Everything about this movie is wonderful -- the laughs, the scares, the poignant dialog, the richness of characterization. As Homer Simpson says, it works on so many levels.
BUBBA HOTEP is a magnificent blending of many different styles and genres. Like ONE FLEW OVER THE CUCKOO'S NEST it is a grim, realistic story of institutional living. Like FROM HERE TO ETERNITY or COOL HAND Luke it depicts outsiders fighting a corrupt system. As in GRAND ILLUSION two aristocrats from widely different backgrounds meet inside the grim walls of a prison, their rank and status no longer respected. But instead of giving in to despair, they put aside their differences in a spirit of sacrifice, redeeming those around them even as they accept the end of their own existence.
Okay, enough of that stuff. Let's talk about Elvis. The film gets everything right, not only the sideburns and the accent but all of his weaknesses and illusions. The desire to be a hero, the fat gut, the fake karate moves, this movie knows and shows Elvis at his worst and forgives him --then turns things around so that by the end you actually want to stand up and cheer.
Let's talk about JFK. The story of a black man and a white man becoming brothers in the face of danger is old hat -- come back to the rest home again, Huck honey. But this time there's something new. The black JFK is turning Elvis on his head -- a black man becoming JFK is the mirror image of white trash Elvis singing the blues in a segregated world. The power of the allegiance is based on the bold violation of taboo.
The horror works in BUBBA HOTEP. On a minimal budget they created a monster. What makes the mummy real is the obvious link between his past and the failures of the real Elvis. Watch the scene where the mummy walks, and Elvis stares deep into his eyes and sees his past. The real truth the movie hints at is that Elvis is Bubba Hotep. Elvis was both the "bubba" in our world -- the dumb hick -- and the Hotep -- immortal God King. But the real Elvis, tragically, abused his body and defiled his own divinity with "drugs and stupidity and the coveting of women." (As the movie says.) In the final battle Elvis is not merely slaying the mummy -- he is overcoming himself.
Watch the movie. Rejoice in Elvis. Rejoice in BUBBA HOTEP.
BUBBA HOTEP is a magnificent blending of many different styles and genres. Like ONE FLEW OVER THE CUCKOO'S NEST it is a grim, realistic story of institutional living. Like FROM HERE TO ETERNITY or COOL HAND Luke it depicts outsiders fighting a corrupt system. As in GRAND ILLUSION two aristocrats from widely different backgrounds meet inside the grim walls of a prison, their rank and status no longer respected. But instead of giving in to despair, they put aside their differences in a spirit of sacrifice, redeeming those around them even as they accept the end of their own existence.
Okay, enough of that stuff. Let's talk about Elvis. The film gets everything right, not only the sideburns and the accent but all of his weaknesses and illusions. The desire to be a hero, the fat gut, the fake karate moves, this movie knows and shows Elvis at his worst and forgives him --then turns things around so that by the end you actually want to stand up and cheer.
Let's talk about JFK. The story of a black man and a white man becoming brothers in the face of danger is old hat -- come back to the rest home again, Huck honey. But this time there's something new. The black JFK is turning Elvis on his head -- a black man becoming JFK is the mirror image of white trash Elvis singing the blues in a segregated world. The power of the allegiance is based on the bold violation of taboo.
The horror works in BUBBA HOTEP. On a minimal budget they created a monster. What makes the mummy real is the obvious link between his past and the failures of the real Elvis. Watch the scene where the mummy walks, and Elvis stares deep into his eyes and sees his past. The real truth the movie hints at is that Elvis is Bubba Hotep. Elvis was both the "bubba" in our world -- the dumb hick -- and the Hotep -- immortal God King. But the real Elvis, tragically, abused his body and defiled his own divinity with "drugs and stupidity and the coveting of women." (As the movie says.) In the final battle Elvis is not merely slaying the mummy -- he is overcoming himself.
Watch the movie. Rejoice in Elvis. Rejoice in BUBBA HOTEP.