Mubi Monday: Priscilla (2023)

Based on the book, "Elvis And Me", written by Priscilla Presley and Sandra Harmon, Priscilla is another film from Sofia Coppola, who both adapted the book into screenplay form and took on her usual director role, exploring the strange dichotomy of a celebrity life coveted by so many onlookers who don’t realise the pain and loneliness barely hiding behind a public facade. Unfortunately, as much as I usually enjoy the work of Coppola, it’s hard to view her ruminations on celebrity without realising that she is content to repeat herself without adding anything truly worthwhile to any conversation.

What we have here is, as if you didn’t already know, a summary of the relationship that developed between Elvis Presley (Jacob Elordi) and a young girl named Priscilla (Cailee Spaeny). Priscilla was only fourteen years old when they first met, and you could argue that she was groomed and manipulated for years until the scales finally fell from her eyes when she was old enough to have the confidence to move away from her groomer. You could say that, but there’s not much of that here, although perhaps Coppola assumed it would be read as inherent to the main story.

I think you can already guess where I landed on this. I was hoping for something that would show the darker, often unmentioned, side of a 20th-century icon, as well as celebrating the work of a woman who worked hard to ensure that his legacy became what it is today. Priscilla, sadly, doesn’t do that. If there is wariness about the central relationship, it is alluded to only briefly, and the film ends before the point at which Priscilla fully stepped out of the shadow of her world-famous partner. It’s a snapshot though, and reflecting how people reacted at the time. That could be the argument, but I don’t see the point of a film looking at this relationship if it is simply recreating moments from it without relevant commentary.

The fault may not lie entirely with Coppola, although we know that she seems to enjoy having characters act on their impulses and desires without judgement. But it seems that Priscilla Presley, such a brilliant woman to have gone through everything she went through and come through to the other side with grace and a great business plan, may still view her own past with a misplaced sense of loyalty and glasses that are partially rose-tinted.

Despite my problems with the material, the cast are pretty great. Elordi takes on the unenviable task of portraying Elvis with a low-key approach that allows him to use his charm and mannerisms to give viewers an idea of the man behind the myth. This is especially interesting after watching the brilliant portrayal of the same character by Austin Butler, and Elordi acquits himself well. The film belongs to Spaeny though, rightfully so, and she does a great job of showing Priscilla moving from young girl to married young woman, and eventually a woman who knows she cannot stay any longer in a lifestyle that has long been a gilded cage. There are other people delivering solid performances, but the focus is on Priscilla, even as she spends so much of her time in the shadow of her husband.

I have already seen a lot of love for this elsewhere. The visuals are pretty great, the soundtrack choices work well (as does the score, although it should be noted that the soundtrack has no actual Elvis standards in the mix), and the story of Priscilla is one that deserves to be told. I just can’t help thinking that it deserves to be told with a more critical eye.

4/10

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April Fools: Naked Gun 33 1/3: The Final Insult (1994)

At the time of writing, this is the last movie in The Naked Gun franchise. Ed Helms is being lined up to take over the main role, apparently, but it's hard to think of anyone being able to make the role their own after such fine work from the late, great Leslie Nielsen.

In this absurd adventre, Frank Drebin (Nielsen) has retired from the police force. He's happily married to Jane (Priscilla Presley) but misses being able to legally shoot people in the street. The fact that Jane wants to start a family also causes him some stress, something that he escapes when Ed (George Kennedy) and Nordberg (O. J. Simpson) call on him for help. They want Frank to go undercover, to get close to a criminal named Rocco (Fred Ward), and to find out about whatever bad, explosive plans he has in store.

All of the main players are as good as they have been in the previous movies, and Fred Ward is a lot of fun as Rocco. Kathleen Freeman is also very good as Rocco's mother, Muriel, but the good work by everyone else is almost undone by Anna Nicole Smith, playing Rocco's gal, Tanya. She's not quite as bad as some people would have you believe, but . . . . . . . . . . she's . . . . . . not good, and is easily the worst performer onscreen.

With Peter Segal taking over the directorial duties this time around, there's definitely something lacking from this third trip to the well. Perhaps it's just the law of diminishing returns, or familiarity breeding contempt, because there are still a number of great gags packed into the script (written by David Zucker, Pat Proft and Robert LoCash). The opening sequence, in particular, is a doozy. In fact, maybe the rest of the film simply suffers in comparison to that great comic riff on The Untouchables. The finale, taking place at the Academy Awards ceremony, may feel a bit tired and desperate, but it's hard to judge the movie too harshly when it comes as the capper to so many laughs and fun moments.

I can't imagine any fans of this type of humour hating this film, but a sense of disappointment may well outweigh a lot of the good feeling. I still like this, I just like it less than the first two movies. But those first two movies, to be fair, were SO good.

6/10

http://www.amazon.com/Film-Favorites-Nielsen-Wrongfully-Accused/dp/B00AMSQBUI/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1398040171&sr=8-2&keywords=naked+gun

April Fools: The Naked Gun 2½: The Smell of Fear (1991)

Leslie Nielsen returns as Frank Drebin in this comedy sequel that almost holds up as well as the first movie, thanks to the gags having the same level of both quantity and quality.

Some time has passed since the events of the first movie, of course, and Drebin and Jane Spencer (Priscilla Presley) are no longer together. Which makes things extra awkward when Drebin suspects Quentin Hapsburg (Robert Goulet) of being involved in a scheme to kidnap a scientist (Richard Griffiths) who is about to advise the President Of The United States, and other important folk, on the advantages of solar energy.

With the main cast members all returning from the first movie, and game performances from Goulet and Griffiths, this is a film that will easily please fans of Drebin and co. There's also some fun to be had with lookalikes of George Bush Sr. and his wife, Barbara, to make up for the lack of any involvement by Queen Elizabeth II this time around.

David Zucker also returns to direct, and he co-wrote the script with Pat Proft. The two men show, once again, that they are always reliable when it comes to setting up numerous zingers, be they one-liners, visual gags, or the many wonderful blink-and-miss-them details that often loiter on the edges, or in the background.

Although there are many gags recycled from the first movie (and, of course, the TV show that started it all off), this isn't a case of familiarity breeding contempt. No. This is warm, comforting stuff. You can watch the movie and know that you're in safe hands, whether they belong to Zucker and Proft, or Nielsen and his talented co-stars. Everyone is aiming to provide you with the laughs, and they do just that. Of course, it helps that in between the many familiar gags there are a number of original moments that are absolute crackers.

Basically, if you loved the first movie then you should love this one. And if you didn't love the first movie then you and I have nothing more to say to one another. Yes, sometimes I AM that judgmental.

8/10

http://www.amazon.co.uk/The-Naked-Gun-Trilogy-DVD/dp/B000A52A8U/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&qid=1397044087&sr=8-5&keywords=the+naked+gun

April Fools: The Naked Gun (1988)

Anyone who watched Police Squad! was already aware of how great both it, and the main character (a cop named Frank Drebin, played by Leslie Nielsen), was. Unfortunately, not many people watched Police Squad! At least, not on the first time around anyway. It was poorly rated and cancelled after one season of six episodes. Thankfully, that scenario eventually led to a trilogy of movies developed from the premise, which just goes to show you that sometimes bad decisions lead to great consequences.

Nielsen is still Frank Drebin, and Drebin is still as insensitive and incompetent as ever. But he may be the best man for the job when he realises that there's a plot to assassinate the Queen while she's in his fair city. He's convinced that it's something to do with the smooth Vincent Ludwig (Ricardo Montalban) but he can't get any proof, meaning that nobody else will believe him. At least he manages to find solace in the arms of the beautiful Jane Spencer (Priscilla Presley), but will their relationship survive the situation. And will the Queen survive her visit?

ZAZ (David Zucker, Jim Abrahams, and Jerry Zucker) give comedy fans another modern classic here. They helped to craft the script, with help from Pat Proft, and it's almost as good as the mighty Airplane! Almost. The character of Drebin is hilariously oblivious throughout the movie, an American take on Inspector Clouseau, with an even richer seam of stupidity to be mined, and this helps to make every gag funnier. One-liners mix with hilarious visual jokes and set-pieces to provide non-stop laughter for fans of this particular type of comedy, and David Zucker also does a good job in the role of director. He doesn't need to do anything too special, but he makes room for each and every gag, even if it's something that viewers don't notice until a second or third viewing.

Nielsen is great in a role that he seemed born to play (even if he turned to comedy relatively late in his career), but he's given great support from George Kennedy, the lovely Miss Presley, Montalban, Nancy Marchand and O.J. Simpson back when he was best known for being an ex-sportsman. Everyone plays it admirably straight, no matter how ridiculous things get, and that's always been the brilliance of the best ZAZ comedies.

Hilarious and eminently rewatchable, no comedy collection should be without The Naked Gun.

9/10

http://www.amazon.co.uk/The-Naked-Gun-Trilogy-DVD/dp/B0029OMEY0/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1396140126&sr=8-1&keywords=naked+gun