You Ain’t Nothin’ But a Hound Dog

 

Is Vegas by Doja Cat playing in my headphones on repeat, while I write this? Yes, yes it is. I’m obsessed. With this movie? Not so much. While I loved our beloved Austin Butler playing Elvis, I don’t think the movie was executed correctly. The film itself was beautiful and the acting was top notch. I absolutely loved how they explained Elvis’ back story. Though it was fast, and I wanted more, they did a pretty good job covering his upbringing. I thought Austin Butler looked like Elvis in most shots. In a few scenes he seemed a little too skinny, but for the most part I could see it. Loved his voice and his acting was perfect. 

On to the cons… This movie had a very confusing plot and I think it lost me as soon as Elvis married Priscilla. For the most part when I watch movies, I can keep track of the characters and remember their names but from that moment on… well no, from the beginning of the movie I missed out on many of the names of those who played Elvis’ friends and family members. In the end you really only need to keep track of Elvis and Colonel and Priscilla. However, it’s a bummer when you are like, “wait who is this guy?”And then he sticks around for most of the movie and you still don’t know who he is.

Even though we had a good 20 to 30 min overview of Elvis’ upbringing I never connected with him throughout the film, which made his story ultimately sadder. When the film Bohemian Rhapsody came out as a tribute to Queen, I felt a range of emotions while watching. You fell in love with Freddie Mercury and his band members. You felt frustrated and laughed at all their silly jokes. Even though Bohemian Rhapsody’s ending was emotional and had me crying in the theater you walked out with a good feeling. Elvis’ you just kind of wanted to leave. I felt trapped and didn’t want to see anymore. Maybe the director Baz Luhrmann wanted you to walk out questioning and slightly disturbed, but it definitely was not what I expected. 

Along with that thought, Colonel Parker’s story was very bewildering. The movie comes from the Colonel’s point of view and boy did that make the story dark. That’s probably why it never felt uplifting and very detached. It was an odd approach to the trafedy of Elvis’ life, but again it must have made sense to Luhrmann. The Colonel’s explanation of Elvis’ death… worst line in the film.

Anyway, I loved how Butler’s voice was pretty accurate to Elvis’ and the “wiggle” was pretty great. And one last thing, I just loved Dacre Montgomery’s performance. Ugh. I’d rewatch the film just to see him again.