#(I'm running out of Elvis movies/shows y'all help lol)

[star-shard]

Thoughts on: Elvis: The Early Years (2005)

It stars Johnathan Rhys Meyers as Elvis, the first episode covers the 50s, and the second covers the 60s. Each episode is around an hour 30 and at the time of writing are available on Freevee.

So the first episode covers the basics, a lot of whats covered in most Elvis properties being how he got started. It's road well tread so I'm going to keep it short and sweet that it's pretty accurate to the events, thats good.

Meyers is a talented actor but it's hard to see him as Elvis, imo. He does the raised lip thing which looks pretty weird rather than natural. And in a majority of songs, they dub him with Elvis's voice. And I'm sorry dude, you don't sound enough like him for that to work. It came off as jarring. That being said he's a fine actor, no doubt about that at all. But, idk, I didn't feel a whole lot of love in his performance. Hard to describe. (AKA Austin Butler has ruined all other EP performances for me lol)

The second episode is what's usually breezed by in depiction of Elvis: The 60s. Even Elvis (2022) does a montage for the early/mid 60s. That's the unique bit of this particular series. Involving his relationship with Pricilla, Ann Margret, and a surprise showing of Larry Gellar. It's a time of his life less shown in media, lets talk about that.

So the 60s were seen as the dark ages for Elvis Presley (if we're to call the 68 special a renaissance). He was making movies he didn't believe in and music that was churned out fast, even for a couple of hits that were found in there (Little Less Conversation, c'mon now), theres just as much throwaway.

I for one really like his 60s era. Idk even if his movies are far from high art I get a lot of enjoyment out of them, and it's an interesting era to know about, one a lot of people ignore.

So any media willing to show it, I encourage that.

So how they'd do?

Well I'm glad they addressed his relationship to Pricilla head on. They didn't skirt it, she was 14 when they met and they say it out loud. I am ALSO glad they made it clear they didn't have sex until she was an adult, also a fact. And it was Elvis's decision, he wanted to wait (they could have just taken the provocative route but they stayed true to reality) As well as his at times turbulent relationship, EP's controlling nature. Loving as he could be, he wasn't the best husband at all.

I wish they showed more of Ann Margret in a positive light. Y'all, the actress for her was so... terrible. Idk why they gave her a sexed up babydoll voice like. No. Sure she was the 'other woman', but she was also an uber talented actress with her own story. And from everything I've read her and Elvis were legit soulmates. I understand why it didn't work out, (EP preferred traditional relationships, thats a roadblock) But I wish they showed more of their souls here. Rather than it being a fling. They were friends for years after, c'mon now.

They were transparent on his drug use, spending habits, how it negatively affected those around him. A rare violent moment when he was drugged up and injured a woman with a pool cue. And also on how Tom Parker held his career back for money. Truths.

Elvis's interest in spirituality was also shown but... in a very negative light. Now, I won't pretend I know exactly what happened. If my friend ran up preaching at random hours maybe I'd be concerned too. But it's always rubbed me the wrong way that it's depicted like a drug fueled weird detour in his life.

To my understanding Elvis was unhappy with where his work had been going, and what his place was. When you're unhappy, you look for answers. He was already an avid reader so of course he'd look into finding religion. Maybe Larry Gellar had other motives, I don't know, but his inner circle forcing him to burn his books comes off as... ugly. It truly did happen, which makes it even worse.

The scene tries to paint Elvis as a lost kind of person going off the rails but it just ended up with me kind of hating the Memphis Mafia. Dude, if your friend/employer is starting to rave about the meaning of life and what he's here for, maybe thats an INDICATION that he needs a different kind of support than he's gotten and it's not be joked about. Burn the drugs, not the books.

#ElvisNeededTherapy

Religion was the least of his problems, that's all I'm saying.

And they show the whole 'Elvis wasn't recognized on Hollywood Blvd.' story which, is unconfirmed let's face it. It's a good indication on where he was in life, but this miniseries is going for more realism so idk thats a weird moment (yeah his movies weren't doing great but ur telling me NOBODY recognized him? Not buying that one)

The more I watch other depictions of Elvis, the more I can see why Elvis (2022) is praised. So many of these series paint post-50s Elvis in a depressing light, like he was never happy and a has-been always ten feet away from relevancy. It comes off as so dark.

(Side note something I noticed is: Most people that hate his post 50s career seem to be specifically music artists that were inspired by him. They wanted him to be everything and were angry that he couldn't be that.)

It's important to address his flaws but, I just really feel tired after depictions like this. And not in a way like I got to know him. Movies that strictly take after Elvis: What Happened, and Elvis and Me, I always take with a grain of salt. (Written by scorned parties, there were true stories that were written fast and both pools of writers have regretted/taken back parts of their books)

Yeah, I just appreciate Elvis (2022) so much now. It showed both his darker sides while still maintaining his humanity. It showed his teeth and also explained why they'd gotten so sharp. It explained WHY he lashed out, why he felt the way he did. Rather than taking the sides of people that would gain from writing a tell all book for the fourth time.