Movies - Elvis Gratton

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	Movies - Elvis Gratton

Elvis Gratton is the subject of multiple films of the same name by Quebec director Pierre Falardeau.

The fist installment was released as a short film in 1981 under the name Elvis Gratton, followed by two other short films entitled Les Vacances d'Elvis Gratton (1983) and Pas encore Elvis Gratton! (1985). The three were to be released later on VHS in 1985 as Elvis Gratton: Le king des kings.

Two sequels were produced later, Elvis Gratton II: Miracle à Memphis (1999) and Elvis Gratton 3: Le retour d'Elvis Wong (2004).

Plot

The first movie revolves around one Bob Gratton (played by Julien Poulin, who co-wrote and co-directed the movies with Falardeau) who has a passion for Elvis Presley. His life goal is to become the best Elvis impersonator, and is achieved through a local TV talent show. He manages to win the contest, which offers a cruise to an island resort vacation in fictional Santa Banana. Sometime after his return from this vacation, Gratton must don his Elvis costume one more time, but since he has gained weight, he has trouble fitting into it and collapses on stage during a performance, and dies. In the film's final scene where his casket is taken to be interred, he emerges from it, quite alive.

The second movie revolves around his later adventures after being discovered by a talent scout, and his rise to fame as a pop music star.

The third installment sees Gratton as the head of a media company and his manipulation of the information released.

Criticism

Falardeau and Poulin were very direct in the 1980's about the goal of the first short films: the intent was to parody the majority of Quebecois who had voted for the No side of the 1980 referendum on Quebec sovereignty. Gratton is portrayed as fat and uneducated, but also conservative, pro-american, racist, and naturally federalist. Through the films' various comical situations, Gratton displays a certain tackiness and backward-thinking which Falardeau and Poulin wanted to tax Quebec federalists with. Falardeau revealed years after that he regreted the movie's focus on slapstick comedy and the protagonist's constant comic relief, which, in his eyes, removed the underlying message of the movie and made the movie popular only for its jokes. It should be noted in Falardeau's views on Quebec federalists that Gratton is a local entrepreneur and employs a few workers.

The motivation to create a second Elvis Gratton movie started in the 1990's, when Falardeau sought financing for his 15 février 1839 movie project on the Lower Canada Rebellion. Falardeau had been collecting donations for some time until it was suggested that a new Elvis Gratton movie would most likely be a hit and garner sufficiant funds. The exercise indeed proved fruitful, and 15 février 1839 was released later in 2001.

Other appearances

Elvis Gratton showed up (remarkably un-politicised) in 1996 in an ad campaign as the year's spokesperson for Opération Nez Rouge (Operation Red Nose), a local initiative in Québec to provide a free driving service to take party-goers' cars back home during the holidays (along with said party-goers). Opération Nez Rouge has a history of using different humorists and/or characters each year to promote its activities.

[ Visit the complete Wikipedia entry for Elvis Gratton ]

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