Campbell: Good performance in a not so good movie
Written: Sep 05 '03
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Bruce Campbell is great as Elvis, and Ossie Davis is a delight as JFK
Cons: too slow
The Bottom Line: Bruce Campbell fans expecting a festival of action and laughs will be disappointed, but will see Campbell really is a fine actor.
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| hamburgerman's Full Review: Bubba Ho-Tep |
I was excited to be invited to a recent press screening of Bubba Ho-Tep, a new film directed by Don Coscarelli (Phantasm) and starring Bruce Campbell (The Evil Dead) and Ossie Davis. I had seen flyers and other promotional items for this film at several conventions I attended this year, including Fangoria Con and San Diego Comic-Con.
Elvis Presley is alive and living in a retirement home in Mud Creek, Texas. Turns out he got tired of the rock star lifestyle and switched places with an Elvis impersonator - it was the impersonator found dead in the bathroom in 1977. Of course, nobody believes Elvis when he claims to be the King. Throw in Ossie Davis as JFK (what?! You say?) and an ancient Egyptian mummy who sucks the souls out of the rest home resident's buttholes (explained but never seen) and it looks like a great time at the movies...
I qas quite disappointed in the film. But first let me point out the positives. Bruce Campbell does a fine job as an elderly Elvis Presley. Don't expect an over-the-top performance from Campbell. Bruce Almighty actually gets to act, and this movie should prove that he's is more than a festival of one-liners. This movie really only has one of those famous Campbell catch phrases, and it was a retread of past films, "Hail to the King, baby."
And what a wonderful combination Ossie Davis makes with Bruce Campbell. Davis is a delight to watch, and it's his performance that redeems the rest of this sluggish movie. Davis actually steals every scene he's in, even from that master of hamness Campbell!
Now the flaws. The film couldn't seem to make up it's mind if it wanted to be a comedy or a horror film. The result is that it wasn't much of either. Sure, Ho-Tep the mummy was cool to look at (I guess he's referred to in the title as Bubba because he wears a cowboy hat and boots) but there were no scares at all. Ho-Tep has made his home in this retirement community to collect souls, and old people don't put up a fight. That's great for a soul collector, but it leaves the audience bored as there is little or no action in the film - old people can't run! Sure, there is a fun scene with a beetle attacking an old lady, but the beetle is clearly a rubber prop, not nearly as exciting as Don Coscarelli's famous ball in Phantasm.
The script suffers from too much expositional dialogue. If this were a no-budget indie from an up and coming filmmaker, that MAY be forgivable. But Coscarelli is a horror veteran, having written and directed all five of the Phantasm films. The script is slow and talky, which doesn't make for an exciting horror film. The final confrontation of Elvis and JFK versus the mummy is a real disappointment.
I don't expect to see a sequel to this one.
Recommended:
No
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Epinions.com ID:
hamburgerman
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Member: Brazil (Joe) Grisaffi
Location: Houston, TX
Reviews written: 38
Trusted by: 26 members
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