In the 1961 classic Blue Hawaii, Elvis Presley portrays Chad Gates, a returning soldier and the reluctant future Mr. Southern Hawaiian Fruit Company.
There is a prevailing theme of love throughout the film as trust, doubt and misunderstandings fuel a large part of the story. Chad makes his first appearance in a tight embrace with another woman in front of his girlfriend, Maile Duval, played by Joan Blackman. His impressive charm let's him get away with this, but sets the tone for the mistrust in their relationship.
Before long, we meet the parents and the core conflict in the film: Chad's future. Angela Lansbury plays Sarah Lee, Chad's mother. She is very status driven and a judgmental socialite. This southern belle often blurts out fabulously memorable comments on people and things. Yes, the character is very over acted, especially with the very thick southern accent, but I think that's part of the charm and comic value of the character. The father, played by Roland Winters, is portrayed as much more grounded compared to his wife and seems constantly annoyed by her. The two parents together are comic gold. They set each other up for hilarious one liners and are endlessly quotable. The difference of opinion on the subject of Chad's future between the parents and Chad himself gives direction to the story and motivates the pursuit of personal endeavors. The film also presents many other characters. A group of tourists, one teacher and four teenage girls, come to spend a few days on the Island. Amongst these teenagers, there is a humbug of a girl that is continually unpleasant and determined on not having fun. Her character is very suggestive and sometimes very blatantly sexual. This is played off in a very lighthearted manner. The beach boy friends of Chad's mostly are used as plot driven musiciens for the various songs, but are entertaining and offer lovable individual personnalities. The film also includes Mr. Chapman, Chad's absentminded and confused boss. He is absurdly foolish and so utterly lost. It is hilarious.
Blue Hawaii offers a variety of types of songs ranging from ballads, rock-inspired, humorous and Hawaiian songs. The title song, Blue Hawaii, is a beautiful remake of the Bing Crosby song that appeared in Waikiki Wedding. This song and "Can't Help Falling In Love With You" are the ones that stand out and are the most widely recognizable. It is a shame that this last song feels just thrown together with the scene of the grandma's birthday. The song could have been used in better circomstances. In terms of ballads, I have always liked "Fools Rush In". The more humourous song "Kissing Cousins With a Ripe Pineapple" has always had a little place in my heart. "Rock-a-hula Baby" is also a favorite for many people and offers that newer rock style. The film also includes some Hawaiian songs and Hawaiian flavored songs which adds a touch of tropical to the soundtrack.
The film was shot on location and explores various areas in Hawaii. It allows for many beautiful shots of the tropical landcape. It also features some elements of the Hawaiian culture in the range of celebrations, dances, instruments and traditional costumes.
Though the film is still very light and mostly fluff, it is truely funny. The script is witty and the story holds up, which is not a given for many of the Elvis films yet to come, certainly in the case of the future Hawaii based films. Elvis's performance is very enjoyable and he displays great comic timing. The romance between Chad and Maile is interesting since it is a realtionship that existed before the story we saw. This allows for a deeper, more profound relationship that the usual meet and fall in love scenarios typically seen. They have a pleasant chemistry and playful banter. The feelgood aspect of the film is acheived and later efforts to recapture the energy and lightheartedness were never as successful. Unfortunetly, later films attempted to follow the same formula and become a money making vehicle for Elvis. It is unfortunate that Elvis never really got the chance to pursue more serious roles. Interestingly, if you turn up the sound when Elvis first exits the plane, you can hear the fans that were on site screaming. This DVD doesn't offer much in the ways of special features, aside from the trailer. When an interactive menu is listed amongst the special features, you can't expect much. It's possible, and I hope, that there are more complete DVDs out there. Blue Hawaii allows us to be swept away by the tropical scenery and the muscial talent of such an iconic figure.
