Great Film overall

There is, somehow, an interesting story here, as well as some good acting. There are also some good scenes

It is a whirlwind of delight --- attractive actors, stunning couture, spectacular sets and outrageous parties.

The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

Elvis plays Mike who takes a job as a lifeguard after being fired from his previous job. Here he comes across another Lothario and the two spar over women. This is the usual Elvis set up but this one is very light of plot and it fails to sparkle in any way. Elvis looks great but even he can't make much from the poor script. The songs are decidedly average and the back up cast including Ursula Andress add little to the story although the 10 year old boy who befriends Elvis does a decent job. This film just drags and seems much longer than it's running time. It never goes anywhere and to be honest compared to a lot of his other movies it isn't much fun. This is a disappointing effort and is strictly for die hard Elvis fans.

Hello!? And they actually called this dismal, 1963, movie - "Fun In Acapulco"!?.... Oh? Really? Well, it sure didn't come across as being "fun" to me. No way.And, let me tell ya - Once it was established that Elvis's sidekick (for comedy relief) in the story was going to be a 10-year-old brat named Raoul, I just knew that the so-called "fun" in this flick was gonna go nowhere, fast.And, speaking about the sexual chemistry between Presley and Swiss beauty, Ursula Andress - Well - To be honest, there wasn't any chemistry, at all.And, what about the 11 songs that Elvis sang for his adoring fans?.... (Answer) - Totally forgettable, one and all.And, finally - On top of all of my other complaints - This decidedly dull-edged, "boy-meets-girl", musical/comedy lost itself even more points for the filming of far too many of the outdoor scenes in the story with the actors obviously posing in front of back-projection screens..... Sheesh! This film certainly didn't win me over as an Elvis Presley fan. Nope. It sure didn't.

After her big break role in Dr. No Ursula Andress got to co-star with Elvis Presley in Fun In Acapulco. Not that she or Elvis got to have any fun in Acapulco off the set because Paramount did all their location footage with doubles. On learning that fact I carefully watched all the scenes and if you examine it closely which the average member of the movie-going public did not do you can clearly see that the King is being doubled.Still Acapulco is certainly shown to best advantage with that second unit cinematography. And Elvis sings some nice songs, none of which really charted for him. Fun In Acapulco find Elvis working as a charter boat skipper who gets fired and is stranded in the famous Mexican resort town. He has a past which involves him being involved in a family trapeze act and when he failed to catch his brother during the act resulting in the brother's demise it left him with a fear of heights and failure. Still he can sing and he gets a job at one of the resorts due to an enterprising shoeshine boy played by little Larry Domasin. And he gets two girls falling for him, lady bullfighter Elsa Cardenas and an exiled princess Ursula Andress. That gets Mexican high diving champion Alejandro Rey all bent out of shape. Ursula's dad, a former Grand Duke from some Zenda like duchy is played by Paul Lukas who is now making a living as the head chef at the resort hotel Presley is singing at. Another great example of Colonel Tom Parker getting Elvis the best support possible. I have no doubt that Parker also got former MGM contract director Richard Thorpe who did a number of MGM classics back in the day to direct the film.Elvis does a bit of acting here and Fun In Acapulco gives the King a bit of an acting job which he carries off as he struggles with his fears.I'm sure Presley felt gypped along with the rest of the cast in not actually shooting in Acapulco. The second unit shooting though gives Fun In Acapulco a look like the Hawaiian location films that Presley did. And it's a nice story with a capable cast backing up the King.

I sincerely believe that Elvis' first movies were commendable ;They had true screenplays and were directed by Thorpe,Siegel or Curtiz.The most deeply moving is perhaps " flaming star" which dealt with the loss of a mother -at a time the singer lost his-;the motherless child was again the main character of " wild in the country" ,but this latter work was marred by making Elvis an A student and a lit genius!It was the second time Richard Thorpe had directed Elvis and ,like other users have pointed it out ,it's much inferior to the previous effort "jailhouse rock" .IMHO,his career in the movies ended in 1961. "Fun in Acapulco" is just what the title means : swimming,diving,rivalry between the hero and another lifeguard,plus a "secret"(short flashback) :it's the only thing which is not derivative,if you know about Elvis ' birth:Jesse Garon Presley, his identical twin brother, was delivered 35 minutes before him, stillborn.He was reportedly haunted by this loss during all his life.As for the songs ,with the staggering exception of "bossa nova baby" -two precious minutes ,the great rocker was born again- they were written for a Latin crooner ,not for the King;honestly,what can he do in the face of material like "no room to rumba in a sports car"?