If you don't like this, we can't be friends.

Absolutely Brilliant!

It's easily one of the freshest, sharpest and most enjoyable films of this year.

The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

Beginning with its outrageous premise, anticipated this film could only disappoint. In every critical scene there was opportunity for it to go wrong. I expected it to turn silly, then it didn't. When I knew it would be too melodramatic or corny it didn't go there either.In particular I am critical of how the south is depicted in film. Accents are typically exaggerated with unrealistic dialog. Law enforcement is usually portrayed as incompetent and fumbling. "Elvis and Anabelle" comes close to violating all of the clichés yet never crosses the line.Finally I realized my cynical prejudgment was similar to Elvis's life disposition. What I didn't expect was this movie to inspire me.

I never heard of this movie, I guess it didn't make it into mainstream distribution. I just caught it on a movie channel today, by accident.Little Miss Sunshine was quirky and offbeat, but in a way that doesn't seem too outrageous. I think it's harder to warm to a movie about the everyday tale of a mortician, the bulimic beauty queen, and the mortician's disabled father. It's probably just me, but I was distracted by the disabled father, thinking: I hope Joe Mantegna's taken the advice of Robert Downey Jr in Tropic Thunder, "never go full retard".Plus the bulimic beauty queen dies, the disabled father dies, the mortician's mother committed suicide a few years back, and both the mortician and the bulimic beauty queen entertain thoughts of suicide, and are shown about to act on them. There's really way too much death, and near-death, for this to make it as a mainstream movie.That said, it is touching how the mortician wakes the bulimic beauty queen with a kiss. And then, having had a near-death experience, she re-evaluates her life, and hides away with the mortician and his dad. Where, of course, love blossoms despite the complications of a mortician who kisses corpses. And the mortician realizes that even if your mom commits suicide, and your disabled dad drops dead playing golf... if you have a field of sunflowers, and get to sleep with Blake Lively, then things can't be too bad.But Lively and Minghela were cute together, and they made it a pretty entertaining and touching story. And Mantegna was good, as always, as the father, and he also had some sweet scenes with his son. Overall, better than it sounds, and better than it deserved to be. Rather than quirky, it was more bizarre and morbid... but in a good way. I enjoyed it, and I think it's good enough that it deserves a wider audience.

ELVIS & ANNABELLE – CATCH IT ( B+ ) I love movies that just show the young love and connect with you… simple moments and story beautifully portrayed in Evis&Annabelle… Max Minghella is an Incredible Actor who hasn't got his share of stardom in Hollywood yet… Ever Since I saw em in as younger Hulk in THE HULK, he grew on me... I knew he is talented... then AGORA proved what an incredible actor Max is… Blake Lively looked really pretty As Alwayz & looked the part… Max&Blake's chemistry worth watching... even I loved the little tricky story line of the movie…EveryOne who loves a simple love story should watch it… it came out in 2OO7 & before Blake Lively hit the Stardom with GOSSIP GIRL… production value is low but the movie isn't.

There is not much wrong with this film. It is very moving. I was touched to my core, weeping deeply, several times. For the most part the acting is spot on, and the plot is different. The cinematography is stunning; the location serene, if a tad morbid. Elvis is a very deep, if troubled young man, of considerable talent. He works as a mortician at the family's funeral parlour, tending to his ailing father in the wake of his mother's suicide a decade earlier. Elvis' love for his father is the most touching you are likely to witness. He reads to him every night before bed. Elvis' father quite rightly worships the ground his son walks on. The plot revolves around a beauty queen Annabelle who is taken to their funeral parlour and the subsequent turn of events.The simplicity yet authenticity of Elvis' life tantalises Annabelle whose background is all style over substance. In her parents, her shallow, attention-seeking, competitive mother vies with the perversion of her creepy, bourbon-swilling stepfather for who is the more repugnant. Annabelle coaxes Elvis on a journey of discovery, love and ultimately, hope. The plot takes a few turns and the ending is unexpected.What makes this film for me is the depth and compassion of the three main characters. Joe Mantegna is superlative as Charlie, as is the riveting Max Minghella (God bless his father). Blake Lively also convinces. I was surprised, enthralled, thrilled, captivated, deeply moved; I wanted to stay. You will too.