Elvis Movies - Girl Happy
by Claire J Rottenberg
"Girl Happy" has a silly plot and many of the other
elements from typical Elvis 1960s movies, but it also
has some good features to it. The movie was released
in 1965, at the time of most of Elvis' formula films
and "Girl Happy" does fit the standard plot of boy
chases girl. But in this film, there are no car or
boat races and the girl Elvis chases, Shelley
Fabares, doesn't reject him.
In addition to no races wasting plot time, the songs
in "Girl Happy" are, for the most part, better than
the songs in other mid-1960s Elvis films. There are,
of course, a few silly songs and totally unmemorable
songs, such as "Do the Clam," but "Girl Happy" also
has a couple of very good songs. My favorite is
"Puppet On A String," but "Do Not Disturb" and the
title song are also better than average songs.
Another feature that makes "Girl Happy" different
from the typical 1960s Elvis film is the fact that
all of the characters in the film are basically nice,
likable people. Usually Elvis movies include a
villain, often Elvis' rival for his girl, and "Girl
Happy" has a rival for Shelley Fabares' attention,
but he's not a serious rival and he's really not
unpleasant. Elvis' character is extremely likable and
his friends in the film also have good hearts.
Elvis' supporting cast in "Girl Happy" is good with,
fortunately, no bad actors in the mix, unlike in most
of his other films. Elvis and Shelley Fabares work
well together in the film and they make a believable
and likable couple. They made two other films
together in the 1960s - "Clambake" and
"Spinout."
Although "Girl Happy" is far from being a great film,
I think it's enjoyable
because:
(1) there
are no races in the film and the entire 90 minutes
is spent on music, plot and relationships (although
the plot is weak)
(2) the
film has some very good songs, especially "Puppet
on a String" and "Do Not Disturb"
(3) the
characters in the movie are likable and it is easy
to identify with them and their actions
(4) Elvis'
supporting cast includes good actors and
actresses
Naturally, I'm an Elvis fan so my opinion of "Girl
Happy" is biased by the fact that I enjoy watching
and listening to Elvis. But I have a male friend who
is not an Elvis fan and he thinks "Girl Happy" is
better than most of the other "fluff" films Elvis
made in the 1960s, so, if you haven't seen "Girl
Happy," you also might enjoy viewing it.