#rubbernecking

Ok let’s get the first thing out of the way first: Elvis looked good in this one! He was at the top of his game in his last movie outing, Change of Habit, and he looked good doing it. I simply couldn’t stop staring at him the whole time. His acting and charm were on full display here, and I really loved his role as Dr. John Carpenter, even if this one wasn’t my favorite of the Elvis Presley films I’ve watched so far. 

This film also tackled a lot of heavy, serious subjects in a short amount of time: race relations, money problems, psychological issues, autism, religion and probably more I’m forgetting about. And that was both good and bad. Good, when the film did a good job, like with how it handled women and our struggles. Bad, with how it handled autism and our struggles, and how dated the film’s viewpoints on autism turned out to be. It tried, though, and although I didn’t like how it handled autism, I’ll give it points for trying its best and hardest. 

A little about me personally: I got diagnosed with autism and it’s been a hard journey for sure, and still is to this day, even though I got diagnosed a number of years ago. But I’m still sensitive to how it is portrayed in media, and well...this film messed up. I know, I know. It was 1969 and they knew next to nothing about autism, but it was still hard to watch how they handled it. This was one aspect of the movie I didn’t like and I’ll stand by that.

Let’s go back to the good, though: that song “Rubberneckin’” in the very beginning of the film was soo so good and catchy, and perfectly fit Elvis’ voice. Although his character wasn’t religious, I was glad to see Elvis singing some gospel-inspired songs in this one because he loved that type of music so much. The three main nuns were perfect in their roles, and all nearly stole the movie from Elvis himself, which is a hard feat. How the film handled race relations, monetary troubles and women struggles was on point and did a good job, and seemed more modern than the time it was in aka 1969. This movie had a lot of serious topics to tackle, and it was brave and didn’t shy away from them, and it mostly did a good job. Especially for a film that was released decades ago. 

And, Elvis! I always thought that he was really on top of his game for only his earlier films, but in Change of Habit and The Trouble with Girls, he was phenomenal. He really came a long way from Love Me Tender and Loving You. He was even slightly believable as a doctor in this one, which a lot of musician-actors couldn’t pull off.

I was mostly happy with this film and how it handled everything, and I’ll probably watch it again at some point, since I didn’t really take everything in being my first time watching this. 

And Elvis! So, so happy and proud of the job he did in this movie. And proud to call myself a fan. 16 of 31 films down, and only a handful more to go.

For those not in the know, I’m watching and reviewing all 31 Elvis Presley studio films that he starred in, plus some documentaries and concert specials. Ever since the Elvis (2022) biopic came out, I’ve been interested in watching the movies and seeing this side of Elvis Presley, which I had never seen before this year. 

If you want an Elvis movie that will make you sit down and think about the state of the world, I recommend Change of Habit. And enjoy “Rubbernbeckin’” too, because that is now one of my favorite Elvis songs from movies or anywhere. 

Rock n roll! :DDDDD

Anchors Aweigh (1945)

Keep your eyes on the road, Sonic!  Hitting that sign can’t compare to what Sally will do if she finds out about this...

Can’t Stop Watching.