so bad it's good
This movie is at times so tacky that it becomes entertaining.
shareReally?! More completely and utterly abysmal, and a pure embarrassment into the bargain.
shareI think this movie pretty much succeeds at what it was trying to do. It's musical comedy, and probably could have worked as a stage play too. If you're not in the mood for that type of film you won't enjoy it or another film of this genre. The songs and girls were fun, and the comedy from veterans Jack Albertson and Arthur O'Connell was good also. It's light, escapist entertainment.
shareThe only thing this film was trying to do was make a quick buck. So yes it succeeded at that handily.
It wasn't the first one of his movies that Elvis completely despised but marked the moment where he just threw in the towel. He seemed to be a little bit into some of the comic scenes in "Girl Happy" but after that he was obviously disgusted until "Stay Away Joe" offered him something different. I'm not being pretentious, it's fine to enjoy this or any movie, and there are bad movies I like, but seriously, there wasn't anything 'good' about "Kissin' Cousins". Even as a child I thought that ridiculous, cheap green light on the guy getting sick was the pinnacle of inept awfulness. And 'Barefoot Ballad' may well be the most horrendous Elvis movie song ever, and that's saying something.
The "dramatic" scene where they rescue Pappy out of the tree is hilarious. All those Army guys getting worked up and the girls shouts of concern. Then when they finally lower him down it's obvious he was about four feet off the ground. LOL
sharethe green light was a real low point.
It's sad that an actor of potential was saddled with such lightweight films
Unfortunately Elvis like Marilyn Monroe were tossed in a lot of films strictly for the money as gimmicks instead of their reputations as talented actors. Both of them showed how truly talented they were on the silver screen in a few films, but for the most part the stories were so bad they would be embarrassing if they were not so entertaining.
Worst part they were not alone back then. Even top actors were often under such restrictive contracts they had little to no say in what they did. With Elvis thanks to the Colonel convincing him to do things he hated even though he was and is one of the biggest names around he was booked for some real stinkers. Of course even as bad as the majority of the stories and lot of the songs were thanks to Elvis folks will be enjoying them for years to come.
I am trying to think of a Marilyn movie as awful as many (most) of what they foisted on Elvis. She got to do Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (a hit on Broadway and great opportunity for her to make some musical hits her own), Some Like It Hot (super Billy Wilder), How to Marry a Millionaire (silly, but smart), River of No Return (dated, but she was do good, and, hey....Robert Mitchum), The Misfits (she was powerful, though we now know the fragility she brought to the character was too real), Bus Stop (another play gone to Hollywood where Marilyn shines.) Elvis showed such potential, but was saddled with stupid dialogue, flat characters, pedestrian plots. You are SO right about the Colonel's disappointing influence. Also have to admit that, awful as most of them are, I will still stop what I'm doing and watch an Elvis turkey any time, just to enjoy seeing Elvis.
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