Nobody F*ck's with the King, Baby!
I wish they gave Oscar's to low budget horror comedies starring cult icon's. Do you remember where you were when it was announced that Elvis Presley had died? Were you sad? If you were, it was all for naught, because the person that really died was an impersonator giving Elvis a vacation.
That's the premise upon which Bubba Ho-tep is built. The real Elvis lost his contract in a cooking accident, so it was impossible to switch back. He continued playing an Elvis impersonator, until one day, his hip goes out while on stage, it gets infected, and he ends up in a nursing home for the rest of his life. Now try this with me. An Elvis impersonator died while impersonating the real Elvis, so the real Elvis playing an Elvis impersonator can't go back to being the real Elvis. And so he will spend the rest of his days in a rundown nursing home in Texas. Elvis is played by the always comical Bruce Campbell, who appears almost 35 years older in this film than he actually is.
What Campbell does in this film is very unique, simply because his enthusiasm is so unbridled. At no point do we question that this man is Elvis. It doesn't matter how old he is, and it doesn't matter that he's traded in his rhinestones for a set of flannel pajamas. And then again, I never forgot that it was the goofy Bruce Campbell that once laughed maniacally as he lopped of his hand at the wrist. He brings all that goofiness to a character that is already goofy to begin with. His best friend is a resident of the nursing home who believes himself to be JFK, the only problem is, he's a black man. When Elvis brings this point up, Jack simply says that they dyed him to protect him after the assassination attempt.
When residents started dying a little more frequently, the two friends realize that there is an ancient evil walking the halls at night, an Egyptian mummy who sucks souls to be exact. It's up to these two icons to take out the menace, so that they can die and peace and with whatever shred of honor they have left. As Elvis so nobly puts it: "Ask not what your rest home can do for you. Ask what you can do for your rest home."
This film is filled with cheesy moments, like Elvis adopting his kung-fu stance to show off his stuff, but it's really about growing old and having to deal with it. If I could compare it to any movie, it would be "About Schmidt." It's all about Elvis living up to his name. Sound like a ridiculous set up? Maybe so. But it has great acting, great directing and a great message.