The Return of the King

[prillalar]

So I kicked off my All Media Weekend by going to see Bubba Ho-Tep last night.

It was fucking brilliant.

From the LA Weekly: When Willa Cather said 'There are only two or three human stories,' she likely hadn't heard the one about Elvis and JFK warding off the soul-sucking Egyptian mummy whose appearance shakes them from their retirement in a Texas rest home.

Bruce Campbell is amazing as Elvis, giving a nuanced and understated performance, rather than going over the top. Ossie Davis is very charming as JFK. The dialogue is wickedly funny.

The film is in limited release and only just made it here now. But there will be a DVD out in May, so you may get a chance to see it then.

I was impressed at how straight Coscarelli chose to play this. It's a wiggy premise treated seriously and it really works. The scuttling scarab beetle was goddamn scary! And the mummy was pretty freaky too. The Boy figured that the cowboy hat and books were because the mummy had been feeding on the souls of Texans. Which made sense to me.

I laughed a lot, but it was comfortable laughter. And while I didn't quite tear up, I came close. I'd love to have a screen cap of Elvis and JFK doing their costumed power-walk down the resthome hall, Elvis in the white jumpsuit, pushing his walker, JFK in his dark suit and wheelchair. They were heroes.

I only wish I remembered the heiroglyphics for "eat the dog dick of Anubis, asswipe". Could be useful in Stargate fic.

All in all, it was a triumph of the human spirit.

Comments

[http://users.livejournal.com/_inbetween_/]

i´ve never heard of this movie before, and it will never come our way, but it looks custom made for bruce - although, did they actually make his chin larger? ;)

i did not read your spoilers but watched the trailer - still unsure if any of this is meant seriously (but guess the "triumph of spirit" to be a hint) and that hero shot with the zimmer frame, followed by his hand-gesture not firing-or-whatever, aaah, i need to see this ♥

[prillalar]

Hee! Bruce had on a lot of makeup, since Elvis is quite old in this, but I don't think he had a chin prostheis or anything. *g* And yes, you need to see this. Everyone does.

[http://users.livejournal.com/_inbetween_/]

icouldgoandcheckbutwhichcontinentareyouonandwherecanigetthatmovieincentraleurope?

[prillalar]

Ah, I think now this explains your comment on my other post that I was puzzled about. :)

I am in North America -- Canada. (Yay Canada!)

I have no idea if you can get it or not. I saw it in a uni theatre, but they only made a few prints of the film and they've been travelling around for ages. The movie came out in 2002 and it's only made it here now.

I think a DVD will come out in May or something, but I don't know about regional availability. Maybe Amazon could help?

[http://users.livejournal.com/_inbetween_/]

ooops ² when was i puzzling?
and that was only written without spaces as i posted it from email which somehow dislikes spaces 0.o

*sings* blame canaduh, blame canaduh
i like everything i´ve heard about it so far (better than america) and hope to visit one day. hey, you call canada "north america"?! ;)

[prillalar]

you call canada "north america"?

No, but you asked me which continent I was on. :) I mentioned Canada as well so you wouldn't think I was an American.

[laurashapiro.livejournal.com]

Oooh, you Bubba Ho-Tepped! What a fucking great movie. ::adore:: I loved what it was saying thematically, too.

[prillalar]

Yes, I want to see it again already. I'll have to grab the DVD when it comes out. I just wish I hadn't had to wait so long to see it. I think there are only 7 prints in existence or something like that.

[freesnowcone.livejournal.com]

I'm so amazed that someone other than me and my movie geek has even heard of it! Most people kind of go, "Oh... Bubba what, now?" Also very jealous, as the middle of nowhere, Michigan, tends not to get anything but what's on the Top 10 list at rottentomatoes.com.

Can't wait to buy the DVD, and thanks for the heads-up on "eat the dog dick of Anubis, asswipe". I'll have to remember to pause and scribble during that scene.

[prillalar]

This film had a very limited number of prints -- seven or so, I think -- so it only just got here now! I've been waiting for it for quite some time. You'll love it, I'm sure. :)