Not the feature-length montage generally associated with Baz Luhrmann (Moulin Rouge, The Great Gatsby), nor is it a patch on the Kurt Russell, John Carpenter TV biopic from 1979. Austin Butler reported to work on time and fit the costumes, but for all impractical purposes, they might just as well have titled it Col. Tom. The center ring of this Vegas carnival belongs to Tom Hanks who filled out the fat suit with by far his most outlandishly cartoonish performance to date. This isn’t the type of celebrity impersonation you’ve heard me bitching about these past few months — prior to this, who even knew what Elvis’ manager sounded like? With a voice that lands somewhere between “Cuddles” Sakall and Dr. Mengele, Hanks waddles his way through the neon mist like a pregnant Godzilla looking for a gaming table on which to laze. ‘Twas a foodie that killed the beauty, and as ludicrous as it is to blame the Col. for all of Elvis’ woes — he’s no more responsible for the King’s drug addiction than Little Richard (superbly brought to life by Alton Mason) — it sure is fun watching the estate of the late singer try. And did we really need “Elvis has left the building” as the film’s curtain line? (2022) — Scott Marks
This movie is not currently in theaters.