Musical Mondays Week 37 Blue Hawaii

[PollyDarton 1807]

So.....when should we talk about the spanking?

 

I mean... is there a bad time?

 

 

This brings up a good (separate) point, too. For me, one of the major flaws of the movie was that "Chad" was constantly treated like he was Elvis. I guess I just didn't get it. For instance, before Elvis was "Elvis," he looked the same and possessed the same talent, but he wasn't, like, mobbed when he tried to walk down the street or anything. That didn't come until after he became a superstar. So why is everyone swooning all over him?

 

It's just weird to me that all these people respond to "Chad" like he's a rock star and not a shiftless, "tourist guide."

 

He is kind of treated like Zack Morris. Just a lovable scamp who can do no wrong and all the women want.

The only song I was really familiar with prior to watching this was “Can’t Help Falling in Love.”

 

I knew the last song - Hawaiian wedding song before this... but mostly because of this...

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WVbYWtK3WNU

(Which is actually one of the funniest moments of GG IMO)

Fun fact - there is an INCREDIBLY FAMOUS person impersonating Elvis in this scene.

[PollyDarton 1807]

 

I honest to god was shocked at that moment and really thought way too hard about the way the dress/swimsuit was constructed. All I've got is that it'd be a freaking nightmare if you had to use the bathroom during the day, but also I kinda want one anyway.

 

In the 60s it would have been called a playsuit (which I assume you can swim in too) and often had a matching skirt. It is a very interesting relic from the period. The construction of both is fairly straight forward, not that making a one piece jumpsuit is ever easy, but the skirt would be simple.

 

Lots of patterns are still out there if you need some summer glamour!

[Cam Bert 8145]

Okay, so Chad was originally from Hot'lanta and moved to Hawaii when he was two. This means both of his parents are from the Georgia area presumably. This brings me to a very small story point that I found fascinating, his mother was a faux-Southern! Now from her accent to her mannerism she is screaming "southern belle" in fact she is so Southern that when searching for a compliment for her son she tells him he looks like Stonewall Jackson. However, she says that her great grandfather was General Polk in the civil war but "it was a shame he fought for the north." Later in the movie her husband reminds her that she is not a Gates she is a Polk, meaning her family is from the North. So is her whole "southern belle" thing an act? Is she worried that people will find her her shameful yankee past so she puts it all on? Or, did her family move down to the south after the civil war and as an act of rebellion against her family heritage she fully embraced her new homeland much like her son is doing now?

[Cameron H. 23786]

Okay, so Chad was originally from Hot’lanta...

 

[Cam Bert 8145]

 

[FisterRoboto 7499]

The only song I was really familiar with prior to watching this was “Can’t Help Falling in Love.” Did anyone else think it was fuuuuck-ing weird he sang it to Maile’s grandmother?

 

https://youtu.be/pXhKWWCCdk8

 

Even the actress looks at Maile like, “Get a load of this. What the fuck is going on here?”

 

ETA: Okay, I just watched that scene again and I didn’t notice that he and Maile are in fact taking each other’s hands. So, I guess, he’s singing it to her but directing it at her grandmother? It still feels weird.

It's SUPER weird. I definitely spent the whole scene going, "Is he gonna fuck her grandma?"

[Cam Bert 8145]

It's SUPER weird. I definitely spent the whole scene going, "Is he gonna fuck her grandma?"

See I thought he was singing it just because that's the melody on the music box, so it was a more a general I'm going to sing you the song that is playing but I'm not necessarily singing it about you. That said maybe the seduction is part of his gift?

[tomspanks 9039]

The only song I was really familiar with prior to watching this was “Can’t Help Falling in Love.”

 

Besides the Hawaiian songs, I haven't heard of the other songs...directly. Almost Always True is a jazzy Itsy Bity Spider, so that melody was very familiar. Then Rock-a-Hula Baby reminded me of something and then I got to the end of the song and I knew. Videos should DO NOT start at the timestamp. Boo.

 

Go to 1 min 35 sec:

 

https://youtu.be/IVq37rPu4jU?t=1m35s

[tomspanks 9039]

At 1 min 43 sec:

 

https://youtu.be/5m4RltSdtNQ?t=1m43s

[Cameron H. 23786]

 

See I thought he was singing it just because that's the melody on the music box, so it was a more a general I'm going to sing you the song that is playing but I'm not necessarily singing it about you. That said maybe the seduction is part of his gift?

 

Maybe Elvis is physically incapable of not looking like he wants to fuck you?

 

I just think it’s strange. It’s the one - without a doubt - legitimately good song. It’s highly romantic, and it’s about being in a “forbidden” relationship - which makes it plot relevant. It would be so much more meaningful being sung directly to Maile. Although...maybe that’s the point? Maybe it would have been too romantic? I assume Maile is the audience surrogate. She’s the character Elvis’ fans can project themselves onto, so maybe if the romance seemed “too real” it might put his groupies off? I don’t know.

 

[PollyDarton 1807]

Maybe Elvis is physically incapable of not looking like he wants to fuck you?

 

 

 

I just think it’s strange. It’s the one - without a doubt - legitimately good song. It’s highly romantic, and it’s about being in a “forbidden” relationship - which makes it plot relevant. It would be so much more meaningful being sung directly to Maile. Although...maybe that’s the point? Maybe it would have been too romantic? I assume Maile is the audience surrogate. She’s the character Elvis’ fans can project themselves onto, so maybe if the romance seemed “too real” it might put his groupies off? I don’t know.

 

I think you are onto something there. He's in love with Maile, but he openly admits to playing around and random teenage girls can get close enough into his orbit to have intimate moments with him... which is another place they can project themselves into this movie. Then at the end he marries Maile in a lavish Hawaiian wedding... another (stereotypical) female fantasy.

 

Did anyone notice that he's wearing white? I wonder if that is a Hawaiian tradition or if he's wearing white because it is totally about him and not her.

[The_Triple_Lindy 2482]

I also wanted to add, that there is apparently two eras of Elvis movies - pre-Army and post-Army. Pre-Army Elvis movies are generally considered to be better. ... This movie was the first he did after spending two years in the Army.

His family is rich and of high status yet he wants to hang out with his low status friends and rejects his family's wealth because he wants to stand on his own. Also given what little I know about Elvis this seems to be also a thing with him because instead of hanging out with lots of celebs and such it seemed he was very good to his old friends and had a large entourage of old childhood friends.

For me, one of the major flaws of the movie was that "Chad" was constantly treated like he was Elvis. I guess I just didn't get it.

 

Seems pretty clear to me that Elvis is on the "Tony Danza" level of acting ability, where he has to essentially play himself in order to stay in character.

 

Did anyone see how much he was breaking up? During the scene where he gets fired from the tourist guide store and is told the girl ran off in the jeep, he had to turn his head to compose himself.

[Cameron H. 23786]

 

 

 

I think you are onto something there. He's in love with Maile, but he openly admits to playing around and random teenage girls can get close enough into his orbit to have intimate moments with him... which is another place they can project themselves into this movie. Then at the end he marries Maile in a lavish Hawaiian wedding... another (stereotypical) female fantasy.

 

Did anyone notice that he's wearing white? I wonder if that is a Hawaiian tradition or if he's wearing white because it is totally about him and not her.

 

Furthermore, regarding "playing around," there's a line in there that he hoped being in the Army would make him the son they wanted him to be (i.e. not with Maile), but it didn't take. I took this line to partially absolve him of any potential inappropriate behavior he might of engaged in overseas. He was "Almost Always True," not because he didn't want to be completely true, but because of family pressure. In a way, that was enough for me. Sure he was an asshole for trying to make her jealous, but I never got the sense that he ever really wanted to be with anyone other than Maile.

[The_Triple_Lindy 2482]

Okay, so Chad was originally from Hot'lanta and moved to Hawaii when he was two. This means both of his parents are from the Georgia area presumably. This brings me to a very small story point that I found fascinating, his mother was a faux-Southern! Now from her accent to her mannerism she is screaming "southern belle" in fact she is so Southern that when searching for a compliment for her son she tells him he looks like Stonewall Jackson. However, she says that her great grandfather was General Polk in the civil war but "it was a shame he fought for the north." Later in the movie her husband reminds her that she is not a Gates she is a Polk, meaning her family is from the North. So is her whole "southern belle" thing an act? Is she worried that people will find her her shameful yankee past so she puts it all on? Or, did her family move down to the south after the civil war and as an act of rebellion against her family heritage she fully embraced her new homeland much like her son is doing now?

And did they move to Hawaii to run a pineapple farm just because they wanted to run a plantation and boss around some POCs?

[tomspanks 9039]

And did they move to Hawaii to run a pineapple farm just because they wanted to boss around some POCs?

 

And and I think they forced their Asian butler to change his name to Ping Pong. I mean, that can't be a real name, right?

[Cam Bert 8145]

This just makes me wonder who did his mother want him to marry? She had never met Maile until the party but is against her because she is of lower socio-economic status, but there is never any other rich or high status people around. I would make sense if there was a girl she wanted him to settle down with, but it was more of just anybody but her for the sake of conflict.

[tomspanks 9039]

This just makes me wonder who did his mother want him to marry?

 

Anybody who wasn't a filthy little mudblood.

[Cam Bert 8145]

 

And and I think they forced their Asian butler to change his name to Ping Pong. I mean, that can't be a real name, right?

I felt that was equally as uncomfortable as the spanking. At least it wasn't a Mickey Rooney situation.

[The_Triple_Lindy 2482]

1. Did anyone else catch the moment where Angela Lansbury tells Elvis something to the effect of "Why would anyone want to go play music with the beach boys?"

 

Wikipedia says that the Beach Boys didn't become a hit until '63, but the joke was prescient.

 

2. Everyone here should go to Graceland. It's a bizarre shrine to a guy who had a completely crazy life. You can go on one of his two private planes. You can play pool on a table he bought from the Beatles. You can see the TV he shot.

 

He was a pretty wild dude. He gave tons of money to charity and spent all his money just having parties and buying things for his friends. He also acted like he owned everything and could do pretty much anything he wanted without having to ask or answer for it.

 

Also, one of his rooms is T2B mirrors. And there's the "jungle room."

[The_Triple_Lindy 2482]

This just makes me wonder who did his mother want him to marry? She had never met Maile until the party but is against her because she is of lower socio-economic status, but there is never any other rich or high status people around. I would make sense if there was a girl she wanted him to settle down with, but it was more of just anybody but her for the sake of conflict.

I actually thought that the teacher was going to swoop in as a "mother-approved" competitor. The first thing I though when she appeared was, "she practically looks like a younger Angela Lansbury."

And and I think they forced their Asian butler to change his name to Ping Pong. I mean, that can't be a real name, right?

It's as real as Long Duk Dong.

[Cameron H. 23786]

Much like the Crawfish thing a couple pages back, I would love to drive by a pineapple farm and get some at their - far off the main drag - fruit stand.

 

(Point if interest: I tried to write "fruit stand" as one word and my Kindle autocorrected it to "Christian." I tested it a couple more times and it did it each time. What's up with that Kindle?)

[SaraK 1980]

Much like the Crawfish thing a couple pages back, I would love to drive by a pineapple farm and get some at their - far off the main drag - fruit stand.

 

The reveal of the fruit stand made me laugh really hard. Such a convenient place for a ‘cold fruit’ stand

[tomspanks 9039]

Much like the Crawfish thing a couple pages back, I would love to drive by a pineapple farm and get some at their - far off the main drag - fruit stand.

 

Speaking of that fruit stand, I thought it was interesting Elvis recommended salt with pineapple. I like salt on my watermelon, but for pineapple (and mango) it's Tajin all the way.

[gigi-tastic 2322]

And did they move to Hawaii to run a pineapple farm just because they wanted to run a plantation and boss around some POCs?

 

I think you might be on to something here. I fully believe this woman owns at least one full on hoop skirt and crinoline that she will wear and pretend she is in Gone With the Wind .

[gigi-tastic 2322]

1. Did anyone else catch the moment where Angela Lansbury tells Elvis something to the effect of "Why would anyone want to go play music with the beach boys?"

 

Wikipedia says that the Beach Boys didn't become a hit until '63, but the joke was prescient.

 

2. Everyone here should go to Graceland. It's a bizarre shrine to a guy who had a completely crazy life. You can go on one of his two private planes. You can play pool on a table he bought from the Beatles. You can see the TV he shot.

 

He was a pretty wild dude. He gave tons of money to charity and spent all his money just having parties and buying things for his friends. He also acted like he owned everything and could do pretty much anything he wanted without having to ask or answer for it.

 

Also, one of his room is T2B mirrors. And there's the "jungle room."

 

My mom went in the 90's and I have a bunch of photos of her and her coworkers / hosts who were showing them around for the week . Truly the most amazing and tacky place ever.

 

When we got our first house it had shag carpet in one bedrooms and down the basement steps which led to a cheap velvet clad bar we dubbed the Elvis Bar .