Tickle Me

Tickle Me (1965)

Runtime: 90 minutes

Directed by: Norman Taurog

Starring: Elvis Presley, Julie Adams, Jocelyn Lane, Jack Mullaney, Merry Anders

From: Allied Artists Pictures

Technically I saw this Sunday night and I wrote the review for it and posted it on Letterboxd yesterday but I had no clue what my schedule would be so that's why I decided not to post anything here until tonight. Below is the Letterboxd review and I'll return tomorrow night.

I was not expecting to see another Elvis movie so soon. But watching that cheeseball film Kissin' Cousins then writing about it and realizing the unusual subtext it has, I was greatly entertained and at least I enjoyed it. Thus, I chose a film with a title that sounds like I watched a fetish video, written by two old guys who wrote some Three Stooges shorts-which makes them awesome-and some Bowery Boys movies too. It's about an out of work bullrider who also sings and he works on a ranch... which is a weight loss camp for ladies. A hidden treasure in a ghost town also factors into the plot; what could go wrong?

I had no idea what to expect but thankfully I can at least rate it as average. There's plenty of slapstick, pratfalls, goofy one-liners, and sarcastic moments, which I really shouldn't be surprised by given the writers' background. There are multiple fist-fights with Elvis and he gets to show off his karate skills, which was greatly amusing to me. Sure, the plot is paper-thin, most of the women you see are just there to look pretty, and there's some sexism and stereotyping going on, but I was usually amused and entertained anyhow.

While there's a fellow worker named Stanley-the movie portrayed him as a simpleton-who becomes a big part of the plot (based on looks and how he acted, think a less obnoxious Jerry Lewis) there's still a noticeable shift in the final third of the movie. It becomes really goofy; while it started a few years after this film, think Scooby-Doo, down to the bad guys wearing cheap masks. It was a real cartoon but it didn't totally ruin the movie for me. While Elvis isn't the best actor he still has boatloads of charisma and presence, which does help. As for the songs, all were from the past and yet they're only decent at best.

To mention some odd moments, there's a brief subplot where the older woman who hires Elvis for the job has the hots for him, and you actually get sexual harassment, although it was the female who was the aggressor. Also, this certainly is the only movie I've seen where (implied) sexual favors are offered in trade for... larger pieces of steak! As for why the movie is called Tickle Me, the actual film offers no explanation. When I return to watching the movies of Mr. Presley hopefully I can still be entertained by these silly pictures.