I like movies that are aware of what they are selling... without [any] greater aspirations than to make people laugh and that's it.

Simple and well acted, it has tension enough to knot the stomach.

I enjoyed watching this film and would recommend other to give it a try , (as I am) but this movie, although enjoyable to watch due to the better than average acting fails to add anything new to its storyline that is all too familiar to these types of movies.

There are moments in this movie where the great movie it could've been peek out... They're fleeting, here, but they're worth savoring, and they happen often enough to make it worth your while.

Set in Las Vegas - This Musical/Romance from 1964, containing 12 Elvis songs, is sure to please any Presley fan.Elvis plays Lucky Jackson, a race-car driver, competing in the Las Vegas Grand Prix opposite his arch-rival, Count Elmo Mancini. To finance his entry, Lucky works the menial job of a casino waiter where he's naturally encouraged (on a regular basis) to sing and swivel his hips for the ever-adoring, ever-applauding customers.It always seems to be that Lucky is forever chasing after the wrong girls, only to be continually ignoring the "right" one. And "Miss Right" in this case is the dazzling Ann-Margret as Rusty Martin, a local swimming instructor.With the handsome, pre-fat Elvis, as well as an indescribably gorgeous Ann-Margret, and a dozen hot tunes, how could Viva Las Vegas not be expected to reap in a literal fortune at the box-office? This would definitely be one of Presley's most successful films of the 1960s.

Viva Las Vegas is so winning, so immediately alluring that it only takes about two seconds for it to work its delirious magic. To be fair, those two seconds only consist of lazily hitting the play button only to immediately hear Elvis Presley's iconic crooning of the title tune. After those two seconds end and we're lifted into a Technicolor cloud of 1960s pop art smoke, we are amazed by the aerial shots of a nighttime Las Vegas, all neons, all gaudy, and all fun. We feel welcomed. Presley has made plenty of vehicles, varying from godawful to brightly enjoyable, but it doesn't take long to realize that Viva Las Vegas won't be another It Happened at the World's Fair or a Change of Habit. Simply, you can't have Ann-Margret and George Sidney at your side and expect to fall down with an echoey thud.Few musicians have made it as big as Elvis Presley — there are only a handful that can admit that they've had a successful music career, a profitable acting streak, and have remained as globally recognizable as Marilyn Monroe, The Beatles, or, to be broader than broad, God himself. By casually uttering the word "Elvis," you evoke a tidal wave of feelings. For most, he's a hero, a connoisseur of jubilant sentimentality. We don't automatically think of 1977 Elvis, fat, pill- addicted, hopeless and dying — we think of Jailhouse Rock Elvis, Viva Las Vegas Elvis, In the Ghetto Elvis. In 1964, did people understand just how much of an impact he would still make 50+ years later? Viva Las Vegas is certainly his finest hour in film. It epitomizes everything we love about him, but it also stands alone as a better than average movie musical. It bursts with color and talent, and has a rock 'n' roll edge that makes it a hell of a lot less annoying than those clichéd romps than make sure to have at least one dramatic scene where a character sits by a windowsill and pours their heart out to no one.Presley plays Lucky Jackson, a race car-driver aiming to compete in the Las Vegas Grand Prix. Coming from Los Angeles, he has all the materials needed to become a champion except for (a) a new motor, and (b) a girl to wear on his arm when he receives the grand prize. But people named Lucky Jackson don't walk around only to discover that they are actually unlucky and should instead be referred to as Unlucky Jackson; since they look like Elvis and have Elvis' talent, they, more often than not, will find a way to buy a new motor and win an all-American girl.The skirt of Part B doesn't take too long to track down and ultimately chase. It belongs to Rusty Martin (Ann-Margret), a shapely swimming instructor who isn't just a swimming instructor but is also a singer, dancer, and, as we discover in a locale jumping courtship montage, an excellent shot. She has it all. Lucky wants Rusty, and Rusty wants Lucky. Could things be better?Enter Conflict #1: Lucky accidentally loses all the money that would have paid for his car engine, forcing him to become a waiter at the same hotel Rusty works for (though you would think that, at some point, Lucky would realize his immense singing talent and ditch his foremost ambitions). Enter Conflict #2: Rusty is so frightened by the idea of the dangers of race-car driving that she presents Lucky with an ultimatum — he can pick racing or he can pick her, but he certainly can't have both.If Viva Las Vegas' story sounds clichéd, then maybe that's a good thing. It isn't the story that matters. What matters is Presley and Ann- Margret, and the way Sidney frames them in every shot. Presley has acted with Nancy Sinatra, Mary Tyler Moore, and Ursula Andress, but no one matches his universal appeal as well as Margret. With her flaming red hair and larger-than-life personality, she is less of a love interest and more of a force of nature, sometimes so off-the-walls that she upstages Presley himself. Their chemistry is so powerful that if one is alone in a scene, it doesn't bear that same energy that fills the room when they're together. Sidney drenches Viva Las Vegas in a visual style that is almost deliberately artificial: the clothing is only ever hued with loud primary colors, the lighting sometimes resembles a stage show brightened by traffic lights, and the scenery looks like something out of a brochure. But all the glistening duplicity makes the film even more confident and self-aware — it doesn't feel like an average Elvis vehicle because it has a nailed down tone and look that gives it an irrepressibly specific temperament.With 12 songs on the soundtrack to boot, it's impossible for Viva Las Vegas to lose. Can anything this much fun, with Elvis Presley at its center, really lose? Repeat after me: No! No. Read more reviews at petersonreviews.com

a very popular movie then and now / most critics gave it the ole thumbs up, too! Elvis went off the "girls and music" formula to "girl and music", as the story is about a guy and a girl, young, good looking, talented, energetic in the sexed up '63 Vegas! a great soundtrack, not one dud, all production numbers top rate, as directed by George Sidney who had just completed BYE BYE BIRDIE (and once again seemed to determined to show off Ann's world class rump). just as costars complained in BIRDIE that GS was letting it become an Ann Margret picture, Colonel Parker took note that it was not *enough* of an Elvis picture > seems the powers that be did not cut any of Ann's solos but about 2 months later added an Elvis vocal, WHAT'D I SAY (Ann's role was to look mesmerized as Elvis swung out).we all know that despite great box office, in fact outdrawing the BEatles' first movie in North America!, RCA / the Colonel / whoever elected NOT to deliver a soundtrack album, which probably would have outsold BLUE HAWAII! would they have had to incl. at least a duet with the Big El and Annie? yes. so a terrific duet like THE LADY LOVES ME (which should have been the flipside of the VIVA LAS VEGAS single) got sent to the vaults for about 12 years.who knows if a monster l.p. would have dictated better *quality* on upcoming albums? (though ROUSTABOUT did make number one and has remained a fan favorite).minor complaint is that once again a Presley director let a great chance for a more dramatic denouement go right by the boards. not to "spoil" but once again, instead of creating some dramatic tension, will "Rusty" actually show up for the big finale race? - she's too gaga to stay home...or make a late arrival so the audience can smile and go "yeah! she really does love him!" but, OK, it's about Elvis and he's too cool a dude for such conflict.please note several tunes were not used in the film and kept nice and warm trickling out over the years, notably an over-heated cover of the Laverne Baker-Jimmy Ricks YOU'RE THE BOSS! also note that although Leiber & Stoller were given an unceremonious heave-ho by Elvis' manager around 1961, they got TWO entries here: THE CLIMB (Elvis in the background) and YOU'RE THE BOSS.buy this DVD, one of Elvis best movies and still an overlooked Hollywood Musical Classic.

This is a typical formulated Elvis musical, there is nothing special about it that makes it stand out from the rest of the trash. Ridiculous plot & flimsy story & one stupid situation after another. And enough songs to fill an album & some of the songs are better than the movie itself & that's not a good sign. The best part of the movie is the racing scene at the end with several car crashes but that's expected in a car race. But it comes too late, in the meantime there's too many distracting & intrusively silly & annoying scenes that weighs the film down & gets in the way of the plot & story (if there ever was one).Aside from a few decent movies Elvis made when he was given solid material to work with like Jailhouse Rock, King Creole, Flaming Star, Wild In The Country & Charro most of his movies were garbage. They are tediously boring & are embarrassing & hard to sit through & a waste of time & a disgrace to Elvis' career. Only Elvis fans will enjoy this poop simply because Elvis is in it.