Early reviews of Baz Luhrmann’s ‘Elvis’ claim it’s ‘deliriously awful’
Some early reviews are claiming the much-hyped “Elvis” biopic ain’t nothing but a hound dog.
While some critics are praising the upcoming Baz Luhrmann drama — Variety called it “fizzy, delirious, impishly energized, compulsively watchable” — reviews have been mixed with one critic all shook up.
IndieWire writer David Ehrlich published his review of the Austin Butler and Tom Hanks-led film Wednesday and trash-talked the flick, calling it a “nightmare” as well as “deliriously awful.”
The journalist dove right into “Elvis” — out June 24 — writing that the “159-minute eyesore” is more about Hanks’ Colonel Tom Parker, the longtime manager of the “Love Me Tender” star, and less about Butler’s Elvis.
He gave “Elvis” a grade of “D.”
IndieWire described the Oscar winner’s character as the “Kentucky Fried Goldmember” and is “possibly the most insufferable movie character ever conceived.” The Hollywood Reporter seemed to agree, dubbing the “Forrest Gump” star’s role as “arguably the least appealing performance of his career.”
But for IndieWire’s Ehrlich, the problem seemed to lie in the pudding: the writing.
“Luhrmann’s dizzying script (co-written by Sam Bromell, Jeremy Doner and Craig Pearce) frequently returns to the idea that Presley’s life was caught in the crossfire between two different Americas: One gyrating towards freedom, and the other snuffing it out,” he penned in his review.
The critic also compares scenes in “Elvis” to Luhrmann’s other “sensory overload” and “swooningly electric moments” such as the fish tank sequence in his 1996 romance “Romeo + Juliet” and the wild party scene in 2013’s “The Great Gatsby.”
“The hyper-romantic energy of those films helped braid the present into the past in a way that made them both feel more alive,” he wrote. “ ‘Elvis’ discovers no such purpose. It finds so little reason for Presley’s life to be the stuff of a Baz Luhrmann movie that the equation ultimately inverts itself, leaving us with an Elvis Presley movie about Baz Luhrmann. They both deserve better.”
However, the musical biopic garnered a 12-minute standing ovation at the Cannes Film Festival earlier this week. Shortly after the premiere, Hanks made sure Butler got much of the affection from the audience and directed a camera away from him to focus on “The Carrie Diaries” star.
During the French fest, Hanks avoided a question about his “ridiculous” accent. Parker hailed from the Netherlands and the “Philadelphia” star’s mysterious voice teetered between Dutch and American.
Despite some not-so-nice reviews, the King of Rock ‘n’ Roll’s widow, Priscilla Presley, gave her support for the film.
Luhrmann almost teared up on Thursday during a press conference for his movie when he described his feelings when Priscilla, 77, first viewed his movie.
“No critique, no review was ever going to mean more to us than the one from the woman who was married to him,” Luhrmann said, as reported by the Hollywood Reporter. “She said: ‘If my husband was here today, he’d say “Hot damn, you are me” ‘. . . It was the best review I’ve ever had.”
