Episodi

  • Change of Habit (1969)

    Change of Habit (1969)
    Aug 20 2025
    It's the season finale of Viva Pod Vegas as we've finally arrived at Elvis Presley's final film: Change of Habit! After getting over the fact that we're concluding on another late-career Elvis movie that isn't really starring him, we talk about the "Queen of Comedy" moniker, this film's surprising cinematographer, and what level of respect this movie holds in film critic circles. We also talk about Elvis's unfinished/unfilmed The New Gladiators, and what the world lost by never seeing The King as a karate cop. We then pivot to discussing Change of Habit, and kick off by analyzing the film's need to remind audiences that this is, in fact, an Elvis movie. What is this movie trying to do? It features abortion, sexual assault, social equality, and autism. We discuss its aims and if it is successful. We talk about the perfect end to Elvis's film career -- singing gospel music in church -- and reflect back on the Viva Pod Vegas journey so far and where we may go from here.
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    1 ora e 12 min
  • The Trouble with Girls (1969)

    The Trouble with Girls (1969)
    Jul 7 2025
    It's time for The Trouble with Girls: a good title that does not describe its action at all and, sadly, Elvis's penultimate film. After getting some more advice about what to cover next, we run through the film's wild cast and lament how almost none of the many high profile actors spend any time interacting with one another. We also talk through this film's troubled production history (and the source novel that must be better than this), get sad about the unfortunate placement in Elvis's film career (at least for our purposes), and debate whether this is really the only movie where Elvis doesn't fight. Was cannibalism a popular topic in 1927? What is a Chautauqua? We try to find answers. We talk also talk about the tonal shifts that must have been difficult for everyone involved, the the unexpected and illogical murder plot, and why it opens with so many child auditions if they're never going to pop up again. We find new ground with our games at the end of the episode and look ahead to our final movie, Change of Habit.
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    1 ora e 3 min
  • Charro! (1969)

    Charro! (1969)
    May 30 2025
    We have made it to 1969, the final year of Elvis Presley's film career, and we're kicking things off with Charro! This means we have just two movies to go, but we may have finally accomplished something special: did we finally find a good tagline? We talk about how Charro! is a movie featuring no songs (other than the title/theme song) sung by Elvis, the movie's truly wild alternate titles, and how hyper-violent (and overly sexual) it is (at least for an Elvis movie). We explore how Charro! exists at seemingly at a pivot point in Elvis's film career, which makes the fact that the end is nigh a bit depressing. We imagine Elvis as the star of a 1960s Western TV series. Mike explains how this movie is similar to The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild and how Elvis's sense of morality and justice in the movie is akin to Superman. We play our normal games at the end of the episode, but they hit a bit different this time, given the lack of music in this movie. We guess what The Trouble with Girls will be about. Is it going to be a stinker? We're worried!
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    48 min
  • Live a Little, Love a Little (1968)

    Live a Little, Love a Little (1968)
    May 1 2025
    Viva Pod Vegas returns with Live a Little, Love a Little -- Elvis's third and final film from 1968, and one of his most fun to date! After reading some emails suggesting things to cover in our near future -- and asking if Elvis love dogs more than anything else -- we run through the film's six (!) taglines, which Mike finds issue with. We talk about Michele Carey as a proto manic pixie dream girl, the relatively few (but truly spectacular) songs in the film, and Elvis's sort of legitimately crazy stunt work in this movie. Joey explains why he connects with this version of Elvis. We find an oddity: a bearded Elvis? We talk about the all-time great dream sequence, how Live a Little, Love a Little benefits from leaning into the weirdness and randomness, and what Elvis's film career would have looked like if he was in charge of things. We have fun with Elvis's double duty/Mrs. Doubtfire-esque scheme. We talk about this film's ties to James Bond -- including the incredible ending shot -- before playing our end of episode games and looking ahead to Charro!
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    1 ora e 4 min
  • Speedway (1968)

    Speedway (1968)
    Mar 25 2025
    Happy tax season! Viva Pod Vegas returns with Speedway, which features an almost unbelievable main storyline for Elvis. After running through the film's taglines, we talk about how Bill Bixby continues to sully his reputation and how good Elvis looks (and acts!) in this movie. We begin to understand why people condescendingly said "just number Elvis's movies" and we talk about the importance of this movie with regards to NASCAR (as well as how tough it is to watch with current sports conveniences). We wonder why Elvis doesn't have a rival, and we pitch easy fixes to the movie's plot. Does Quentin Tarantino love this movie? Why bother with any of the romance in this movie? We talk about how "the Memphis Mafia" (sort of) appears in this movie, the surprise choreographed musical number in the middle of Speedway, and why Elvis Presley chooses to wear cowboy boots while racing. We do our end-of-episode games and look ahead to Live a Little, Love a Little.
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    1 ora e 13 min
  • Stay Away, Joe (1968)

    Stay Away, Joe (1968)
    Feb 26 2025
    Viva Pod Vegas returns with Stay Away, Joe, which is the lowest-rated movie of Elvis’s career. Is it as bad as we were led to believe? Yes… and no! After Mike sifts through shoddy taglines to try to find one he approves of, we debate whether watching these movies more quickly would help or hurt us. Mike works his way through a theory about Burgess Meredith as the Penguin and Col. Tom Parker. Speaking of, what would this movie have looked like if Col. Tom Parker was involved? We ask: why isn’t there more plot? Also: why is THIS the plot? Joey notes that this feels like a video game — and Mike points out that maybe that’s not a bad thing. We talk about why Elvis hates the song “Dominick” (but loves dogs) and whether or not he’s running a bull-riding grift at the end of this movie. We break down the Stay Away, Joe wedding that Elvis doesn’t want… and then a brawl to end the movie (with sound effects that no one wants!). We set a new record in our end-of-show games and we look ahead to Speedway.
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    1 ora e 14 min
  • Clambake (1967)

    Clambake (1967)
    Feb 1 2025
    Oops, it took too long, but Viva Pod Vegas is back! We're trying to figure out what a Clambake is, and why there's only one in this movie. After opening the long-overdue mailbag, we learn how to pronounce Fabares and talk about this movie being a pivot point in Elvis's career and life. We try to make sense of Elvis as a water ski instructor who only has one student, a world in which no one's attracted to Elvis, and whether "The Prince and the Pauper" works if there's a second prince. We also have fun exploring Elvis is a scientist and the surprise "proud dad" twist! We're caught off guard by a surprise marriage proposal. We try to guess what Stay Away, Joe will be about -- and don't come anywhere close to correct. But hey -- Mamma's little baby loves clambake, clambake!
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    1 ora e 29 min
  • Double Trouble (1967)

    Double Trouble (1967)
    Sep 4 2024
    We get duped again as Viva Pod Vegas seemingly promises two Elvises (Elvii?) with Double Trouble, but we only get one! We talk about how this movie tries to take on the British Invasion with a movie set entirely in Europe, but, you know… Colonel Tom… We talk about Elvis Presley in a Julie Christie role, a nice change of pace for Elvis movies (in terms of filmmaking), and the story behind Elvis’s co-star’s only film role. We (somewhat) explore the year at the box office, discuss Elvis’s breaking point when recording the music for this movie, and wonder why Elvis tells no one about getting punched in the face. We admire the slapstick, break down the wildest version of Old Macdonald we’ve ever heard, and love one of the wildest turns in an Elvis movie so far. Elvis jumps through a window! We look ahead to Clambake.
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    1 ora e 41 min