Because Ann Margaret looked so saucy and sexy, producers often made the mistake of casting her as a bad girl - a role in which she never quite excelled, because I think at heart Ann Margaret was a nice girl who just walked a little bit like a bad girl, so when she was cast as a bad girl she came across as lightweight (cf Sharon Stone and Angelina Jolie). So she was at her best as a girl next door who had a saucy side, the sort of person who would be a lot of fun but within the confines of a relationship - Bye Bye Birdie, this one. She is easily the best partner Elvis ever had, shimmying, stunning, flirty - the chemistry between the two is electric, you can see them take each other's breath away: it's like Ann Margaret is looking at Elvis going "wow, you’re Elvis" and Elvis is looking at her going "wow, you're Ann Margaret".The first half of this is as close to perfection as you can get - well, in Elvis movie land, anyway. There's a great opening credit sequence with the title song (my fave of the king's) and shots of Vegas, then we have Elvis and Cesare Danova chasing Ann Margaret - although Elvis has a de rigeur sidekick its great to see him instead with a rival. The thing is then Elvis and Ann Margaret spend time together (they have a charming duet, 'The Lady Loves Me' - actually all the songs for this movie are pretty good) and they get along so well its like the movie makers went” you know, there's no way she's going to pick Danova over Elvis" so they drop Danova and the second half of the film is a bit of a dull plot about Ann Margaret wanting Elvis to give up car racing. But then Elvis sings the title track twice again, Ann Margaret puts on a variety of stunning outfits (including a cowgirl one, and a near see-through leotard), there is an entertaining car race, and you walk out feeling good. The director was George Sidney, coming to the end of his career, but the numbers are still full of verve - is this arguably the last classic MGM musical?
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