Awesome Movie

A clunky actioner with a handful of cool moments.

It is encouraging that the film ends so strongly.Otherwise, it wouldn't have been a particularly memorable film

.Like the great film, it's made with a great deal of visible affection both in front of and behind the camera.

Cracking film from the end of the Elvis - Hollywood era. "Live a Little, Love a Little" is the most adult, modern movie that Elvis made and this one is hilarious with lots of great dialogue, particularly between Elvis, gorgeous co star Michele Carey, Dick Sargent...and, er "Albert" the Great Dane - who was actually Elvis' pet at the time, one of two Great Dane's he had at the time of the movie. Elvis plays Greg - a photographer - who's life is thrown into chaos when he meets stunning Michele Carey (who adopts a string of "different names for different moods" throughout the film). When she orders Albert to chase Greg into the sea, he keeps him in there for so long he catches pneumonia and after taking him back to her house on the beach to freshen up, apparently drugs him and he wakes up three days later, only to go to work and find out he's been fired. Then, inexplicably, two tough employees set about beating him up. They were actually Elvis' two chief bodyguards, cousins Red and Sonny West...but Elvis comes out on top thanks to his karate skills that came in handy in most of his movies. Elvis did become a black belt in the art and you can tell in his fight scenes in all his movies that he knows what he's doing and especially when fighting Red or Sonny (which he usually did) the fights always looked realistic.So after being fired, Greg returns to his apartment...only to find he's been moved out and another woman and her child have taken over the rent, with the landlady explaining that Greg's "sister" Michele has paid off the back rent.Obviously expecting him to come round to her house in a rage - which he does - Michele invites Greg to stay with her (and Albert) until he finds employment and a place to live. He subsequently lands TWO jobs as a photographer for two different photography firms in the same building - one a respectable firm that expects it's employees to be impeccably dressed at all times, the other a more laid back "Playboy-esque" magazine that insists it's photographers dress casual...thus leading to a few Mrs Doubtfire-like dashes from one place to the next in an attempt to be in two places at once... It's an enjoyable, funny, fast paced movie that you never know what is going to happen next due to Michele Carey's eccentricity. What is her name? What does she want? Who are all these men in her life? Is she really married to "Harry Baby" (Sargent) It's a far out removal from the stereotypical Elvis musical of the 60's. There's only four songs - all outstanding. Two of them "A Little Less Conversation" and "Edge of Reality" are both in my top 10 Elvis songs and both effectively come with fine "music videos" due to the scenes that accompany them. The Edge of Reality dream sequence in particular is superb, with Elvis producing some funky hip swivelling that reminds you of his early days and acts as bit of a light sampler for what was to come over the next 4 years starting with his "Comeback Special" which was filmed just a few weeks after "Live a Little, Love a Little" Another song, a ballad "Almost in Love" is also fantastic and again probably only just misses out on my "Top 10 Elvis songs" but I'd regard it as his best ballad. Great song, beautifully sung.

After the Doris Day/Rock Hudson era, America was moving into the era of the psychedelic sixties. Relationships in movies were less about playing the games of the fifties and more about being direct. So, you are more likely to see a woman be the aggressor in the later sixties. The female lead in this movie chases Elvis until he catches her. The dream sequence is less like a Dali painting than those in the fifties and more psychedelic in lighting. Some seem to equate "kooky" with the sixties, perhaps due to the influence of drugs, and that carries through in this plot and the characterization of the female lead. One might call this film a sex farce set midst the California lifestyle.I enjoyed this film. Though the story was silly, the energy of the film was upbeat and fun. The women were beautiful, the music was consequential and Elvis actually seemed to be enjoying himself at times (did you ever notice how he seldom smiles in some of his films?). Yes, there are plenty of cinema clichés and some throwaway scenes, but I enjoyed the kooky chemistry between Elvis and Bernice. Injecting the obligatory Elvis fistfight does not help the story or the pacing, but Elvis manages to move the story along with his personality. See Viva Las Vegas for a film with real magnetism between the stars.

After recklessly driving his clean dune buggy through Southern California streets and sand, singing photographer Elvis Presley (as Greg Nolan) meets pleasantly-proportioned Michele Carey (as Bernice) on the shore. The two seem ready to "make love," but Mr. Presley must contend with Ms. Carey's constant companion - a growling Great Dane named "Albert". The dog chases Presley, fully clothed, into the ocean for the remainder of the day and he is taken back to Carey's place with a fever. After several days of nursing from Carey, Presley awakens to discover he has lost his apartment and job...Using the line, "Nolan is here with the truth," Presley finds work taking photographs for Playboy-type Don Porter (as Mike Lansdown) and his straight-laced opposite Rudy Vallee (as Penlow). Since his new employers have offices in the same building, Presley tries to work both jobs at the same time. Hijinks ensue when he continues seeing the eccentric Carey and her friends, including pre-"Bewitched" Dick Sargent (as Harry). The film's highlight is a surreal video made for Presley's lost classic slice of 1960s paranoia "Edge of Reality", and "A Little Less Conversation" / "Almost in Love" is a strong single.**** Live a Little, Love a Little (10/23/68) Norman Taurog ~ Elvis Presley, Michele Carey, Dick Sargent, Rudy Vallee

There is something quite entertaining about this movie, but I can't totally figure out what it is. It is certainly better than other Elvis vehicles, and I like the music. The psycho babe is about one step away from a mad slasher movie. I really wouldn't be surprise if she cut Elvis's legs off after drugging him for several days. After all, she does sic her vicious Great Dane on him and drive him into the ocean. Real light hearted and zany, wouldn't you say? She then gets him evicted and takes all of his possessions.She is obviously as loose sexually as a shovel full of peas. She even carries on with the goofy old milkman, for God's sake. Elvis gets a little wacky from mere contact with her. He apparently wants nothing to do with her, but gleefully moves in with her and socks Dick Sargeant for kissing her.I think I am trying to apply some logic to this plot and that in itself is very silly. The dog, by the way, takes top acting honors.The funniest thing about this entire film is the bedroom scene. Here is the King Stud of his generation lying next to a beautiful nymphet, who wants him badly, and there is a board between them. The Puritan's in New England live! Who would actually believe this? In real life that mattress would be screaming for mercy.Having said all of this, I do find this movie enjoyable. I really liked the attempt to bring Elvis into the Woodstock generation, with some colored lights and a guy dressed as a GreatDane.Of course, Elvis winds up with this whack-job at the end. I am not sure we ever really find out what her real name is, or her real marital status. The delivery boy, the milkman and her semi-gay ex will all be disappointed.