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 n one form or another, the theory that Elvis Presley had
switched places with one of his many impersonators has been floating around
since there were Elvis impersonators. "The Twilight Zone" even did an
episode on it. Or was it one of the other horror/fantasy anthology series? In
any case, "Bubba Ho-Tep" joins in on the Elvis sighting, postulating
that Elvis (Bruce Campbell) had, in fact, switched places with one of his
impersonators, who subsequently died. The real Elvis continued on, finding work
as, of all things, an Elvis impersonator. That is, until an accident during a
show breaks his hip and sends him tumbling off stage and into a coma.
Now an old man and living in a nursing home in Mud Creek,
Texas, Elvis spends his days lying in bed and peeing into a pan. His hip is so
bad he has to use a walker to get around, his vision is starting to go on him,
and he's got an unknown growth on the head of his penis. And although he has
since come out of the closet, no one believes he's the real Elvis. His only
friend is Ossie Davis as a black man who claims he's actually JFK, but
conspirators have "dyed" him black. The not so dynamic duo suits up
for battle when a mummy wearing a cowboy hat starts stealing the souls of
nursing home residents. What's the King of Rock N Roll to do but kick a lot of
butt?
Lest you haven't figured it out, Don Coscarelli's
"Bubba Ho-Tep" is not to be taken seriously. The story is based on a
short story by horror writer Joe R. Lansdale, and is told from the point of view
of Elvis. The film's first 30 minutes is really Elvis telling us about his life,
and how he ended up impersonating himself. The whole horror angle comes in at
around the 30-minute mark, after Elvis survives an attack by a scarab bug. After
that, Elvis and JFK teams up even as their fellow old people continue to drop
like flies around them.
There's a lot to like about "Bubba Ho-Tep". You
don't even have to be a fan of B-movie living legend Bruce Campbell ("Evil
Dead") to enjoy it. It's vastly entertaining, with a highly creative
screenplay by Coscarelli, the brains behind the "Phantasm"
franchise. Coscarelli directs the movie with flair, which comes as a surprise
because Coscarelli has never been what you would call a flashy director. Maybe
the polished camerawork early on is thanks to cinematographer Adam Janeiro, or
perhaps the editor injected his own creativity into the process. Whatever the
case, the film's early moments, when Elvis' vision betrays him, works really
well.
"Bubba Ho-Tep" could have tried to play it
straight as a horror movie, but to its credit it never goes that route. Once JFK
and Elvis teams up to fight the soul-stealing mummy, the script has them making
grand conjectures about the nature of the mummy, and Elvis starts getting
strange powers like the ability to read the mummy's mind, not to mention
discovering that fighting the mummy has given him renewed vigor. It's all vastly
silly, but Campbell and Ossie Davis ("Do
the Right Thing") deliver their lines with such a straight face that
you can't help but believe them. Or at least you believe that they believe what
they're saying. The point is, the film is funny and hits all the right comedy
notes it strives for.
As for action -- well, obviously you shouldn't expect too
much. This is, after all, a movie about two geriatrics whose prime has passed
them a long time ago. Elvis uses a walker and JFK rides around on a wheelchair
during the movie's climactic battle. Although
it's interesting to note that Davis' character gets around pretty well until the
end, so you figure it out. Speaking of which, the movie does miss some
opportunities to explore the JFK character. For instance, how is it that JFK has
a bigger room than everyone else in the nursing home? Who pays for it? Unlike
Elvis, who narrates, we never find out all that much about JFK, which is a shame
because he's pretty interesting.
"Bubba Ho-Tep" had a limited theatrical run and
is now available on DVD for the general public. The film was made on a
relatively low budget, and it shows in some of the gags involving the scarabs,
which really look fake. There's a limited cast, and I swear the exterior of the
nursing home looks way too small to house the interior, with its lengthy
corridors and many rooms. "Phantasm" star and Coscarelli regular
Reggie Bannister shows up much too infrequently as the nursing home's
administrator, and Ella Joyce has a funny role as the nurse who tends to Elvis,
including applying a special cream on his, er, special area.
Don't go into "Bubba Ho-Tep" expecting something
serious. The horror elements are played for laughs, and Bruce Campbell is in top
form. His Elvis is bloated and grumpy, as you'd expect him to be. Campbell is
almost unrecognizable with the sideburns and make-up to help him age, and his
Elvis impersonation is impeccable.
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