Bubba Ho-Tep
Director: Don Coscarelli (Phantasm)
Writer: Don Coscarelli (Phantasm, The Beastmaster)
Producers: Don Coscarelli, Jason R. Savage
Starring: Bruce campbell, Ossie Davis, Ella Joyce, Heidi Marnhout, Bob Ivy, Larry Pennell
MPAA Rating: R
Running time: 92 min
read my spoiler disclaimer
Unless you're a Bruce Campbell fan, you'll probably find this movie completely ridiculous and utterly disappointing. But those of you who appreciate Campbell's work, will be amazed at his Elvis Presley impersonation. It is one of the best I have seen...if not the best. Although I hate it when critics (most of them; especially Ebert) tell you so much of what the whole movie is about, that I almost don't need to see the film after reading their review. In this case though, I can't resist. I have to at least give you a quick premise before I go on. An aging Elvis (played by Campbell) now lives in a retirement/nursing home (he didn't die after all) in the rural south that looks like it's never even heard of Medicare Advantage. Another
member of the home is an aging John F. Kennedy who also didn't die apparently..but he did dye. Together, Elvis and Kennedy battle an evil mummy that comes to suck the souls of the elderly through their assholes. How can you beat this!?
Campbell fans will love it. He sprinkles just a hint of "Ash" from the "Evil Dead" movies into his Elvis character
and you just know that Elvis truly lives and is a quasi-superhero with a walker and an infected "pecker." Obviously low budget and campy as hell,
it is so obviously whacky that it is really fun to watch. It's not scary in the slightest because of the sheer absurdity of the whole thing.
The mummy himself is practically a caricature of the mummies in those Brendan Fraser flicks.
Even "The King" comments to himself that "I'll be damned if I let some foreign, graffiti writin', soul suckin', son of a bitch in an oversized cowboy hat
and boots take my friend's souls and $h|+ 'em down the visitor's toilet!" It's not even really that funny either. But I did sit on the sofa with a big
stupid grin on my face the whole way through.
Again, the story is kinda dumb and campy, but the roles are so flawless in their genius that you can't help but wait to find out what happens next.
Campbell's one-liners are hilarious at times and his narration of what he (a 75 year old Elvis) is thinking about: Priscilla, Lisa Marie, fame and an
inflammation on his privates; holds no boundaries. Most will find this movie just plain stupid. But if you love The Bruce as I do, or even if you're
just an Elvis fan, this movie is for you. Expect nothing and have a ball. "Never, but never [mess] with The King baby!"
|
Relevant Links:
See the trailer, order shirts and other stuff at the official site
80% fresh rating at Rotten Tomatoes... that's a pretty good score
Bruce Campbell's own online site
Check out Bruce's book, "If Chins Could Kill: Confessions of a B Movie Actor"
Bubba Ho-Tep at imdb.com
