Grave news for wedding singers and Las Vegas variety acts - it’s time to hang up those sparkly jumpsuits and shave off those porkchop sideburns.
Because next month, there will only be one Elvis impersonator worth watching.
Hollywood was all shook up when newcomer Austin Butler snagged the role of the icon, beating out the likes of Harry Styles and Ansel Elgort.
But the 30-year-old repays director Baz Luhrman’s faith with a genuine star-is-born performance.
Butler nails the moves, the mannerisms, the soulful voice and somehow even channels the icon’s charisma. When girls scream at him in the film’s electrifying musical sequences, you wonder how much acting was required.
Surprisingly, the film is as much about his corrupt manager Colonel Tom Parker as it is about the rock and roll pioneer.
It is Parker (Tom Hanks) who talks us through Elvis’s formative years in a black neighbourhood in Mississippi, where he witnesses Big Boy Crudup playing a very familiar song called “That’s Alright Mama” and wiggles his hips when taken by the spirit of the Lord at Revivalist church meeting.
Parker admits he knows nothing about music, but he knows plenty about making money. When he sees Elvis perform for the first time (and hears those ecstatic screams) you can imagine dollar signs in his eyes.
After becoming his manager, he begins to take charge of his career. But when a furore erupts over his un-Godly gyrations, the colonel fears his own dark past could be exposed during a brush with the authorities.
Get all the biggest showbiz news straight to your inbox. Sign up for the free Mirror Showbiz newsletter.
His attempts to tame the rebellious Elvis, lead to conflict but the old charmer always manages to reel him back in. As Elvis needs to provide for an extended family as well as wife Priscilla (Olivia DeJonge) and daughter Lisa-Marie, Parker knows he always has the upper hand.
It is his malign influence that leads to Elvis being hooked on drugs and trapped in a punishing contract with a Vegas casino.
It’s a sad ending to a film filled with triumphant moments. Highlights include a behind the scenes look at his 1968 TV special and a concert where Elvis baits the police with “If you’re looking trouble” and whips the crowd into a frenzy with those sinful hips.
Telling the story from someone else’s viewpoint has one drawback - we don’t really get under the skin of the icon. But this is a foot-tapping, spine-tingling testament to a musical pioneer.
Do you have a story to sell? Get in touch with us at webcelebs@mirror.co.uk or call us direct at 0207 29 33033.
