This is an incredibly silly movie. It’s a bold genre mashup living in the body of a B-movie. Frankly, the movie should be terrible. That it isn’t has to do mainly with some clever writing and a pretty great Bruce Campbell performance. Campbell is a better actor than his career suggests, primarily because he never tried to “big-time” the work. He knows what he does well. He recognizes that a lot of his fame comes from being friends early with Sam Rami, but he doesn’t feel a need to prove himself. That’s why his best modern roles tend to be charming, easy-going roles like Sam Axe in Burn Notice. Bubba Ho-Tep is an example of him bringing his fast ball to a movie that isn’t ready to hit it. He plays a very good Elvis. It’s exaggerated but it’s real, if that makes sense. I don’t know if he convinced me that he’s Elvis, but he did convince me he is someone who believes he is Elvis. Applying this nifty Elvis story – he switches places with an Elvis impersonator in secret who then went onto die, but he lost the evidence to prove they switched places – to a B-monster movie is a little much. I didn’t care as much about the parts fighting the mummy as the investigation parts with Ossie Davis, who thinks he’s JFK. It’s all entertaining enough though, so what do I have to complain about?
Bubba Ho-Tep is a movie that demands you set a low bar for it then clears it comfortably. It’s a B-Movie in the classic sense. This can’t be the main entrée of a movie night, but it sure does pair well as a pleasant come down after something slicker and more expensive.
Verdict: Weakly Recommend
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