This one definitely has a title that suggests purposefully silly fun but the movie neglects pursuing anything even vaguely entertaining and simply exists until it doesn’t, occasionally throwing another sexy & beautiful lady in the mix for good measure. Clearly made 10-15 years ago with a budget of ~$8, this tale of Elvis returning to Earth after wandering the galaxy for 30 years could very easily be cheesy, campy joy but they forgot to do anything worth your time so mock away!

Elvis from Outer Space begins with Elvis aka John Burrows (George Thomas) travelling the universe alongside a spaceship full of aliens who took him from Earth in the late 70’s. Elvis finds himself feeling a bit homesick and missing the daughter he never knew (not Lisa Marie Presley, but an unknown daughter) so his alien cohorts make a return trip to our big, blue marble to satisfy their buddy. Once Elvis touches down near Las Vegas the search for his now adult daughter gets held up by meddlesome CIA agents, an Elvis impersonator contest, and a body with an expiration date due to gravitational forces he’s no longer accustomed to. Will Elvis connect with his daughter, win the contest, and find love while keeping the CIA off their tail before his time on Earth is up?

Another case of the plot summary suggesting the possibility of a good time only to be completely and utterly let down by the execution. There’s no energy to anything, from the performances to the score to the meandering non-story. Any fun to be had is more about what the viewer brings to it than what’s offered. Remember how I said Elvis wanted to come home to meet the daughter he never knew? Elvis and the movie forget all about her once he gets to Vegas with assistance from the sexy & beautiful Agent Messina (Diane Yang Kirk) and meets Jackie Nolan (Lauren-Elaine Powell), the sexy & beautiful event organizer in charge of the Elvis impersonation contest (held at the fabulous Desert Sand Hotel & Theater with a grand prize of half a million dollars). “Sexy & beautiful” is the extent of every woman’s personality, by the way. Lisa Marie Presley is lucky she apparently doesn’t exist in this universe.

$500,000 in winnings at an Elvis contest is hardly the most “huh?”-inducing element of the picture. In addition to an awful narrator who *eventually* shows up as a character with a lame Mafia subplot that lifts right out (it really has nothing to do with anything) there are “crowds” losing their minds at poorly performing Elvis impersonators. Oh, and the fans are ALL exclusively young, attractive women–surprise!–who throw clothes, rush the stage, and mob the exits…for Elvis impersonators in 2007 (when the film takes place). What else? Prepare yourself for a disproportionate amount of time spent on expositional talk shows like Barry, Live! where you’ll experience the painful opening jingle *several* times in its entirety. Also, Elvis’ actual bodyguard/friend from long ago, Sonny West (Sonny West), appears briefly as himself but unless you already know of him the movie makes no effort to clue you in on whatever bond they had.

Why does the movie take place in 2007, by the way? Probably because that’s about when it was filmed as evidenced by the flip-phones, box TVs, and every other prop/set (plus now deceased cast). In looking up the specs for this I learned of a movie called “Memphis Rising: Elvis Returns” which features the same cast, crew, and storyline of Elvis from Outer Space but that one came out in 2011. I guess somebody behind the scenes wanted a redo of the same movie with the same footage a decade later, for some reason. Who knows!

If you’ve ever seen the episodes “Threat Level Midnight” (The Office, 7.17) or “Intro to Recycled Cinema” (Community, 6.8) which deal with amateurs making their own movies I think you’ll be aware of the filmmaking skill on display, which can absolutely lead to some good, funny times if you know what you’re getting. Certain aspects of Elvis from Outer Space evoke The Room, Troll 2, or Birdemic in the way of depicting people’s behavior/speech in completely unnatural, bizarre ways–as if human interactions are a foreign concept.  If you do choose to watch make sure there’s a buddy around to maximize your own personal Rifftrax experience, as otherwise boredom will kick in.

3 out of 10 Sexy & Beautiful Fans