Mrs. R and I went to see it here in Seattle at the Varsity. The audience was very sympathetic and had a great time; the missus and I both enjoyed it, too. I’ve seen a lot of crummy B-movies ("oh, Dad, not another B-movie /whine whine/) and this was a step or two above the norm: never boring, nicely written, well acted. It’s no Gone With the Wind, but I’d be happy to see it again.
Just as much fun was a bogus preview trailer for The Lost Skeleton of Cadavera which neatly skewered the Robot Monster/Plan Nine school of filmmaking…
Glad to be of assistance. I picked the disc up myself last year at Best Buy for $10. Some of the short films included (including, of course, Harry Knuckles) were quite good while others were just weird or stupid or both, but not a bad buy all told, and I’m looking to pick up vol. 2 at some point in the future.
Saw it last night and had a blast. I don’t agree with SolGrundy that the film undermines its meditation on the indignities and loneliness of old age–in fact, that’s what resonates the most after the film’s over. The special effects and make-up were quite good for a film with fairly humble production values, and it never resorted to high camp, relying on the sheer absurdity of the situation to mine most of the laughs without dwelling on it too much.
Things are helped immeasurably by Campbell & Davis. This is the most “convincing” Elvis portrayal I’ve ever seen, and Ossie is saddled with a great number of incredibly ridiculous lines, and sells them all effectively. Pretty much all the other characters are rudimentary, and their scenes feel the most amateurish, but Bruce’s VO is written well, inhabiting Presley’s “voice” quite believably for the film’s purpose. Funny, confident, suspenseful, and surprisingly touching.
The only Time I felt Campbell wasn’t convincing as Elvis was when he was on stage. The rest of the time I sat there and though yeah that is what a nold forgotten Elvis would be like. They really needed some Elvis Songs to give it that little extra.
Angel of the Lord and Marley23, Bubba Ho-Tep is starting Friday at the Landmark Century Cinema on Clark, and according to Bruce Campbell’s website and the Bubba Ho-Tep site, if I’m reading things right, the man himself is to make a guest appearance at the evening shows. The recording at the theater is remarkably unhelpful in providing any additional information, but I may stop by there after work and ask around.
And for those in Detroit, Bruce Campbell’s scheduled to appear at the Landmark’s Main Art Theater in Royal Oak on Saturday the 18th.
I’d certainly see it, sounds rather nifty, maybe too nifty for mainstream, but fuck em…Bruce Campbell is a bit more entertaining than alot of these so-called stars in the spotlight today…imho…
I saw it here in Portland about 2 weeks ago. I loved it.
Hearing the general plot line, I thought the movie was going to be some horrid b-movie parody type, something that only sought to be entertaining by being awfully outrageous. Instead I think I felt a bit of sorrow and pity for ole’ elvis, and found myself just sorta rootin’ for him.
And the lines… such great lines. Especially the one about flushing souls down the visitors toilet.
Watching it, I couldn’t help but think how Lisa Marie would have taken the movie.
I saw it at the Century this weekend. Given Bruce Campbell’s movie history (i.e., the Evil Dead flicks and Army of Darkness), I was expecting something a lot more campy. Instead, it was played pretty straight (okay, aside from Elvis and a redneck mummy being in an East Texas nursing home).
BC did a great job. He was incredibly fun to watch – and he had the old-guy mannerisms down cold. He had a few scenes that kinda tugged on your heart strings, too. The actor playing ‘Jack’ also did a great job.
I was a little disappointed, as I was hoping for more camp, but overall I really did like the movie. BC is hysterical as ever and the movie’s got a great sense of humor.
Bubba Ho-Tep is opening on Halloween at the Angelika in Dallas. There’s a party thread in MPSIMS about it if anyone if the area or not too far from Dallas wants to go see it. I’m looking at you, El Elvis Rojo.
Well, the idea of Elvis living in an East Texas rest home, trying to figure out what that bump on his pecker is, is the most plausible thing in the entire movie(moreso then JFK being black and missing half his brain, or a mummy wearing cowboy boots).
Just saw it yesterday and was not disappointed in the least, apart from a girl with a really annoying laugh sitting behind me and what may have been a junkie passed out in the aisle down by the exit. At any rate, I wasn’t expecting to be so touched by Bruce Campbell’s portrayal of Elvis. I loved that exchange between Elvis and Jack when they talk about their relationships with their children and how they tried to be the best fathers they could. It also provided a nice parallel with the daughter of Elvis’s roommate at the beginning.
I also liked how the mummy didn’t matter. It was all about “taking care of business” and doing something extraordinary instead of languishing and waiting to die with (or because of) a pus-filled bump on your pecker.
And I will never hear “Thank you. Thank you very much” the same way again. Sniff.
