Runtime: 102 minutes
Directed by: Norman Taurog
Starring: Elvis, Joan Blackman, Angela Lansbury (!), Nancy Walters, Roland Winters
From: Paramount
As today would have been the 86th birthday of Elvis, it was time for the now yearly tradition of seeing something on or around the day of his birth. Blue Hawaii is one of his more famous motion pictures so this seemed like the right way to go. Plus, it'd provide enough silliness to brighten my mood and that was accomplished. One of the many lists I have created on Letterboxd is for the Elvis films I've viewed. It is now at 15 and while many are cheesy, most of them are at least OK.
Like in real life, the character The King played (Chadwick Gates) was returning from serving in the military. He has rich parents but is reluctant to return home-instead preferring to hang out on the beach with his Polynesian buddies and his half-native girlfriend. Once you see his parents, it becomes more understandable; his mom-played by Angela Lansbury! This is despite her only being about a decade older than Presley-runs the household and this transplanted Southern belle is rather domineering & overbearing. If being biased against the lower classes wasn't bad enough, she is also on the bigoted side as he doesn't like her son's girl due to her heritage. No wonder Chad doesn't want to work at his dad's factory (which prepares pineapples) despite its benefits. He at least does find a job... being a tour guide alongside his gal Maile-pronounced Miley.
At first I was worried Chad would be a real cad (as other Presley characters have been) as he smooches a random flight attendant as he disembarks the airplane. Thankfully he is otherwise faithful. Of course he has to lead around a female teacher who is escorting a quartet of high school girls around the state... but don't worry, he make it clear that he wants no part of any woman under the legal age and he abides by that. Personally, I'd be a fool if I found a gal like Joan Blackman who has a steady job and I'd be a philanderer instead of spending much time w/ her on a tropical beach...
Anyhow, this was more serious than many of his later efforts; Elvis was even able to impart some wisdom on the bitchy teen girl who caused nothing but trouble the entire time. While not all the humor worked, at least there were some decent laughs-along with a big brawl where Presley was able to use what I call KING-FU-meaning his version of martial arts. Music-wise, there seemed to be more songs than usual, which was alright with this leisurely-paced effort. After all, when you get to view the natural beauty of Hawaii, that is an asset. I was once in Oahu for about a week in 2000-I'd love to return one day as it was paradise. But back to the music... “Ito Eats” is actually about the prodigious stomach of a friend-otherwise it was a soundtrack that naturally was infused w/ Polynesian rhythms and also contains one of his most famous songs in general-the wedding reception standard Can't Help Falling in Love.
Thus, this is why Blue Hawaii is one of the most famous cinematic efforts from The King.
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