For my generation, Elvis has always been the guy who died on the toilet. We weren’t there to witness the phenomenon and the nineties were fraught with drug-induced deaths of famous singers. So this was a kind of differentiator. The consequence is that it’s hard to see someone who died on a toilet as a real person. Thankfully, his stature within pop culture since his death has warranted many retellings of his story.
I don’t count myself as a massive Elvis fan, but after watching Baz Luhrman’s biopic, some of the music really stuck with me. It’s hard to imagine, from today’s vantage point, the extent to which his brand was used to sell anything and everything. Not because our world is any less commodified, but rather as a powerfully concise metaphor about really running the well dry. The best sense of this comes from watching (I would guess) any of the movies starring Elvis, but for my own sake, I only indulged in one.
This week’s selection of films really covers the bases: a biopic styled as hagiography, one styled as character assassination, a concert edit, a cult face-off and, ultimately, an Elvis movie vehicle. I don’t think there are many personalities you can even assemble such an eclectic group of movies for. So, here we go.
Elvis (2022): As I wrote in my original review, parts of this movie are a true ode to the man’s music and it all comes together as a genre-blending arrangement. Austin Butler is an exceptional Elvis and Tom Hanks provides the kind of heavy-hitter aura that basically elevates Colonel Tom Parker to the lead of a movie not named after him. The problem is that narratively the story just doesn’t dare to go anywhere interesting, this is simply a swift tale of the rise and the fall. I thought it effective enough to stand out, especially in contrast to much weaker movies that tried to tackle similarly imposing phenomena (Michael this year, Bohemian Rhapsody a few years back), but failed dramatically. 7
Priscilla (2023): Sofia Coppola’s adaptation of Priscilla Presley’s 1985 memoir, Elvis and Me, is ruthless in the condemnation of Elvis the man. It starts by framing him as a would-be groomer who mesmerized Priscilla when she was just 14, after which he becomes a controlling partner and absent father, content only with his cronies, a character that’s hard to like in any way shape or form. I labelled this as “character assassination” and it does sound nasty the way I’ve introduced it. But two things to accept here: there are some moments of brief understanding offered to the character and this character is not the one telling the story. For what it’s worth, I understand neither is Priscilla, whose rendition of her relationship with Elvis was substantially more complimentary. Coppola hones in on an outsider’s perception of their reality, which is plausible and has dramatic follow-through. So this definitely works as a story and as a movie, helped by strong leads in Cailee Spaeny and Jacob Elordi. It completely avoids romanticizing Elvis, doesn’t include any of his music, and the end result is, at the very least, effective. Whether it’s just, is someone else’s thing to judge. 7
EPiC (2025): If you enjoyed Elvis (2022) for the music, then Baz Luhrman’s Elvis Presley in Concert edit is a must. It has documentary elements to it, while keeping its focus on the music, featuring some of the man’s biggest hits. The editing is a feat and it really keeps you engaged, maintaining a surreal tempo that goes very well with the musical experience. It’s a real chance to witness Elvis the performer, his bravado, his on-stage character, detached from the reality of the person. Or so I see it, as a pure performance piece, that isn’t bogged down by making sense of the complexities of being the most recognizable man in America. 8
Bubba Ho-Tep (2002): I very vaguely recall that this movie was a sleeper hit on IMDb when it came out, standing tall at an 8+ rating with an immediate cult following. I haven’t looked into the phenomenon, but WBM does confirm my memory. The movie is unfortunately no masterpiece, but rather a minor entry that relies on the charm of its lead, Bruce Campbell. It’s probably funnier on paper than it is on screen, as Campbell plays a supposed Elvis impersonator, who claims to be the man himself following an elaborate switcheroo back in the day. He’s living his not-best-days in a retirement home, which he shares with a guy who thinks he’s JFK (Ossie Davis) and some other colourful characters. The two have to team up when an Egyptian mummy comes to wander the retirement home, harvesting it for souls to regain its strength. Don Coscarelli is behind this, something rather different for the famed director of Phantasm (1979), who doesn’t quite find the magic touch needed for this horror-comedy. But the movie does provide the most evocative pop-culture references one might associate with Elvis, so within this journey, it claims an important stake. 6
Viva Las Vegas (1964): The conclusion had to be an actual Elvis Presley movie and I picked the best rated. This is just such a weird little movie. It feels fake to the core, but also has some breezy tunes, cool visuals and all-around quirky characters (and performances) that make it an easy watch. Elvis has decent screen presence, but it’s tough to ever see him as anything else but Elvis, while Ann-Margret really plays it like someone out of a parody about 60s studio movies with an enjoyably unhinged show. The plot barely makes sense and the movie ends on one of the most non-sensical race sequences I have ever seen. If his other films are like this (and I assume they are worse), then it’s very easy to see why Elvis might have considered himself misused as an (un)serious actor. This one is meandering around so bad it’s good territory, with just about enough character and song to keep it above the line. Chances are you won’t forget the several minute montage when Elvis goes from venue to venue, supposedly looking for “his girl”, but really just offering advertising space for Las Vegas’s finest establishments. Or maybe you just will. 5
tributary stu 
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