Speedway

Speedway Review

Elvis looks sleek and cool in Speedway, a decided improvement over the pasty indifference he displayed in his middle-era range of pictures. The movie itself is standard Presley formula, with the King again playing a race-car driver, this time in trouble with an IRS agent (Nancy Sinatra) over his taxes. (There's even a production number about taxes. Argggh.) On the plus side, a bunch of scenes are set in the Hangout, a Pulp Fiction-esque diner with booths shaped like cars and lots of dancers doing the frug. Nancy sings a cool-weird Lee Hazlewood tune, "Your Groovy Self," which should have been picked up by the Austin Powers folks. The plot reflects Elvis's real-life penchant for giving money and cars away, although it's mostly predatory manager Bill Bixby who causes the financial problems. As ho-hum as this outing is, you'll probably want one of Elvis's racing-stripe windbreakers after you see it. --Robert Horton