This is basically a documentary version of the Alanna Nash book Baby Let's Play House, but not as detailed. It is interesting to see these women speak in a documentary, since they have mainly been read about in books.
One of the problems I have with Alanna Nash is her constant use of psychobabble as a means of explaining Elvis' behavior. To me, the psychology just didn't make much sense. For example, there was a part where she said something along the lines that Elvis was forever interested in 14 year olds because he was rejected by a 14 year old girl and was affected by this. Somehow that explains why he was drawn to them even as he got older. I literally said "b***s***!" out loud when she said that. There is also emphasis from her and other "scholars" that Elvis had a traumatic childhood and his close relationship with his mother caused him to never forge a long lasting relationship with one woman. To me, Elvis did not experience an unusually abusive and traumatic upbringing. Even if he did, it does not condone any of his bad behaviors. Some people may have had an unideal childhood or had close relationships with their mothers, but many do not go on to have an unhealthy interest in young teenagers.
One notable interview in the documentary is the one with Reeca Smith. The Reeca Smith story is disturbing, no matter how you dress it up. She claims that she and Elvis had a relationship when she was 14 and he was 39. Now some people may say she's lying. I personally find her credible. I've known about her for years, but this is the first time I have seen her speak on camera. The first mention of Reeca was in the Revelations of the Memphis Mafia book, except her name was misspelled as "Rise". Interestingly, she is rarely mentioned in the Elvis fan world. They either don't know about her, don't believe her story, or they blindly pass her off as somebody who had no serious relationship with Elvis. The make-out sessions that she claims occurred between them, shows that Elvis had a romantic interest in her. It is almost kind of amusing how Reeca seems to think that she's doing Elvis a favor by talking about her relationship with Elvis by saying that he bought her things and was kind to her. All she's doing is confirming that Elvis had an unhealthy interest in young teenage girls even into his late 30's. Defenders will say that "oh, well he never went past kissing her so it's all good." Come on! Their relationship was weird and inappropriate. If it was your daughter, you would not be passing it off as "sweet". I don't know if her parents knew about the kissing at the time, but they at least had the sense to put their foot down when Elvis wanted to fly her to a recording session. Reeca might have been an outlier as far as Elvis pursuing young teenage girls after his marriage. Nevertheless, it's one too many and makes you wonder if there could have been others.
I have seen complaints that some women were excluded from the documentary. Let's be honest, if every woman/girl Elvis dated was included this documentary, it would be at least 20 hours long. Lol. To be fair though, a 10-part series probably would have been a better option. All in all, an interesting watch. Warning: If you are a fan, be prepared for some unsavory revelations.
One of the problems I have with Alanna Nash is her constant use of psychobabble as a means of explaining Elvis' behavior. To me, the psychology just didn't make much sense. For example, there was a part where she said something along the lines that Elvis was forever interested in 14 year olds because he was rejected by a 14 year old girl and was affected by this. Somehow that explains why he was drawn to them even as he got older. I literally said "b***s***!" out loud when she said that. There is also emphasis from her and other "scholars" that Elvis had a traumatic childhood and his close relationship with his mother caused him to never forge a long lasting relationship with one woman. To me, Elvis did not experience an unusually abusive and traumatic upbringing. Even if he did, it does not condone any of his bad behaviors. Some people may have had an unideal childhood or had close relationships with their mothers, but many do not go on to have an unhealthy interest in young teenagers.
One notable interview in the documentary is the one with Reeca Smith. The Reeca Smith story is disturbing, no matter how you dress it up. She claims that she and Elvis had a relationship when she was 14 and he was 39. Now some people may say she's lying. I personally find her credible. I've known about her for years, but this is the first time I have seen her speak on camera. The first mention of Reeca was in the Revelations of the Memphis Mafia book, except her name was misspelled as "Rise". Interestingly, she is rarely mentioned in the Elvis fan world. They either don't know about her, don't believe her story, or they blindly pass her off as somebody who had no serious relationship with Elvis. The make-out sessions that she claims occurred between them, shows that Elvis had a romantic interest in her. It is almost kind of amusing how Reeca seems to think that she's doing Elvis a favor by talking about her relationship with Elvis by saying that he bought her things and was kind to her. All she's doing is confirming that Elvis had an unhealthy interest in young teenage girls even into his late 30's. Defenders will say that "oh, well he never went past kissing her so it's all good." Come on! Their relationship was weird and inappropriate. If it was your daughter, you would not be passing it off as "sweet". I don't know if her parents knew about the kissing at the time, but they at least had the sense to put their foot down when Elvis wanted to fly her to a recording session. Reeca might have been an outlier as far as Elvis pursuing young teenage girls after his marriage. Nevertheless, it's one too many and makes you wonder if there could have been others.
I have seen complaints that some women were excluded from the documentary. Let's be honest, if every woman/girl Elvis dated was included this documentary, it would be at least 20 hours long. Lol. To be fair though, a 10-part series probably would have been a better option. All in all, an interesting watch. Warning: If you are a fan, be prepared for some unsavory revelations.
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