Protecting the King 

A review of Netflix’s ‘Agent Elvis.’

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('Agent Elvis' image courtesy of Netflix © 2023.)

Ladies and gentlemen, Elvis has re-entered the discourse. While the iconic musician has never seen his popularity truly die, a hit biopic last year gave Elvis Presley and his music a bump in attention: 45 years after his death, Elvis’ music appeared on Billboard charts again.

Now here comes Netflix, trying to ride that revival wave with a TV show that envisions the King as a secret agent. Created by Elvis’ ex-wife Priscilla Presley—who also voices herself in the show—and starring Matthew McConaughey as Elvis, Agent Elvis was released last week and has been widely trashed by critics. The scorn is well-deserved.

Agent Elvis is the latest sanitized and mythologized version of Elvis’ life to come from his estate. (The fact that he and Priscilla started dating when she was 14 and he was 24, for example, was left out of both this series and last year’s biopic.) Elvis was a talented musician with a dark and messed up private life, but clean images sell well, and when you’re sitting on a billion dollar cash cow, there’s an understandable impetus to cover up the more unsavory aspects of a life. It’s for this reason that Baz Luhrmann’s film gave Elvis’ drug issues a redemption arc. Meanwhile, they’re completely nonexistent in Agent Elvis. It’s easier to sell tickets for a tragic hero or an All-American secret agent than an obese addict.

Problem is, all-American secret agent Elvis is boring. The Netflix production owes its comedy DNA to the Mike Tyson Mysteries, an Adult Swim comedy in which the titular boxer solves mysteries with a team of oddballs, starring Mike Tyson as himself. Mike Tyson Mysteries worked because of the show’s sharp writing, 15-minute-long episodes, and, most importantly, because the series wasn’t afraid to get weird. Norm Macdonald, for example, plays an alcoholic, sex-addicted druggie pigeon.

Yet Agent Elvis suffers from a strange self-seriousness. Mike Tyson played himself as a well-meaning idiot in Mike Tyson Mysteries, while McConaughey’s Elvis isn’t a parody or caricature or even remotely funny. Supremely confident, competent, and strong, this Elvis is never allowed to look bad or silly. And if you don’t think there’s any opportunity for humor from a man who wore skin-tight, bedazzled suits with capes while he did karate on stage, you’re sorely mistaken. 

As such, the humor falls to Elvis’ sidekicks: chimpanzee Scatter, who is never without a beautiful woman on his arm or in his bed, and Bobby Ray (Johnny Knoxville), Elvis’ handyman friend whose personality starts and ends with being Elvis’ sidekick. Elvis partners with superspy CeCe Ryder (Kaitlin Olson), who is meant to be sassy or something, but as with the other characters, the writing fails to bring that aspiration to life. Historical characters portrayed in goofy fashion are intended to pick up the slack—Fred Armisen as Charles Manson, Jason Mantzoukas as Howard Hughes, Simon Pegg as Paul McCartney—but their nonstop attempts at humor fall flat.

Written differently, Agent Elvis could be utterly divorced from the reality of Elvis’ life and still be fun. But a show that just wants to protect Elvis’ image isn’t one that’s conducive to humor.

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Comments (16)
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  1. James Morphew

    There is plenty of room for comedy around Elvis and his stories, but I don't think Priscilla had that in mind. I applaud Mike Tyson for allowing some enjoyment.

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    WJHEsq

    I have to admit "an alcoholic, sex-addicted druggie pigeon" is a phrase I would never have expected to see.

    Given how horrible this show sounds (and I saw the trailer on Netflix and was trying to figure out if it was meant to be a comedy) I feel like one would be better off watching re-runs of the 1990's 'Johnny Bravo' for a better Elvis experience.

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    Perry Clark

    Opinions about Elvis are like a**holes—everyone has one, and it’s not likely one will find anything but s*** in it.

    I can understand an ex-wife’s desire to control the image of her once-upon-a-time superstar husband. And I’m prepared to be persuaded that Elvis might have been an even bigger star if not for the colonel and a few others.

    But there’s a fair bit of unpleasant reality to be dealt with, and to produce a cartoon comedy show portraying Elvis as basically an Avenger prototype and completely leave out the comedy is a pair of nearly unpardonable sins. It damages Elvis’ reputation and image while just being at the same time a really, really bad cartoon.

    I sincerely believe that the best move for Netflix would be to buy out the series from the production company, cancel anything in the planning stages, and destroy every bit of the show, and every bit of evidence it ever existed. Then we all agree never to speak of this again.

    Yes, it’s that bad. Even worse than Luhrman’s too-often false hagiographic biopic, which, like Elvis himself, will not age well, but it’s still not nearly as awful as Agent Elvis.

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  4. Nikitas Hatzimihail

    Thank you for introducing some of us to Mike Tyson’s Mysteries — Norm McDonald lives!

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  5. Dtabat

    Elvis is everywhere. Elvis is everything. Elvis is everybody. Elvis is still the KING!
    -- Mojo Nixon and Skid Roper

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mpb4ZAAP6Z4

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    Ted Gale

    I find it hard to think about Elvis without recalling a scene from a movie from the early 1990s, “The Commitments” (based on a novel by Roddy Doyle). The protagonist, a young working-class Dubliner, obsessed with American soul music, is trying to put a band together. He gets into an argument with his father, for whom Elvis “is God.” The young man’s response: “I never pictured God with a fat gut and a corset singing “My Way” as Caesar’s Palace.”

    I can look back on Elvis, and understand why he made such an impact, and why so many people loved him. But the last fifteen or so years of his life . . . let’s just say the image didn’t hold up.

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    Mattjabour

    So you're saying the cartoon about Elvis created by his wife is bad because she never delved into his drug use and pedophilia. Interesting criteria. I hope when I die, the TV show my wife makes is half as salubrious as this one.

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      Alec Dent

      No, it’s bad because, like everything the Elvis estate puts out, Elvis is only ever allowed to be perfect and cool. A biopic should delve into the dark side of Elvis you mentioned. But a comedy cartoon? Maybe it should try to be funny instead of hagiographic

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      1. James Morphew

        There actually was quite a bit of humor around Elvis -- in his movies. Recall that he did not concerts for a few years, and quite one-take movies. And he both had fun and showed fun.

        Elvis' history is worth a read, both the dark side of a poor boy that got rich and unapproachable, and the stories of the younger boy, the good boy in the choir, who even enlisted in the military when he was called to in the midst of a booming career. If you wish to see something sweet, look up the interview of Elvis when he was discharged. Polite, honorable, lovable Elvis.

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        Mattjabour

        Certainly would be a plus, yeah.

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        Scarlette Tarte

        You know, it's interesting that Priscilla is now acting like the colonel did to Elvis. He kept him from being as great as he could have been.

        Barbara Streisand wanted Elvis for her version of the movie A Star is Born, but the Colonel would not let him do it, telling him "you can't play a washed up rocker because that will diminish you to your fans and you are NOT a washed up rocker". I think Elvis should have done that role. It would have pushed his creative limits, and, hearing the "duets" Streisand has done, mashing up her voice with Elvis's, show how great their voices would have been together.

        And the colonel of course would not let him tour Europe, and we now know why...because he was in the country illegally. Another stifling of a great talent. Talent needs creative growth, or it begins to stifle, and becomes a boring caricature...which Elvis became toward the end of his life, although his voice was still superb, his pitch perfect, but the kitschy costumes became Elvis only creative outlet...the only thing he was really allowed to change. To mess with the formula was to court danger, according to the colonel.

        This was a horrific end for the dazzling, dangerous, beautiful young man that brought black rock and roll right into white America's suburban homes.

        All of Elvis best work was done outside of or around the colonel...the comeback special being the best known case. Elvis was special and wanted to take risks ( he lobbied for the Terry Malloy role in On the Waterfront for example) like real talent usually wants to do. Steve Binder, who saw in Elvis that fire that melted America down back in the 50's, unleashed it again for America in 68. It's one of the best performances of all time.

        Elvis was a talented, culture changing fireball. And all the twisted stuff in Elvis story added to that. The death of the twin ( can anyone imagine two Elvis's?) the poverty, the close relationship he had with black music (so many of his hits were written by the black songwriter Otis Blackwell for example, the love of black gospel, the white southern boy with an affinity for black music and a voice to sing it, his close and strange relationship he had with his mother, but also his father, his affinity for a very young Priscilla, his grooming of her, his sexual proclivities (not being able to have sex with a woman who was a mother) his generosity, his support of charities, his weird affinity for badges and his love of law enforcement (he went undercover with the city of Memphis police a few times...can you imagine being busted by Elvis) his own drug use, but making sure it was all from doctors so he didn't see himself as a drug abuser, his pursuit of religious and quasi religious ideas (he famously wore a star of David, a cross and the Hebrew Chai symbol on a necklace, but also really believed in numerology, his Peter Pan self that never grew up and kept his treehouse friends around all the time for play of all kinds...sometimes renting out Memphis Libertyland amusement park overnight and riding roller coasters all night long, or racing go karts in his driveway, his enormous appetite...

        I could go on, because the man was full of all kinds of weird and wonderful things, some dark, some light, but they all fed the beast and made the man. To deny any of it, is to deny ALL of it. Priscilla is neutering him, much like the colonel did.

        And so finally, this is the enormous tragedy of Elvis...that he is kept neutered so as to keep providing an income. Although I think if anyone had ever let the real Elvis out...indeed, if he had just unleashed himself by defying the colonel...the monetary rewards may have been even greater.

        Elvis had good instincts about his own talent and abilities. Too bad he didn't, or couldn't, trust them.

        By the by, if you want to hear how great he still sounded even right up until he died, listen to the song Hurt. It's melodramatic, but Elvis voice is in fine form.

        I saw Elvis live in Pittsburgh, on New Years Eve, 1976. I know that the last couple of years of his life, he was very erratic on stage. But that nite, for 90 minutes, he held the audience right in his palm. He was unbelievably good.. He ad libbed with the audience, took requests, gave out probably 100 scarves and sang his heart out. It was a fantastic show. My mom was a fan, and she took me to see him with her, as we were in Pennsylvania visiting relatives for the holidays. I grew up with his music. That night he was self deprecating, making jokes about his old Elvis the Pelvis early days. Then, at midnight, he brought up the house lights and led everyone in Auld Lang Syne. Then sang some more. And he looked better than he had in a while.

        That fire was still underneath the fat, the depression, the drugs.

        I am so glad I got to see that show, and with my mom.

        As an aside, I met Elvis at the gates of Graceland when I was 9 years old. We were on vacation and my mom wanted to get pics of the gate . So we stopped and got out and talked with a few other fans that were there. And Elvis drove up, in a Lincoln town car, with his daddy in the car. Elvis generosity of time with his fans was legendary, and this time was no different. He stopped and chatted. Got out, and made a few pictures. But I saw he had Krispy Kreme donuts in his car and I said "that's where we are going next!". (our mom promised us kids she would take us there if we would just indulge her Elvis fandom, hehe) and he said "well, you don't have to go there, have some of mine" and offered them to everyone. I took a chocolate glazed and he told me those were his favorite too. That too is a nice memory...again, one with my mom. My mom and Elvis are ever entwined in my memory.

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          Jim Canestrari

          I loved reading your story. I grew up in Whitehaven (the section of Memphis that includes Graceland), and lived near there for most of my adult life. We used to see Elvis all the time. For years in Memphis, the number-of-degrees game was played at parties to see who had actually been "known" by him. You would've been in good company.

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        2. Emetz

          Great post. White folks had Gospel music too and that was what Elvis was first exposed to going to church with his mom.

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            Scarlette Tarte

            Sure, he heard and enjoyed white gospel. His momma loved it. It was, of course, in his embrace of black music that Elvis came in for his fiercest criticism. On one day alone, he received calls from two Nashville music executives demanding in the strongest possible terms that Billboard stop listing Elvis' records on the bestselling country chart because he sang black music.

            Elvis was something of a hero in the black community in those early years. In Memphis the two African-American newspapers, the Memphis World and the Tri-State Defender, hailed him as a "race man" - not just for his music but also for his indifference to the usual social distinctions. In the summer of 1956, the World reported, he "cracked Memphis' segregation laws" by attending an amusement park on "colored night."

            That same year, Elvis also attended the otherwise segregated WDIA Goodwill Revue, an annual charity show put on by the radio station that called itself the "Mother Station of the Negroes."

            You know why black folk in Memphis loved Elvis? Because he ignored racial etiquette. If he wanted to listen to the black radio station, he did. If he wanted to go to Beale street, he did. He also bought his clothes as Lansky's, on Beale, which was a shop preferred by colored men. And, he wore eye makeup all around town, especially in the early years. Elvis crossed a LOT of lines and I still admire him for that.

            At one point, an ugly rumor sprung up that Elvis had said "let's face it. The only thing black people can do for me is buy my records and shine my shoes". This made Elvis livid and in 1957, in the Jim Crow south, he sat for an interview with Jet magazine. he told reporter Louie Robinson, anyone would immediately recognize that he could never have uttered those words. And far from asserting any "superiority", he made it known how much he respected black music and black singers.

            "Let's face it," he said of his rhythm and blues influences, "nobody can sing that kind of music like colored people. I can't sing it like Fats Domino can. I know that." And as for prejudice, the black reporter concluded, "To Elvis people are people, regardless of race, color or creed."

            Not a hero for this, but a danger to the social order at the time. That's one of the things I liked about Elvis. He was his own person. If he wanted to go hear black gospel, he did. And he sang it too.Expand full commentExpand full comment

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    Show Jay Janney the 🚪!

    From Pinkard and Bowden

    Elvis was a Narc
    Wearin' rhinestones after dark
    He did his best to keep Memphis drug-free
    He knew every pill he'd eat,
    would be one less on the Street
    Elvis took 'em all, for you and me

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      Wilhelm

      And for all that -- and his Graceland fame -- he's buried in his yard, like the family's pet hamster.

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