"Elvis"

We finally got around to seeing "Elvis", the Baz Luhrmann directed biopic on Elvis Presley, as seen though the eyes of his shyster manager, Col. Tom Parker.   The critics reviews on this movie have been, to be kind, mixed, which, combined with the fact that it's two hours and forty minutes long, had pervented me from rushing out to see it, but in the end, I am glad that I saw it, because it was a good movie, quite entertaining, and, despite the long running time, I never once checked my watch as I viewed it.  I highly recommend it.

First off, as the opening title came on and the first twenty or so minutes of the movie played out, my thought was "Yep, this is a Baz Luhrmann movie alright", but soon thereafter, Luhrmann played down the sensory overload (see Luhrmann's "The Great Gatsby") and told the story of Elvis and Parker fairly straightforwardly, and, I must say, he hit it out of the park.  As I said, the story is told through the viewpoint of Col. Tom Parker, played by the great Tom Hanks, and he is the narrator of the movie.  Critics have not been kind to Hanks on this one, and he is saddled with some facial prosthetic make-up and a fat suit, a hokey Dutch accent, and he does tend to, shall we say, chew into the role.  It's not vintage Tom Hanks, to be sure, but hey, it is TOM HANKS, so attention must be paid.

The true star here, though, is 30 year old Austin Butler as Elvis.  Butler was pretty much unknown to me.  He came up through he ranks in Disney Channel and Nickelodeon productions, and he had a small but significant role as Manson Family member Tex Watson in "Once Upon A Time In Hollywood", but, his Elvis portrayal can truly be called a breakout role if ever there was one.  Early on in the movie, he brings to mind a young John Travolta, but when the movie takes you to the 1968 Comeback Special and the Las Vegas era Elvis, Butler  becomes Presley and completely carries the movie.  The mixed critical reviews of the movie and the summer release may cause Academy Award voters to overlook or ignore Butler's performance, but if he would manage to snare a Best Actor nomination for this one, it won't be undeserved.

Austin Butler alongside

the genuine article

And Luhrmann chooses to end the movie with a performance from the real Elvis that is both wonderful and sad at the same time.  Of the 2022 release date movies that I have seen thus far this year, I rank this as Number 1 and give it, what the Hell, Four Grandstander Stars.