I thought I’d up the ante and look for a bit more sex and violence to spice up the blog. Where else to look than the Hallmark Channel and a sugary sweet collaboration with the Presley estate? To be fair there is none of that sex and violence stuff, but there was a quizzical look at one point when it was discovered that two wedding cakes had been ordered.
The film sets its stall out early on with lots of touristy shots of Memphis played over Elvis crooning ‘Don’t Be Cruel’. We see a statue of the great man and it’s clear that filming rights for Graceland come with strings attached. Still there’s nothing in the way of subterfuge or sly product placement here - basically it’s 90 minutes of ‘Why don’t you have your wedding in the Graceland chapel?’ with added minor peril.
The film stars Kellie Pickler who seemingly came 6th in a series of ‘American Idol’. She has a daughter (no mention of the father) and a boyfriend, Clay, who used to be her teen sweetheart. The pair used sing together but Kellie was shepherded away from that life to get a business degree by her overbearing father and now works in a bank. She is now back with Clay following a reunion in the film ‘Christmas at Graceland’ which I don’t intend looking up.
Clay takes Kellie and her daughter to Graceland to ‘drop off some documents’ but wouldn’t you just guess it, he’s there to propose! They seem to have an open door policy at Graceland as all their friends are hiding nearby to offer their congratulations. Also in attendance is Graceland’s wedding planner who tells them that the chapel is booked up for a year - but wait! They have a cancellation in 3 weeks - can our happy couple set up their wedding in time?
What follows is an hour of minor setbacks as the families jet in and don’t immediately get on. Kellie’s father ‘The Major’ doesn’t take to Clay and acts like a Major asshole. Both Moms want to take charge and once a wedding planner is engaged things start to spiral out of control. Can the happy couple make it up the aisle and will the day end up just perfect, with everyone happy? Yes.
This was a well made, sugar laced, travelogue for Memphis and for the excellent facilities available at the Graceland mansion - don’t forget the Graceland Chapel and Graceland Guest House either! It was good to see inside the mansion and even Pricilla showed up for one awkward scene where she gives her blessing to the union whilst looking like The Joker.
I didn’t recognise anyone on show apart from Rob Moran whom you’ll know from most of the Farrelly Brothers films. There was a big star guest at the end whom Clay snagged using his music industry connections - I was hoping for Michael Bolton but it turned out to be Lee Brice - me neither.
Obviously I’m not the target audience here, but it was decent fun with the mild peril of the vicar getting flu set against a nice sunny backdrop, with added Southern homilies. It was strange that money was never mentioned as an issue with the extra harpists and doves being dismissed as too much hassle rather than ’how much is this going to cost?’ It was however a fantasy piece and you could see the film doing well with the pissed up hen party crowd - 'that bitch mother in law knows that frosting isn’t right' - that kind of thing.
Best Bit : I used to be a Chaplin in the army… ‘W’ rating 14/23
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