Elvis

2022

PG-13

The time has come for the new movie featuring the life of Elvis Presley and his partnership with Colonel Tom Parker. Elvis takes a unique look at the man behind the legend and their relationship. This film sheds a new light on the infamous manager of Elvis Presley and the film takes a unique approach of a biopic. As I mentioned a couple weeks ago in the original Elvis biopic, a good biopic tells the story of any one person and it shouldn’t stray too far away from the truth. So, with that being said, did the new Elvis follow the life close enough? Keep reading to find out, but fair warning, only read further if you have seen the film or don’t mind spoilers.

As for any biopic, the film tells the story of anyone in particular and this particular one tells the story of Elvis Presley. His humble beginnings, rise to fame, superstardom, career in crappy movie hell, resurgence, slow decline, and death. The story has been told many times by many different people, but this one by far is the most unique. The twist with this one is that it adds the element of Colonel Tom Parker (Tom Hanks). He acts as sort of a narrator throughout the film and tells the story of Elvis Presley (Austin Butler) through his eyes. Nobody knew what was better for Elvis than Parker and each time that Elvis marched to the beat of his own drum, Parker knew how to adjust and make Elvis an even bigger star. Although their relationship was a rocky one, they always ended up back as partners in one way or another. Elvis knew he wouldn’t have been as big without Parker and Parker knows he wouldn't have had a fulfilling life without Presley, at least that’s what we’re led to believe. Many blamed Parker for the decline and eventually the death of Elvis and the growing consensus has been that Parker was a vile man. While Parker always denied any wrong doing, the public have always had their negative opinion about him.

It tells of Parker’s rise to prominence as a former Circus promoter, then his emergence into Country music, more importantly, his management of Hank Snow (David Wenham). After hearing Elvis’s new single, he is dumbfounded when he finds out that Elvis is a white man singing like a black man, as are many of his newest fans. He immediately realizes that he must manage him as he is the perfect “circus act”. Elvis’s stardom rises throughout the southern states and Parker finally reaches an agreement with Presley. While Parker works tirelessly for Elvis, Elvis is adjusting the best way he knows how to his new found fame and takes advice from some people in the Memphis music scene. While the media did everything in their power to slow the rise of his fame, Elvis was compliant until he realized he didn’t have to be. While Elvis has a tough time adjusting as the biggest star in the world, his parents Vernon (Richard Roxburgh) and Gladys (Helen Thomson) are having even more difficulties adjusting, especially Gladys. She turns to drinking. Elvis is distraught after his mother’s death and clearly isn't the same afterwards, but life moves forward, especially for the nation’s most famous Army private.

While serving on a German base, he meets his future wife, Priscilla Beaulieu (Olivia DeJonge). He tells her that he will be exclusively acting in movies when he gets back to the US and they eventually get married 8 years later. His career isn't where he wants it to be and The Beatles are surpassing him in almost every way imaginable. He knows he needs to get back into music and attempt to switch things up. In 1968, two assassinations shook the core of America. Martin Luther King Jr., and Robert Kennedy were both assassinated within the span of 2 months and it had a profound effect on Elvis. He knew he should say something about it but opts for using his voice instead of a spoken word. This puts negotiations in a tight spot between Parker and NBC because his Comeback Special was meant to be a Christmas special. Elvis rebels and does his own thing and does so, for the most part, for the rest of his career. While things appear to be on the right track for Elvis and his career, his prescription drug abuse is holding him back and he is on a downward spiral. He lands a new deal with the Las Vegas International Hotel to be the exclusive act, but unbeknownst to Elvis, Parker basically leverages this deal so Elvis doesn’t have to go overseas. Elvis wants to travel around the world, but Parker doesn’t want him to. Things start to turn bleak for Presley. His wife leaves him, his daughter leaves with her and this is perceived as the final straw for Elvis. Despite their disagreements, Parker remains as the star’s manager and does so until his eventual death in 1977.

There really aren't any spoilers in my lengthy description of the film, because it is his life story, but buckle in because I’m going to spoil some things. As a big Elvis fan, I’m going to be much more critical than those who are going in blindly or semi-blindly. My thoughts initially were, “what in the world is going on here?” I knew it was going to be a uniquely told story about Elvis going into it, but I was confused within the first hour or so. I had a feeling it was going to be over-produced and was it ever… They made Elvis into a superhero movie. From the comic book transitions to the loud action sounds, which you know is whatever, but it is a non-fiction film. While this isn't autobiographical, it shouldn’t stray too far from the truth. This film was misleading about a lot of things and these things ruined it for me as an Elvis fan. I realize making the movie your own, but Baz Luhrmann’s ego shines bright in this one and not in a good way. While there were obviously many redeeming and bright moments of Elvis’s career, there were a lot of dark things about Elvis. The film was too flashy. Even in the darkest moments of the film, it was too flashy. Don’t get me wrong, Elvis was as flashy as they come, but this is the story of his life not a performance.

I will say, I thought Austin Butler did a great job. A fantastic job. There is only one thing I had a problem with and it was no fault of his own. Probably 80-90% of the live performances were recordings of Elvis which was misleading in promos and interviews. Butler I think performed 3 songs, which he did great on, but I think it should have been all or nothing personally. If you’re going to use Elvis recordings do it throughout the whole film. Be consistent with it. The most consistently critical thing I see from most of the viewing audience thus far is Tom Hanks’s performance as Colonel Parker. I thought he did fine. Did he exaggerate the accent a little? Sure, but Parker did have a little accent. Parker was Dutch, and I know Hanks was going for a slimy, Dutch carny and he fit that mold wonderfully. Hanks had very little to work with in terms of character development. Parker rarely did interviews and was not seen in the public eye. You could probably count on one hand the times that he made public appearances. I have to give Hanks props honestly because there are very few people who heard Parker speak at length, not to mention the fact the man died 25 years ago and the people that were around him a lot are dead as well. These were the two main actors in the film, but I thought the rest did fine throughout the movie.

While there were a lot of truths in the new film, there were a lot of misleading things about it. I didn’t expect it to be a perfect film, but if you’re going to tell his story, tell it right. Elvis had many influences in his rise to fame and his singing style and they were mentioned throughout the film, but they left out some big people. One in particular were southern gospel groups. Elvis loved Southern Gospel music and it wasn’t even mentioned. While Sister Rosetta Tharpe and Mahalia Jackson were mentioned in the gospel realm, quartets like The Blackwood Brothers and The Statesmen were not mentioned. In fact, Elvis tried out for a gospel group before he cut his first Sun recording. This wasn’t even hinted at. That bothered me. Things were twisted too much to make a “superhero” style of film. Because he loved Captain Marvel Jr. as a kid? It didn’t make sense to me whatsoever. I guess if you’re going to sell Elvis to the 7-12 age range, it’s ok, but I didn’t enjoy it.

A big part of the film and climax of his story is surrounding the ’68 Comeback. They mangled that story so badly I don’t even know where to begin. For like 20-30 minutes, they sold us on the idea that Elvis and Parker were going to be sued by NBC if they didn’t do a Christmas special. That wasn’t true whatsoever. It was true that the Comeback Special was originally going to be a Christmas show, but everything was changed months before the show started filming. There was no lawsuit; Parker and NBC were fully aware of the changes. Elvis didn’t grow a wild hair in the middle of filming and decide to rebel. Also, Robert Kennedy was assassinated 3 weeks before filming started for the NBC special, the film led us to believe that Elvis saw it unfold on TV during filming and was distraught. While the Kennedy and King assassinations were known to have a profound effect on him and his performance, they made sure to Hollywood that story up. Also, there was a part in the movie where Elvis “fired” Parker in the middle of a performance, a performance in which Elvis was on drugs and had to be given more drugs to get on stage. While he did have some incidents of being high on stage and they had no choice but to drop the curtain early, the firing scene never happened. Elvis was the ultimate professional and would never dream of doing anything like airing personal business to the listening audience. He was very image-driven and that wouldn't be great for his image. That bothered me too.

The last thing I want to mention (there were more things) that bothered me was the fact that they skimmed over basically 15 years of his career. Elvis was the most famous entertainer in the world and you diminish that much of his career? I understand that he has a long story, but they could’ve made sure to have things from practically every year of his career. Most of the 60’s were basically diminished into a 1-2 minute clip. Sure, his career wasn’t where he wanted it to be, but don’t act like it didn’t happen. Also, there was a brief mention of his Aloha from Hawaii special that was broadcasted live across the world. It was a very historic television program and had more viewers than the freaking Super Bowl! It was mentioned in passing. This let me down yet again.

Reviews are starting to roll in and most of them are positive. If you watched this film and enjoyed it, that is great. As a big Elvis fan, I didn’t enjoy it. It had so much potential and I was let down due to the fact there were too many misleading things about his life portrayed in the film. Not necessarily untruths, but extremely misleading. You have to ask yourself, would Elvis approve of this? I can't answer that, but personally I would say no, but only because he would want to portray himself. If Elvis had a say so, it would’ve been a totally different movie. He wouldn't have included anything that would’ve jeopardized his image. With that being said though, they didn’t even tell his whole story. They cut out practically 15 years of his career.

The film wasn’t horrible, but it was far from great. The visuals were good, but the flow was wonky. The film had terrible flow and for a film that is just 20 minutes shy of 3 hours, flow is important. I kept looking at the time to see when it was going to end. That’s just not good. If I didn’t know a lot about Elvis going into it, I would say the film was pretty good, but knowing what I already know about him, it put a damper on a lot of the film and I couldn’t enjoy it. Even if I rewatch it, knowing how many misleading things are in the film is going to ruin it for me from here on out. At least, that’s the way I feel about it right now.

With all of this being said, do I recommend it? If you have a basic knowledge of Elvis and want to watch the film, go ahead and watch. It is entertaining, and it gives a modern twist of the story of Elvis. If you know a lot about Elvis and are prepared to be let down due to the possibility of his story being twisted, watch it anyway to see if you like it. I would recommend waiting on it though. After watching it, I wouldn't have been a bit disappointed to wait until the media release of it to watch it. I’m glad that I watched it, I’m just disappointed in the film and I don’t think it lived up to the hype.

GRADE: 2.7/5

Yacs

Movie Review: Elvis (2022)