Follow That Dream

This was Elvis beginning to come into his own as good actor. This was one of his funniest movies. His character, Toby is a mentally limited young man with a heart of gold. I like the way that even the Kwimper's own mistakes cannot defeat them. This movie had a strong plot and once again a strong supporting cast, with the late Arthur O'Connell (Kissin Cousins), Anne Helm and the late Howard McNear. If Elvis had made more movies like this, his movie career would have been much better acclaimed.

Elvis Presley was a hugely influential performer with one of the most distinctive singing voices of anybody. He embarked on a film career consisting of 33 films from 1956 to 1969, films that did well at the box-office but mostly panned critically (especially his later films) and while he was a highly charismatic performer he was never considered a great actor.

While not one of the top three Elvis films, those being 'King Creole', 'Flaming Star' and 'Jailhouse Rock', 'Follow That Dream' is one of his better overall films. It's proof that his early films were actually pretty good, but unfortunately it was one of his last good ones when the formula started here wore increasingly thin and further suffered from looking less appealing and even the quality of the soundtracks and Elvis' acting wavering significantly.

'Follow That Dream' is not perfect. The dialogue is idiotic at times, then again the script was not a strength in a vast majority of Elvis' films, even in some of his better ones. The songs are terrific (especially the hauntingly beautiful title song), but there were too few of them in the film and Gordon Douglas judging from the indifferent at best way they were staged didn't seem to know what to do with them. Despite Elvis singing it beautifully, the title song is cheapened somewhat by the sloppy lip-synching, which showed the one time in the film Elvis was not comfortable or enthusiastic.

However, 'Follow That Dream' benefits from colourful locations and beautiful photography. While one wishes there were more, the songs are terrific, while there are several very funny and movingly romantic moments. The story is formulaic, but still very easy to like and energetic.

Douglas generally does an assured job directing, faltering only in the musical numbers, while the cast are a high point. Elvis' gently good-natured and laid-back performance is one of his better ones, and he is very well supported by a coolly graceful Arthur O'Connell, charming Joanna Moore and adorable Ann Helm. The chemistry is similarly great.

In summary, good Elvis film and one of the last ones properly worth watching. 7/10 Bethany Cox

Elvis made quite a number of movies. Most of them of the cookie-cutter, formula variety designed to showcase his wonderful voice, a fact that should surprise absolutely NO ONE. Lets face it guys, Elvis achieved his fame by way of his singing, not his acting. His selection of movie vehicles (especially later in his career) is ample proof of this.

Having said this however, The King was not without some native ability as an actor, both dramatic and comedic.

As proof of this I give you his two best movies: King Creole, in which he gave a very credible dramatic performance (and right along side the likes of Carolyn Jones, Walter Mathau and Dean Jagger no less); and this movie - Follow That Dream.

Follow that Dream is a wonderful piece that has several things going for it: To begin with, it was a straight comedy, his first and best. Very different from his earlier films where he played characters (like Danny Fischer in Creole) that were somber and even dark).In contrast, his portrayal of Toby Kwimper was innocent and fun. The chemistry between Toby and his father (Arthur O'Connell) was terrific. Second, the theme of the movie is a crowd pleaser. Its story line is pure "David and Goliath" with the State playing the role of the pushy and overbearing villain. And finally, there are the songs. What can I say folks the musical score is the King at his best. The score includes a perfectly lovely ballad - "Angel" together with two positively jubilant toe-tappers "What a Wonderful Life" and the title song "Follow that Dream".

One last comment: This movie lifts my spirit, and makes me happy. Now I know those are two perfectly ridiculous reasons to like a movie but, fact is, there are far too few movies that do that for me now-a-days and this movie is one of them. It may not be academy award material (I gave it 7 out of 10) but if you need something to put a smile on your kisser, this one is worth your while.

Elvis usually made movies that were utterly shallow puffs of fluff. This one is completely different. For one thing, unlike his usual efforts here his part is anything but a one-dimensional stereotype and in his portrayal he proves he really could act. In fact, it is a shame he never did more of this kind of thing, because if you take this seriously you find that his character actually comes across as intriguingly ambiguous. Here he plays an utterly guileless, humble, unassuming "down-home" or "good-ole-boy" type (entirely different from his usual flashier persona) which really does look like some kind of combination not only of Jethro Bodine but also of Andy Taylor -- someone who is simultaneously naive and wise, as well as utterly cool, even-tempered and unflappable. In fact, the whole production can't help but remind you of the Beverly Hillbillies and the Andy Griffith Show, but with the intriguing sense that there is more going on than meets the eye. Moreover, the writing compares favorably with either of those shows, with quite a few clever lines of dialog and situational incongruities. As a lawyer I was similarly impressed with the treatment of the judge in the film, who proved pompous and yet also clear-headed and conscientious, a combination of contradictions such as you really can encounter in real life on occasion, and I'm inclined to think the writers had a better sense of characters than one expects in a B-movie of the era. Anyway, there isn't much on TV these days that is any better, so you would not waste your time to check this out in preference to yet another episode of *The King of Queens.* In fact, I actually agree with what another reviewer or message board poster said about this -- while watching it, it actually occurred to me that I would rather watch this than another screening of *Star Wars*.

This movie is in my top ten of all time. It is a pure romp! Even though you have the "bad guys" from the government to add some drama, and the fact that Elvis character "Toby" and his family are all government freeloaders, this is essentially just a feel good movie.

You can read the plot from the other reviews, but it is essentially about homesteaders coming to Florida with a composite "family" and trying to make their way.

This is Elvis at his best--as he was meant to be in movies--singing and romancing his way through, with a back woods innocence that Max Baer would later use as Jethro Bodine on "The Beverly Hillbillies".

Enjoy this film. It is a delight!