THE WOMAN WHO LOVED ELVIS

THE WOMAN WHO LOVED ELVIS: B

A made for television film that was much better than it looks. On the surface it appears to be about a loony woman infatuated with Elvis Presley, when in fact it is a much deeper film than that. It's more so about a woman who has had to deal with an assortment of heartbreaking and disappointing moments in her life, and the one solace she finds in life is to escape into the music of Elvis.

Roseanne as she usually is, does a great job in the film. She nails the dramatic scenes with precision. Danielle Harris shows tremendous growth since her HALLOWEEN days and even Tom Arnold has a few moments on screen that are rather good considering his scale.

I've never seen Sally Kirkland play such a role before, and it was fun to see her in something other than what she usually plays.

Cynthia Gibb did a pretty good job here too.

On a personal level, there is something magical about watching a film shot a half hour from where I grew up. To see roads that I've driven on hundreds of times. To see neighborhoods that I've delivered pizza in. To see Danielle Harris running on a track that I've ran on.

I have a novel I wrote two years ago, "THE 0 and ALL HARRIS BULLDOGS" that I'm wanting to turn into a screenplay one of these days. I've always thought that Ottumwa would make a perfect spot to shoot the film. After seeing this film, I feel even more so that way.

Last thing I'll say is that I feel Bill Bixby was really underrated as a director. One of my favorite actors ever, a man that I would have liked to have known. Read that cast and crew stayed at the Hotel Ottumwa while filming. Having stayed at the hotel Ottumwa before, I can't help but wonder if maybe, just maybe I might have stayed in the same room as Bixby or Harris or Kirkland. It's fun to imagine.