If you saw this film in 1964 while comfortably ensconced in your car at the drive-in, you probably found this light entertainment adequate fare with a soda and a popcorn thrown in. But if you expected anything of consequence, sorry, this Elvis vehicle is a letdown.It follows the Elvis film formula. The opening theme song promises Kissin' Cousins that "wrestle and nestle" and sure enough, in the first few minutes Elvis is engaged in both a wrestling match (his standard film contract must have specified a fight in each film) and a haystack with two girls.Elvis gets to play two roles, one on each side of the Bureaucrats vs. Hillbillies routine story. He gets to bring along his girlfriend at the time, Yvonne Craig, who plays his girlfriend. The story is populated with bumbling military men and simple mountain people who dance on cue, sometimes in bikinis (this is an Elvis film, after all).There is the obligatory (you ain't nothing' but a) hound dog. The locals drink corn mash homemade whiskey. The locales are named Porcupine Flats and Kittyhawk Valley. And it all ends with a big party where everyone gets what he wants, whether it's a babe or a missile site.If you can still find a drive-in, enjoy the film!

Hey its an Elvis movie you know it will be a bit hokey but also entertaining with songs and at least for the guys lots of eye candy. Elvis plays mirror image cousins that the Air Force lieutenant side only discovers when he goes to a Smokey Mountain mountain to try and set up a missile base. Yvonne Craig plays one of the hill clan's nubile daughter's. The daughters are interested in latching on to husbands. There is a valley clan that runs to only girls so when the Air Force shows up with nothing but men they go nuts. They ambush the men as they run about the mountain looking to save the head of the mountain clan. The men are very glad to cooperate with their ambushers. Of course all ends well with women finding husbands, the Air Force gets its lease

This movie, tho not one of Elvis' best, certainly isn't as bad as some reviews have stated. Those who say it is Elvis' worst film have obviously never seen "Double Trouble", "Clambake", "Speedway", "Stay Away Joe" and a couple others. The movie is fun, if not brilliant and the blond wig he wore is tacky and a couple of the songs are pretty horrible (Barefoot Ballad). However, the supporting cast is quite good headed up by Oscar winning actor Jack Albertson. It also features the wonderful character actor Arthur O'Connell and Glenda Farrell. Batgirl from TV's "Batman", Yvonne Craig, is in fine form as Elvis' love interest. As for the music, the title tracks are pretty good. "Tender Feeling" is a wonderful ballad and "Catching on Fast" is a lively rock tinged number that goes down quite well. It is also apparent from many of those who did not like the film at all that they did not pay attention as they all claim one of the Elvis characters, Josh, is an army officer. Not so. He is an air force officer. Go back and look folks. At any rate, I've seen every Elvis movie ever made many times and this one is worth a watch.

I've seen most of Elvis' films by now, though I do have some more to go... but I think I'm pretty secure in my feeling that KISSIN' COUSINS is surely one of the worst of them all. It's a dumb comedy that's not even funny, with Elvis playing twin cousins, one a dark-haired army man and the other a blond hillbilly. Presley is in the army when he's sent along with his commander (Jack Albertson) to the backwoods mountains to convince his redneck relatives to allow the government to install a missile base on their property. Yvonne Craig plays one of the many hillbilly gals who's sweet on her own cuz. All of the songs here are pretty awful, though the fast version of the title track works during the closing dance sequence. But I was often so bored that I found myself regularly checking out the dual Elvis characters whenever they were in the same shot to see if I could spot the stand-in, who shifts duties from blond to brunette, as needed. *1/2 out of ****