Moustroll Good movie but grossly overrated

Lightdeossk Captivating movie !

Intcatinfo A Masterpiece!

Freaktana A Major Disappointment

ackstasis With the metaphorical anvil of university exams dangling precariously overhead, I decided I needed something to lighten the mood. So I turned to the King, Elvis Presley – a man whose legendary talent, charm, and good looks were sure to brighten my wearied spirits. In this frothy 1960s teen comedy with a stupid title, Rusty (Presley) and his band of sex-starved musicians (including Gary Crosby, son of Bing) are sent down to sunny Fort Lauderdale to chaperone, from a distance, the daughter of their employer. Though initially unenthusiastic about watching the plain-looking, academic Valerie (Shelley Fabares), the boys quickly change their tune when she lets her hair down and slips into something, let's say, more appropriate to the Florida climate. Many romantic hijinks consequently ensue, including a high-speed boat ride, an impromptu beach party (involving a completely hideous "dance" called The Clam), a drunken strip-club brawl, and a prisonbreak going the wrong way. Most films that try to make a beautiful actress appear plain or bookish (usually before a surprising transformation) do an absolutely terrible job of it. Here, conversely, a very pretty Shelley Fabares is made to seem convincingly unappealing in her first few appearances. This illusion is, of course, quickly abolished, as Rusty comes to fall for her intelligent charms, even while straying occasionally towards a more conventional pin-up girl called Deena (Mary Ann Mobley). Though the boys' spring-break romances never get beyond wholesome necking, the social attitudes are nevertheless rather liberal, with frequent overt references towards sex. (Even the nerdy bloke, played by Peter Brooks, ultimately decides that casual sex is better than finding "a girl with a mind"). Elvis' performance is laidback and entertaining, and Fabares has a fun chemistry with him; she would appear in two more movies opposite The King.

babeth_jr This fun 1965 movie starring Elvis Presley and Shelley Fabares should be put in a time capsule for a movie representing the carefree mid-1960's in America. Kids were still fairly innocent, the Vietnam War hadn't jaded the country and the drugs that pervaded the late 1960's weren't as prevalent the time this movie was made.Elvis plays Rusty Wells, a musician hired by a mobster Big Frank (Harold Stone) to guard his daughter Valerie (the lovely Miss Fabares) who has gone with some girlfriends to Ft. Lauderdale on Spring break. Valerie doesn't know her overprotective father has hired Rusty and his group of rag tag musicians to watch her, and of course, she and Elvis fall in love.The movie is similar in some ways to "Where the Boys Are", but is not as serious. Of course, with it being an Elvis picture, we have to have the Pelvis sing in several cheesy but fun song and dance numbers. The songs "Girl Happy" and "Do the Clam" are classic cornball songs, but fun to watch. This movie was one of my favorites from my childhood and it is amazing to me how I can still remember the lyrics to these songs after all these years! Elvis never was a great actor, and over the years his movie roles kept getting sillier and sillier, but this movie, silly as parts of it are, is still a lot of fun to watch. And boy was Elvis hot when he was young!

Michael_Elliott Girl Happy (1965) ** (out of 4) Mildy entertaining Elvis vehicle has a club owner hiring him and his band to go down to Florida and make sure his daughter stays out of trouble. Having watched many of these Elvis films this year I really can't say this one is any better or worse than any other film since they all pretty much follow the same formula and in the end I guess these movies were pretty much just music videos to eventually sell albums. This film actually starts off pretty well with a great title track and some fun comedy but things get very tiresome once the 'mission' to keep the daughter out of trouble starts. If you've seen at least one movie in your life then you'll know where the plot is taking you throughout this film. Elvis is actually decent in his role but leading lady Shelley Fabares is pretty bland, which got me wondering why MGM didn't try to get Elvis better leading ladies. I think this is the first time I've actually said this but I enjoyed the majority of the songs in the film with the title track being the best but the others were nice as well.

Callum Gee I recently obtained the newly-remastered DVD of "Girl Happy" and I must admit that I was surprisingly taken aback at how much I enjoyed this rather entertaining 'beach' movie.I first viewed "GH" on TV back in 1986 and suffice to say that it didn't really make a great impression on me due to the somewhat lacklustre material of songs that Elvis performed in it. However, even a few of these managed to charm my tastebuds this second time around.Obviously, it's not one of Elvis' best overall movies but is certainly in the category of one of his best (and much-loved) 60's musicals - it is really entertaining. Elvis is in fine form along with a good supporting cast that includes leading lady, Shelley Fabares along with Bing Crosby's son, Gary plus the sultry Mary Ann Mobley and Harold J. Stone.A particular scene that I found fascinating was the action-packed fight in the club, Elvis appears to be doing so well fending them off with some karate moves and all when suddenly he takes a bottle over the back of the head! An unusual and unpredictable happening in one of his movies at this point."Girl Happy" is not one of my favourite Elvis movie soundtracks but the title track is OK, albeit somewhat faster in speed. There's also the catchy "Cross My Heart, Hope To Die", a duet of "Spring Fever" which wasn't featured on the original album, and the sweet ballad "Puppet On A String".It's worth checking out, and if it doesn't grab you the first time then maybe it will on a second viewing.