Why Do I Keep Watching Elvis Movies?

So here's the thing. 

via vinceveretts

I was tricked into watching Elvis movies because I loved Viva Las Vegas and Blue Hawaii so much. And because I cherish the memories behind watching both of those movies for the first time, I was tricked into believing that perhaps Elvis movies were great.

My grandmother is also to blame here, since she's an original Elvis Presley fan dating back to the '50s. She had all kinds of memorabilia at one point, including either a bust or a cookie jar of his head (which was a very jarring thing to see, your grandmother pulling a head out of a cupboard as a child). 

So I gave Elvis a chance. 

If I saw his movies coming on TCM or Silver Screen Classics (a Canadian channel that plays exclusively old movies), I'd DVR them and expect magic. But then...

via classicfilmblr

Then I watched them. And they weren't very good. 

Now, there's no denying that Elvis was a phenomenal singer (I'd never try to argue against that point), but his movies just weren't great. 

But like a sucker, I keep DVRing them. And they keep being terrible. So why do I keep watching Elvis movies? 

Because they should be right up my alley. 

You guys know I love mindless comedies (sex or otherwise) from the '50s and '60s. 

You know I love musicals. 

You know that once I latch on to a new actor or actress, I have to watch as many of their films as possible (I'm basically running the Rock Hudson Fan Club at this point). 

via thewonderofelvis

You know I love kooky and zany premises, so take these, for example, which are all real Elvis Presley movie plot lines (all from IMDb): 

• "A family of ragtag vagabonds sets up a makeshift home on a Florida beach after becoming marooned there, prompting an uptight local bureaucrat to attempt to evict them." (Follow That Dream)
• "A riverboat singer with a weakness for gambling wants to find his lucky redhead, but his girlfriend Frankie is not amused." (Frankie and Johnny)
• "Navy frogman, Ted Jackson, balances his time between twin careers as a deep sea diver and nightclub singer. During a dive, Ted spots sunken treasure and returns with hope to retrieve it." (Easy Come, Easy Go)
  
• "The heir to an oil fortune trades places with a water-ski instructor at a Florida hotel to see if girls will like him for himself, rather than his father's money." (Clambake)
• "Photographer Greg Nolan moonlights in two full-time jobs to pay the rent, but has trouble finding time to do them both without his bosses finding out." (Live a Little, Love a Little)
• "Poor bookkeeping saddles stock car driver Steve Grayson with a huge bill for back taxes which hampers his ability to continue racing competitively." (Speedway)
• "As an incognito nun tries to help a doctor clean up an inner-city ghetto, the pair grow closer with time." (Change of Habit, which features Mary Tyler Moore as a nun)

But it's not just these campy comedies that I don't like, I don't even like the movies that critics and audiences both agree are good, like Jailhouse Rock. That one just felt like a chore to watch. The song is great, though! 

via flowerscenttt

I keep watching because I keep hoping that I'll strike gold again, like with Viva Las Vegas or Blue Hawaii, and suddenly it'll all click into place why everybody loves this guy. But from what I've seen—and I've seen 15 movies and counting—I don't think that moment's ever going to come. 

But I'll keep trying! Mostly because I want to see Paradise, Hawaiian Style (because I love any movie set in Hawaii), but that's besides the point. I'll keep trying, and I'll likely keep griping about it in my monthly "What I Watched" posts. 

__

Are you an Elvis fan? Tell me what I'm not seeing!