Grade: B-
I was never a gigantic Elvis Presley fan. Three of my four favorite Elvis songs became favorites due to me being re-introduced to them through a cover I loved. Bruce Springsteen and The E Street Band do a mean rendition of Jailhouse Rock, as you would expect. Billy Joel has sung Suspicious Minds in concert, sporadically, which put it back on the map for me. Woody Harrelson did a fun version of Burning Love, which plays over the credits for Zombieland: Double Tap. Viva Las Vegas is the only one that I became a fan of from Elvis’s original. I was pleased to hear all four in Baz Luhrmann’s Elvis.
With all the glitz, glamour, and frivolity that Elvis Presley indulged in throughout his 42 years, Luhrmann is the perfect choice to direct a rock-and-roll biopic about him. Moulin Rouge, which made my top ten list in 2001, is one of his crowning achievements. He is known for lots of bold sparkly eye-candy with quick frenetic cuts, sometimes on every syllable. From the beginning of Elvis, we are submerged head-first in the deep end of unmistakable Luhrmann territory. I wondered if the whole film was going to be like that. It isn’t. After 10 minutes or so, the movie settles down into a traditional biopic. I wonder if it would have played better had it remained on the Luhrmann train.
Austin Butler (The Dead Don’t Die, Once Upon a Time…in Hollywood) does fine, authentic work as our titular character, but it is Tom Hanks – as Colonel Tom Parker – who steals the show. I was all Hanksed out by the end of the 90s. He is a living legend, but I felt like he was awarded enough – almost too much. I was getting a “look what a nice guy I am” vibe from his increasingly similar characters and performances. I was happy he didn’t win for Saving Private Ryan or Cast Away. So, for me to state that I’d nominate him for an Oscar for Elvis – I believe that’s saying something. He is always there, in the background, scheming and charming and wheeling and dealing and brilliantly carrying the movie in one of his best performances. With the prosthetics, the hats, and the few extra pounds, he often looked like my grandfather – my mom’s dad. I wonder if he ever got into Elvis.
There were stretches of the movie where I just wasn’t feeling it, but overall, this didn’t feel like a 2 hour 39 minute affair. As sluggish as it could sometimes get, leave it to Luhrmann to ramp it up and end it well. That was a beautiful stripped-down performance of Unchained Melody. It’s easy to forget that Elvis really did have a great voice.
Grade: B-
Film Reviews by Mark 
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