Alf Riley I liked it. OK the songs weren't up to much, although I did like the Hawaiian song also showcased to some extent on Donovan's Reef. I can't understand why Elvis' films were criticised so much. His acting was fine and the scenery breath taking, and I don't just mean the location which really does take some beating, especially from where I am, which is in the UK. I was always jealous of his looks and voice, and the film did nothing to diminish either. The plot was also plausible and when you've got lots of friends, as Elvis' characters always have, there's plenty of scope to build plots and sub plots around them. I think people should lighten up before finding fault with his films. He was a singer first and foremost who did a good job in combining his musical talent with acting to present himself as different people in different situations. Not a lot of people can do that!

mike_cable Paradise, Hawaiin Style is a film about a pilot who is thrown out of his old job for being a sleaze-bag. He comes back to his island buddies in Hawaii to start a new helicopter charter business with his pilot friend. It seems to be working out well for them until his old ways start catching him… Apart from throwing into a song every 10 minutes, the film features a nice cast who play the various friends of Elvis Presley's character, Rick. Of particular note is Donna Butterworth, a young girl with a great voice who looks like she had a lot of fun making this 1966 film.The film also features a pair of ever-present Bell 47J Ranger helicopters, quite often seen making max. performance takeoffs and hasty landings. The film is a real treat for aircraft and helicopter enthusiasts who get to see these old machines in great detail, up close. A lot of back-projection is used for the flying scenes featuring close-ups of Elvis and the other cast members, and the scenery is beautiful.One particular scene has the chopper flying through a mountainous valley with dives and climbs not usually seen performed by such helicopters. Another scene has a bunch of canine passengers causing havoc for Elvis as he tries to fly the chopper, getting low and fast, scaring locals and crashing a car.The legendary Elvis is particularly wooden in this film, just going through the motions to make a film with no real depth to his role, otherwise it is an enjoyable film for the entire family.

aimless-46 "Paradise Hawaiian Style" is a somewhat bizarre mix of Guy Lombardo and "Magnum P.I.". Younger viewers seeking an answer to why the British Invasion of the mid-1960's was almost instantly successfully need look no further than this film. By 1966 Elvis Presley had gone from a target audience of teenagers looking to scare their parents with his sensual style of rock and roll, to being the heartthrob of the nursing home circuit; electing to skip entirely the huge demographic between these two groups. The British Invasion was able to hit our beaches almost unopposed.A rather tired looking Elvis plays Rick Richards, a sweet-talking womanizing airline pilot who finds himself unemployed and back in the islands. Rick teams up with his old island buddy Danny Kohana (James Shigeta of "Flower Drum Song" fame) to open a helicopter charter service. Shigeta is pretty good in this role as a responsible family man who must ride herd on his philandering partner. Rick's female conquests prove useful in drumming up charter customers; while these arrangements can be blamed for the repeatedly lame joke (and song) about "scratching each others back".Setting back women's lib by several years is female pilot Judy Hudson (played by Suzanna Leigh) who is relegated to receptionist duties as the boys do all the flying. Leigh is a staggeringly untalented actress and could be a source of many mockfest moments if that's your idea of a good time.Marianne Hill (a good actress who a couple years later turned in a memorable guest performance on "Star Trek") plays Rick's main love interest. My guess is that the two female parts were originally combined and that the producers owed some favors; so they split up the character. A disservice to the movie as there is not enough remaining in either part to connect with an already unengaged audience.A touch of cuteness was added by casting Donna Butterworth as Rick's 10-year old daughter. She and The King have a couple decent numbers together, the only songs worthy of your attention. As in "Blue Hawaii" there are island themed musical productions but no actual island songs or music. And the geriatric garbage Elvis sings is surreal in its wholesomeness. Just a few years before, many parents had been reluctant to let the television appearances of this dangerous predator into their living rooms.One thing to note is the total absence of close-ups. Elvis had gone all Frank Sinatra by this point and was strictly limiting the amount of time he spent on the set. Since he appears in most of the movie this meant that the director had to make do with wide master shots and second unit stuff. A bad thing because point-of-view, acting for the camera, and character identification are all casualties of this Minnelli style of film-making. Yet a good thing as the second unit does a great job with the aerial sequences, the scenery, and the natives (all of which is nicely showcased on the DVD which was made from a excellent original).Also worth watching for from a film school perspective is one of the worst directed sequences you are likely to find in any mainstream production. Midway through the film Elvis and some unknown and eager looking starlet are placed in a scene with about a half dozen dogs. This is supposed to be a comic moment as the misbehaving dogs cause the copter to fly wildly around the island (studio shots of Elvis cut into 2nd unit outdoor flying sequences) and when it finally lands Elvis and the bubbly actress emerge looking completely disheveled. But they can't get much action from the sedated dogs and the director can't get much energy from the bored Elvis. So you have shot after shot of this overeager starlet mugging for the camera and overreacting to the phantom disruptions of the dogs; who were too sleepy to be a factor.Then again, what do I know? I'm only a child.

Brian W. Fairbanks If Hal Wallis had produced this little epic 10 years earlier, it might have starred his other contract players, Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis (with Lewis in the role of the little girl played by Donna Butterworth). If it had been made 10 years later, after "The Godfather Part II" made it fashionable to number sequels, "Paradise, Hawaiian Style" might have been titled "Blue Hawaii, Part II." It's not an official sequel, but that's a mere technicality. The only real difference between the two films is that this one is infinitely worse. Whereas "Blue Hawaii" was little more than a travelogue, it was professional looking with some decent songs and a star who still seemed to be in touch with some form of reality. "Paradise, Hawaiian Style" is a grubby, grimy, cheap looking thing with a pudgy, seemingly zonked out Elvis warbling tunes so dreadful ("Queenie Wahine's Papaya," "Datin'"), they weren't worthy of the vinyl record on which they were pressed let alone a gold one.Watching Presley in this wretched vehicle, one can only look on in amazement and wonder if this is, indeed, the same sneering guy who set the world on fire a decade earlier. This is a Twilight Zone Elvis in a movie for those curious to know how the state of mind known as "stunned disbelief" really feels.