Elvis movie review

MOVIE TITLE: Elvis

This movie is now playing in theaters and streaming.

RATING: PG-13

LENGTH: 2 hours 39 minutes! It’s a LONG movie!

MOVIE REVIEW MOM GRADE: B+

IN A NUTSHELL:

This energetic biopic about Elvis Presley is already getting Oscar buzz. It features a young Elvis from his childhood in Tupelo, Mississippi to his rise to stardom starting in Memphis, Tennessee, and his conquering of Las Vegas, Nevada. Elvis Presley becomes the first rock ‘n roll star and changed the world with his music and style.

This creative film was co-written, produced, and directed by Baz Luhrmann. This is most definitely Warner Brothers Pictures’ early attempt at Oscar buzz, hoping to duplicate the popularity and successes of recent music biopics like Bohemian Rhapsody, Rocketman, and Judy.

THINGS I LIKED:

Biopics often get Oscar Buzz, so it was entirely appropriate for Austin Butler to call Academy Award-winner Rami Malek to get some tips on how to respectfully portray a legendary musician on the Big Screen. Fun fact #1: Harry Styles and Miles Teller auditioned for the part of Elvis. Austin Butler’s audition video featured his singing “Unchained Melody” with incredible emotion because he sang it to his mother who had died. Austin Butler and Elvis Presley are 16th cousins twice removed!
Tom Hanks’ physical transformation as Colonel Tom Parker is impressive in the film. He truly understands how to create a compelling movie that features a biography but also spotlights the emotions of the music of the day. As always, he’s incredible. Tom Hanks’ character in the movie “Forrest Gump” met Elvis Presley. Tom Hanks’ son in real life, Colin Hanks, also starred in a movie called “Elvis & Nixon” in 2016.
We get to hear a lot of good music. Unfortunately, they’re just short clips. We never get to hear an entire song until the very end of the movie when we see old, real-life footage of Elvis singing. What’s strange is that we hear a lot of Elvis’ big hits sung by other artists.
You might learn some details about Elvis that you didn’t know previously. For example, he really did keep a Derringer pistol in his boot during his Las Vegas shows because he had been receiving death threats. Unfortunately, there are many more events in the film that are totally inaccurate. For example, Elvis never fired Parker during a live concert in the International Hotel after Elvis discovered Parker’s debts and dishonest business dealings.
Fun Fact #2: On the movie poster, we see the letters “TCB” inside the word “Elvis” to represent “Take Care of Business”, the name of the band Elvis put together.
The movie definitely includes the American culture that was happening at the time, especially the Civil Rights movement and the tremendous influence African American music had on Elvis.

THINGS I DIDN’T LIKE:

The movie feels like a montage of moments but not necessarily in chronological order. It kind of felt like a really long newsreel.
You need a fair amount of energy to watch this fast-paced movie that is loud and chaotic. I was fatigued, rather than energized after watching it.
The problem with telling the story through the Colonel’s narration is that the movie seems to be more about him than Elvis. In reality, Elvis was a creation of both Elvis and the Colonel. They made him and destroyed him together.
Comic Strip animation is used to provide explanations for background information. It didn’t quite seem to fit.
So much yelling. Ultimately, the rise and fall of Elvis is a sad story.
It felt like it spent more time showcasing the culture of the day than Elvis’ personal life and story.
While I liked Austin Butler, he just looked like an actor impersonating Elvis, unlike Rami Malek’s incredible performance where he practically transformed into Freddy Mercury in the movie Bohemian Rhapsody. People are already saying Austin Butler will be nominated for his role. I thought he was good but I wasn’t blown away, apparently, like everyone else.
The movie is long and feels long.
Despite the creative storytelling, it still fills formulaic, hitting the obligatory highs and lows such as a loved one’s death, marital woes and infidelity, rise to fame, and sad ending.

TIPS FOR PARENTS:

Kids will be bored.
Drinking, smoking, talk of drugs
Profanity

THEMES:

Music
Unethical business practices
Greed
Control and power
The price of fame
Infidelity and other vices

INTERESTING LINES:

* “Every man has his price.” – Colonel Tom Parker (Tom Hanks)

“I didn’t kill him. I made Elvis Presley.” – Colonel Tom Parker (Tom Hanks)
“You can do ten stupid things if you do one smart thing.” – Colonel Tom Parker (Tom Hanks)
“What is hate worth if it’s free?” – Colonel Tom Parker (Tom Hanks)