What else happened this year? Forget Cold War Stuff for a moment, Beatlemania!
What is the plot - in one sentence? Elvis is a race-car driver in Las Vegas, competing in love and in races with a suave Italian driver for the love of a red-hot red-head (Ann-Marie.)
I don't have time, just spoil it for me? After wooings, fallings-out, songs and a talent contest, in a genuinely surprising ending, the Italian driver ends up in a fiery car crash, and it turns out that the Redhead's dad bet all his money on Elvis, so by winning he's secured his future. He also marries said redhead, the end.
What is the meaning of the title? It's set in Las Vegas, it's also a song that's in your head right now.
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| In the story here Elvis has shown he can sing, so he is invited to dance and sing with Rusty. They shake their hips at each other like the mating ritual of some exotic birds. She's so happy to dance she doesn't need real clothes, and I am not complaining. |
Anything that's not aged well? Does a woman get slapped around? Of Course this is of its time, so let's ignore the fashion and formula of the movie, and say that it's good that no one gets slapped around. Rusty, the 'one woman' in the movie is treated pretty well, and though she's lusted over by Elvis and his Italian pal / rival, they seem to treat her pretty well. Let's ignore the fact that the race is effectively a race for her, and focus on the fact that she's nicknamed 'Rusty' because of her red hair. I'm not convinced.
Any thoughts? This is nonsense, the plot is just a vague throw rug to tie in the movies songs and dances. Need Elvis to sing a song about Texans? Have him sing it to empty a Texan bar for some reason.
Elvis loses all his money (he'd been meaning to buy a car engine or something, it's of no consequence) and to pay his debts works in the same hotel as Rusty, whose job seems to involve flinging toddlers into the pool. After a song which proves he's not a hound dog, he takes her for a 'no-money' date- which involves waterski-ing, helicopter riding, motorbike riding and some time as cowboys. I guess the plot isn't why you watch an Elvis movie?
So, it appears as though in most movies of Elvis' he wasn't matched with a woman who could keep up with him, and it's a shame that they weren't more like this. From her first appearance in tiny short-shorts, Ann-Marie's more than a match for him. The two share a couple of dances which can only be described as 'horny.' A song they sing even has her mention his 'two heads.' It's evident that they're sexually attracted to each other, even with the cinematic conventions of repression of the time. We know what's going on.
The downside is that they have a falling-out to enable them to re-fall in love, and it's dumb even by summer movie standards. It ends with her admitting 'I've wronged him' very earnestly, but how long have they known each other? The name Cal Howard - a racer who died - is also mentioned very obviously twice. My guess it was a guy who won a competition to have his name in a movie. Anyway, she is attracted to a race-car driver, dates a driver, and then starts to worry that he'll die in a race. It seems a legitimate concern, but what did she expect? Anyway, time for another song.
Would you recommend this? Is this the best Elvis movie? Is this the only one worth watching? Probably, but as a cultural icon, it's worth seeing, and thus it was a bonus that it was enjoyable, albeit as nonsensical as this sentence. He has genuine charisma despite being an odd-looking guy (though in a handsome way) and he has good chemistry with old Rusty.
Final thoughts? Surprisingly for a movie set in Las Vegas, there is no gambling whatsoever, other than a walk through of one casino at the very beginning, and the final bet by the dad. Actually that's wrong, Elvis and the Italian guy go to see every stage show in the city in order to find the one redhead who decided to brave the desert, they don't gamble, but they do find her working at the hotel that the Italian guy is staying at.
Ann-Marie, is great in this, and it's nuts to think that merely 11 years later she would be the mother to fully adult Roger Daltry's, getting covered in beans and making me feel weird.
Elvis is shown topless during the waterski-ing scene. He is slim, and not at all muscular, it's amazing how much body standards have changed since then, as steroid use has become more visible but unspoken of.
Most of note is how quickly the ending is wrapped up as though they had to beat a clock. Elvis finishes first, the dad admits he is now wealthy, and the two youngsters get married, in literally 15 seconds of time. Add another 15 seconds and the primary love interest's car (and body, presumably) are horribly burned up in a crash that is probably Elvis' fault. It's quite impressive how quickly it wrapped up, it's like they had to get off the lot before the end of the day.
We're getting there people! All of the others are available here.
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