Product Details

• Actors: Chris Barnes (IX), Bill Cusack, John Cusack, Ron Dean, Andy Dick
• Format: Color, NTSC
• Rated: NR (Not Rated)
• Number of tapes: 1
• Studio: Rhino / Wea
• VHS Release Date: June 21, 1996
• Run Time: 30 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 3.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• ASIN: 6301552474
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #285,745 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Elvis is alive and well and living in Ben Stiller, February 9, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Elvis Stories [VHS] (VHS Tape)

I first came across this video at the tail end of high school, and I loved it then, starting with Mojo Nixon's low-budget video work of genius and going straight through each fantastic elvoid appearance in the movie. Then the movie, like Elvis himself, dropped out of sight for many years, and resurfaced in my lap as a recent birthday gift. As I shooed the King away from my lap and carried the video home in its tabloid sheath, I was worried that "Elvis Stories" wouldn't age well -- that, like the _Scooby Doo_ oeuvre, what had been fresh and original to me when I first saw it would seem hackneyed and formulaic now. I worried that I would sit there and not laugh at any of the things I thought were so funny years ago.

Those fears vanished as soon as Mojo's rugged and familiar face greeted me again. "Elvis Stories" is in fact better than I remembered it. The writing and acting is all really good and really funny, and it's great to recognize so many people in the video, especially because I had no idea who any of them were when I first saw it. But the lasting appeal of "Elvis Stories" comes from the way it is presented, as a documentary in which an interviewer and cameraman we never see roam America to preserve these stories like Smithsonian people travel to the backwoods of Appalachia to preserve songs and folktales. This totally deadpan style of delivery lets the lunacy of the characters really come through, and Stiller works it really well. Sometimes I laughed harder at the way the camera went from character to character than I did at what they were saying. John Cusack's performance is absolutely brilliant and shouldn't be missed by any fan; Jeremy Piven shows why he's graduated from stand-up to full-time employment; Mike Myers shows up in one of his funniest bits ever; and Stiller's and Dick's skit is absolutely fabulous, and features a wonderful psychiatrist who, if I remember the credits correctly, may be John Cusack's brother. But as we scoot from story to story and watch a protean Elvis change from supermarket shopper to semi-gaseous state, in this shlockumentary we also see the quirkier and funnier side of American culture that strengthens the comedy and my conviction that belief in Elvis-after-death is a phenomenon worthy of celebration, and I'm ecstatic that Stiller decided to preserve it when and how he did.

5.0 out of 5 stars You'll either love it or hate it..., October 8, 2011

By 

Peter Padro (Denver, CO USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Elvis Stories [VHS] (VHS Tape)

I have to say that I love this series of sketches. Why? Because I know true, die hard Elvis fans and this is a poke fun shot at Elvis lunatics, but in an endearing way. It is obvious that the players love Elvis too, they just want to have a little fun with the obsession.

If you know and find humor in UFO/Alien believers maybe you can understand or at least appreciate the depth of Elvis believers. The only thing that I have ever seen that took this to the next level was the fabulous "Bubba Ho tep" movie with the incredible Bruce Campbell.

If you like Bruce Campbell and silly Ben Stiller or Saturday Night Live style hit or miss humor this might float your boat. If I didn't already own my own archived copy I'd buy it just for the novelty of it.

1.0 out of 5 stars Waste of film., December 25, 2009

By 

Charles E. Spurgeon (Dillon, Co) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Elvis Stories [VHS] (VHS Tape)

I read several positive reviews of Elvis Stories online so I thought I'd give it a shot. Don't believe everything you read online. This is one lousy piece of footage. There is nothing the least bit funny in any of the skits. I'm a big fan of most of John Cusack's work, but this is a complete disappointment.