Paradiso hawaiano

Last night, I watched Elvis in "Paradise, Hawaiian Style" for the 20,000th time. It's not one of his best (few movies can be considered 'his best'). It has a silly plot, and the scenery is more of an attraction than story itself. The one actress that steals the show is not one of the bevy of beauties that Elvis woos. It comes more in the form of 10-year old Donna Butterworth. She steals every scene that she is in, and not a bad singer at all. I have roamed heaven and earth to try to find out what has happened to young Donna. If anyone knows, drop me an email. Anyway, if you are looking for a good time killer, watch this film.

Producer Hal Wallis uses the same formula as "Blue Hawaii" to no avail. Rick Richards (Presley) enters a partnership in a charter helicopter service with his buddy played by James Shigeta. Richards is temporarily ground by the FAA for losing control of his chopper. Meanwhile Shigeta crashes on a flight with his daughter on board. Without a license, Richards to the rescue. Donna Butterworth plays the sweet little scene stealer. The grown up girls that help by just being there are Suzanne Leigh, Marianna Hill and Linda Wong. Nine songs make up a pleasant soundtrack. "This Is My Heaven" and "Stop Where You Are" are hidden among much flirtation with foolishness. Kauai is a breathe taking backdrop; but "Blue Hawaii" this is not.

If Hal Wallis had produced this little epic 10 years earlier, it might have starred his other contract players, Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis (with Lewis in the role of the little girl played by Donna Butterworth). If it had been made 10 years later, after "The Godfather Part II" made it fashionable to number sequels, "Paradise, Hawaiian Style" might have been titled "Blue Hawaii, Part II." It's not an official sequel, but that's a mere technicality. The only real difference between the two films is that this one is infinitely worse. Whereas "Blue Hawaii" was little more than a travelogue, it was professional looking with some decent songs and a star who still seemed to be in touch with some form of reality. "Paradise, Hawaiian Style" is a grubby, grimy, cheap looking thing with a pudgy, seemingly zonked out Elvis warbling tunes so dreadful ("Queenie Wahine's Papaya," "Datin'"), they weren't worthy of the vinyl record on which they were pressed let alone a gold one.

Watching Presley in this wretched vehicle, one can only look on in amazement and wonder if this is, indeed, the same sneering guy who set the world on fire a decade earlier. This is a Twilight Zone Elvis in a movie for those curious to know how the state of mind known as "stunned disbelief" really feels.

But that's about it. I would have to agree with most of the posters that this is not Elvis's best Hawaii flick, but it sure shows off Kauai in all its tropical beauty. It can't be denied that the plot lines of the typical Elvis movie are rarely very deep, and this one is no different. But I still find entertainment in all of them. Even "Paradise, Hawaiian Style." As an avid enthusiast of Hawaii, traveling there every year when time allows, I tend to like Elvis movies filmed in Hawaii more than the others. I would have loved to have visited Hawaii in the days of "Blue Hawaii" and "Paradise, Hawaiian Style," and it's cool to see what it looked like in those days. The Polynesian Cultural Center especially. This movie may not be the best Elvis had to offer, but it showcases Kauai in all its amazing beauty. It may be a little silly in its plot line, but it's still fun.

A classic Elvis formula escapade. Producer Hal Wallis, with whom Elvis and his manager, Colonel Tom Parker, had a non-exclusive contract, had publicly admitted, around the time of Roustabout (1964), that he was skimming the reliable profits from his Elvis pictures to fund what he considered more serious artistic endeavours. Elvis himself, by all accounts, remained consistently well-mannered, cooperative, and thoroughly professional, in spite of his own career frustrations. He deserved better.

Having said that, Paradise, Hawaiian Style, a nice, enjoyable and undemanding film, in great colour, and with fantastic scenery. In places, it seems to be more of a star vehicle for the talented child actor and singer, Donna Butterworth, with Elvis consigned to a supporting role. I wonder what Colonel Parker made of that?