The King

My parents watched the “’68 Comeback” – I was listening to Lothar and the Hand People! Director Eugene Jarecki (responsible for the cum-stains The Trials of Henry Kissinger and Freakonomics) obviously wanted to make a leftist propaganda piece trashing America but figured that’d be a hard sell getting people in theater seats, so he tagged on as an afterthought how Elvis got bloated by the time Vegas rolled around and decided he could use that as his metaphor for the decline of “democracy” in America. Nice try but along with much in his movie, he fails to avoid the pitfall that Elvis indeed was in a slump when he donned the Vegas jumpsuit, but his voice remained rich and commanding! Now, who would you chose to talk to if you were making a film about Elvis? Jerry Lee is still alive as well as James Burton, but nope, Jarecki features interviews with sleestak James Carville, Van Jones, that bag man for Democratic Party dirty tricks Dan Rather and Alec Baldwin. I can understand why he included Greil Marcus, known as a music critic whose career has been an ongoing string of overreaches, but this movie is a string of lies formed around the progressive assertion that the GREAT LIE is that “if you work hard, you’ll get ahead.” No one who nods in agreement with that sort of thing is worth engaging in debate, so instead lets look at a few of the lies used herein:

(1) Elvis made terrible movies! Well, Viva Las Vegas featured Elvis and Ann-Margret, who are always watchable. The Trouble With Girls was Elvis and Vincent Price! When all is considered, I’d rather watch any Elvis movie than Hedwig, or this movie!

(2) “The American dream is someone’s fantasy and someone else’s drunken nightmare!”  Try to convince “dreamers,” not me!

(3) Elvis was pounded into the public’s consciousness more than any other personality up to that time! Oh really? If you ignore how Shirley Temple was marketed in the ’30s, or Frank Sinatra with bobby-soxers, or Hopalong Cassidy and Davy Crockett to young’uns in the ’50s, then maybe!

(4) Being inducted into the service and his mother’s death led to Elvis descending to his lowest point. Prove it! Nowhere has it ever been reported that Elvis was depressed about serving in the military! Ever!

(5) Los Angeles has always drawn cults (while showing images of Scientology, Charles Manson and Rev. Billy Graham on screen). Cults are a worldwide phenomena (in Waco, Idaho, Montana, St. Petersburg, Florida, etc.) and Rev. Graham was a spokesman for Christianity, the predominant religion on the planet!

(6) Elvis could not act. But Alec Baldwin can act…really angry over the phone when speaking with a child!

I wonder if Elvis had to fear being shot in a drive-by when he left Sun recording studios? Or is that exclusively the domain of rap artists? This contemptible documentary is laden with speculative progressive talking points about the shitty conditions of current day America brought on by the will of the voters. The big problem is that Jarecki truly believes that political power can shift in this country by reinforcing negative ideals and trashing Elvis Aron Presley! Fuck him! Just fuck him!

[NR]