''Heartbreak Hotel'' is a 1988 American comedy film written and directed by

Chris Columbus Christopher Columbus was an explorer born in Genoa, Italy. Christopher Columbus or Chris Columbus may also refer to: People * Chris Columbus (musician) (1902–2002), American jazz drummer * Chris Columbus (filmmaker) (born 1958), American dire ...

, and stars

David Keith David Keith may refer to: * David Keith (novelist) (1906–1994), pen name of American scholar Francis Steegmuller *David Keith (actor) (born 1954), American film and TV performer and director *David Keith (physicist), Canadian-born Harvard Profess ...

and Tuesday Weld. Set in 1972, the story deals with one of the many "legends" involving Elvis Presley (Keith) about his fictional kidnapping, and his subsequent redemption from decadence. The film was shot on location in Austin, Texas, at Green Pastures the former residence of John Henry Faulk.

Plot

The film opens in 1972 with a single mother and her two children (a teenage son and nine-year-old daughter) running a boarding house. The mother is hurt in a car accident and hospitalized. As a birthday present, her son and his band drive her Pink Cadillac to

Cleveland, Ohio Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the U.S. ...

, to kidnap her favorite singer, Elvis Presley. He gets the owner of a local pizzeria, who looks eerily like Elvis' mother, to pose as his mother's ghost as a distraction, and then drugs Elvis with chloroform. Elvis awakens in the boarding house. He and the boy do not get along at first. The boy disrespects Elvis, accusing him of selling out to Vegas. However, the boy and Elvis get to know each other, and they became friends. Elvis closes the film playing " Heartbreak Hotel" with the boy's band at the high school talent show.

Cast

as Elvis Presley * Tuesday Weld as Marie Wolfe * Charlie Schlatter as Johnny Wolfe * Angela Goethals as Pam Wolfe *Jacque Lynn Colton as Rosie Pantangellio *

Chris Mulkey Chris Mulkey (born May 3, 1948) is an American film and television actor. Career Mulkey played the supporting role of husband to Annie Potts's character in '' Any Day Now'' from 1998 to 2002. He has also appeared in '' Captain Phillips'', '' ...

as Steve Ayres *Karen Landry as Irene *Tudor Sherrard as Paul Quinine *Paul J. Harkins as Brian Gasternick (as Paul Harkins) *Noel Derecki as Tony Vandelo *

Dana Barron Dana Barron is an American actress who is best known for her role as the original Audrey Griswold in the 1983 film ''National Lampoon's Vacation'' which she reprised in 2003's '' National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation 2: Cousin Eddie's Island Adv ...

as Beth Devereux *

T. Graham Brown Anthony Graham Brown (born October 30, 1954), known professionally as T. Graham Brown, is an American country music singer. Active since 1973, Brown has recorded a total of thirteen studio albums, and has charted more than twenty singles on the ...

as Jerry Schilling * Dennis Letts as Alan Fortas *Stephen Lee Davis as George Klein *

Blue Deckert Blue Deckert is an American actor known for his roles in film and television. A native of Daisetta, Texas, Deckert has had supporting roles in ''Dallas'', ''Walker, Texas Ranger'', ''Friday Night Lights'', ''The Event ''The Event'' (styliz ...

as Jones *Michael Costello as Doctor Charles Devereux *John L. Martin as Sheriff Abrams * John Hawkes as M.C. * Jerry Haynes as Mr. Hansen *

Al Dvorin Albert Dvorin (November 18, 1922 in Chicago, Illinois, Chicago, Illinois – August 22, 2004 near Ivanpah, California, Ivanpah, California) was a promoter, concert announcer and talent agent who was best known for working with Elvis Presley. As a ...

as Self *Ruth Sadlier as Aunt Anne *Monica Devereux as Monica *Hal Ketchum as Steve's Friend *Debra Luijtjes as Cheryl *Diane Robin as Donna

Reception

The film received mixed-to-negative reviews. It currently holds a 38% rating on Rotten Tomatoes based on 13 reviews. Janet Maslin of '' The New York Times'' stated that "Mr. Columbus, who previously directed '' Adventures in Baby-Sitting'' and whose writing credits include '' Gremlins'' and ''

The Goonies ''The Goonies'' is a 1985 American adventure comedy film co-produced and directed by Richard Donner from a screenplay by Chris Columbus, based on a story by Steven Spielberg. In the film, kids who live in the "Goon Docks" neighborhood of Astori ...

,'' sets up this idea well but has no idea where to stop. He pushes the film's slender premise much too far, trying to work miraculous feats of self-improvement upon Johnny, his mother, Marie, and even Elvis himself." '' The Washington Posts Rita Kempley wrote, "With such fruity writing, what do overacting and miscasting (

Jay Leno James Douglas Muir Leno (; born April 28, 1950) is an American television host, comedian, writer, and actor. After doing stand-up comedy for years, he became the host of NBC's ''The Tonight Show'' from 1992 to 2009. Beginning in September 2009 ...

would have been perfect) matter? Playing Elvis is like playing a

Kennedy Kennedy may refer to: People * John F. Kennedy (1917–1963), 35th president of the United States * John Kennedy (Louisiana politician), (born 1951), US Senator from Louisiana * Kennedy (surname), a family name (including a list of persons with t ...

, nearly impossible. And Keith, as we know, had mighty big pants to fill. Face it. The King has left the building, gone to that

Caesars Palace Caesars Palace is a luxury hotel and casino in Paradise, Nevada, United States. The hotel is situated on the west side of the Las Vegas Strip between Bellagio and The Mirage. It is one of Las Vegas's largest and best known landmarks. Caesars P ...

in the sky. Columbus, say goodbye." A one-star review came from

Roger Ebert Roger Joseph Ebert (; June 18, 1942 – April 4, 2013) was an American film critic, film historian, journalist, screenwriter, and author. He was a film critic for the ''Chicago Sun-Times'' from 1967 until his death in 2013. In 1975, Ebert beca ...

who wrote, "Here it is, the goofiest movie of the year, a movie so bad in so many different and endearing ways that I’m damned if I don’t feel genuine affection for it. We all know it’s bad manners to talk during a movie, but every once in a while a film comes along that positively requires the audience to shout helpful suggestions and lewd one-liners at the screen. 'Heartbreak Hotel' is such a movie. All it needs to be perfect is a parallel soundtrack." It was also a box office failure, opening with a disappointing $2,063,546 from 1,338 screens, finishing in second place behind '' Gorillas in the Mist'', despite opening on more than double the number of screens. It went on to gross $5.5 million in the United States and Canada.

Music

Most of the songs contained in the film are actual Elvis Presley recordings despite the film being fictional, with David Keith and Charlie Schlatter performing the title track in the style of the 1968 television special recording.

References

External links

* * {{Chris Columbus 1988 films 1988 comedy films American comedy films Films about Elvis Presley Films directed by Chris Columbus Films produced by Debra Hill Films produced by Lynda Obst Films scored by Georges Delerue Films set in 1972 Films shot in Austin, Texas Films with screenplays by Chris Columbus Touchstone Pictures films 1980s English-language films 1980s American films