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Schmelvis: Searching for the King's Jewish Roots
I have it on excellent authority that a popular parlor game among Jewish families is identifying Jews who have made their mark in the big wide world, from the obvious (cultural icons like Einstein and Freud) to the perhaps more mundane and certainly less likely likes of certain television stars (Pa, Hoss and Little Joe of Bonanza, for example). The "rules" of this game are not written in stone and therefore can include people with Jewish ancestors (and as any fan of The Colbert Report will tell you, that includes about 75% of us, at least genetic marker-wise), and even those who weren't raised particularly Jewish or in fact were raised Christian. Why this fascination is somewhat compulsive among Jews serves as ample subtext in Schmelvis, a meta-documentary (really, a documentary about making a documentary) that ostensibly is about exploring Elvis' Jewish ancestry, but which manages to delve into other issues with a fair amount of flair and often uncomfortable discord, at least among the filmmakers themselves.
While the documentary's press materials suggest the piece focuses on its title character, a Jewish Elvis impersonator from Canada (and, incredibly, not the only Elvis wannabe with this moniker--there's a UK one with the slightly different spelling Shmelvis), it really centers around producer Evan Beloff's strange obsession with finding out the truth about Elvis' supposed "tribe membership." Beloff goes about recruiting various others into his quest, including Dan Hartal (Schmelvis), a director, his best friend and co-producer, and, hilariously, a decidedly deadpan and extremely likable Rabbi, Reuben Poupko, who vows to say Kaddish (the Hebrew prayer for the dead) over Elvis' grave in Graceland to "reclaim his soul for the Jews."
While that is the ostensible premise of the documentary, what really unfolds is a multi-layered piece, including the Canadian Broadcasting Company's filming of the filming of the documentary (Pirandelli, anyone?), rampant arguing among the principals about what the documentary should be about (i.e., only Elvis' lineage, or, more generally, why it's important to Jews to know this), and, most presciently, the deification of Elvis himself.
Beloff and company admit up front they expected hatred from southerners at even suggesting Elvis might be Jewish, and when they are greated with a collective "so what?" from the Memphis community, it seems to throw them all for a loop. But that in and of itself opens up the documentary to a deeper exploration of some of the core issues lying beneath the surface of this charmingly offbeat film.
Following this goofy congregation from Canada to Memphis to Israel, and including some great interviews with people like Elvis' (Jewish) landlady when he was a teen, Schmelvis has the hamische (comfortable) feeling of home movies, and, like a lot of home movies, also includes quite a few family "spats," as is frequently the case on long, enclosed journeys. While there are a lot of drop-dead funny moments (e.g., the Rabbi refusing to get into a Winnebago, since no Jew should be caught dead in a motorhome), there's an underlying sweetness and serious intent to Schmelvis that should allow it to find a larger audience beyond the relatively insular world of Jews interested in the King (of Rock 'n' Roll).
The DVD
Video:
The 1.33:1 shot on video image works just fine for these proceedings.
Sound:
A nice stereo soundtrack is featured, and includes a lot of great source music, including some classic Klezmer and folk tunes, as well as several catchy originals.
Extras:
Two pages of the accompanying book are included, as well as a hilarious, yet frequently profane, commentary from Beloff and Rabbi Poupko. The commentary follows this format: Beloff asks a question, Poupko riffs (sometimes politically incorrectly, as when he references the sexual activity of Beloff's 90-something great-Aunt), and Beloff then devolves into several seconds of giggling. Repeat ad infinitum.
Final Thoughts:
Jews are going to love this piece, which fairly bristles with a Talmudic repartee between its main characters. Elvis-lovers will probably love it, too, if only for its unusual take on their hero. But the public at large may find Schmelvis unique and funny enough to enjoy, even if they're not part of the two "tribes" mentioned above.
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"G-d made stars galore" & "Hey, what kind of a crappy fortune is this?" ZMK, modern prophet
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