Movie Notes: Paradise, Hawaiian Style

February 26th, 2008

= 2 stars

Starring Elvis Presley, James Shigeta, Suzanna Leigh
Directed by Michael D. Moore

Synopsis

In Hawaii, Rick Richards (Elvis Presley) runs a helicopter charter company with his friend Danny Kohana (James Shigeta). Unfortunately his many woman problems threaten to derail everything.

The Good

• Some beautiful Hawaiian scenery, namely some stunning views of Waimea Canyon, Waikiki, Lanikai, and several cheesy but memorable dance numbers utilizing The Polynesian Cultural Center.
• The plot of Elvis trying to start up a helicopter tour company in Hawaii actually makes a lot of sense and provides an entry way to the scenery.

The Bad

• I didn’t think it possible, but the songs are even worse than in Girls! Girls! Girls!. Hear Elvis croon about sand castles and dogs. Absolutely zero songs the average person would have heard before, and with good reason.
• The scenes are strung together so loosely it’s nearly like Elvis the cartoon. Especially unintentionally funny is Elvis’ helicopter ride with five dogs.
• The Hawaii camp factor is on full blast. Think “tiki bar” and you’ve got the look. I would say this film did a great disservice to Hawaii in that so many mainlanders surely came to Waikiki expecting the cheese as seen in this flick.

Conclusion

Lucky for humanity, this was the last of the fictional Elvis-in-Hawaii movies. I enjoyed it more than Girls! Girls! Girls! as it was relatively more respectful of Hawaii, but it has different problems, most notably a complete absence of a single hit Elvis song. The best Elvis in Hawaii movie is by far, Blue Hawaii.

IMDB: Paradise, Hawaiian Style
Wikipedia: Paradise, Hawaiian Style