't work though that could be down to the director's take on the story. Harvey Keitel as 'Elvis' was good but I couldn't help but feel like his Elvis was a bit aggressive but overall I liked his character. I liked the Marilyn Monroe impersonator, Bridget Fonda who sang as Marilyn the Irving Berlin song You'd Be Surprised. One of the fun moments was when a stage freight Keitel performs as Elvis and lip syncs the Elvis hit, Suspicious Minds (song in the movie's soundtrack by Mark Campbell). Harvey Keitel might not be singing but he does get some of Elvis' karate moves down during the stage performances. This would be a favorite if say someone like John Cusack had played the young guy who picks up 'Elvis' as a hitchhiker and drives him to Graceland.


90s movie #52