Wednesday, August 08, 2007

Movie review - Elvis #21- "Paradise, Hawaiian Style" (1966) **

This made an appearance in one of those "worst films of all time" books, which is a little unfair. Elvis was getting tired of films by this stage and his lack of energy on screen is apparent (not to mention a growing waistline) but he still has flickers of energy - partly, one guesses, because the film was shot in Hawaii, which is its key attraction, along with the pretty girls. He's a pilot who is irresisitble to women and is trying to set up his own airline. James Shigeta, who had a brief reign as an Asian leading man in Hollywood films, plays his best friend.

Some of the tunes are quite catchy but some of the direction is atrociously slack - for instance, two musical numbers are set in a helicopter, which is two too many (you can't go anywhere or do anything in a helicopter - the director doesn't even put in many cut-aways) A potentially promising love plot, involving a feisty female pilot, is annoyingly under-developed - she becomes his secretary because they won't let her fly which is the basis for good dramatic conflict but they don't use it, just have her wooed by Elvis.

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