FILMS THAT DESERVED BETTER is an ongoing feature here on The Movie Blog of movies that failed to attract an audience at the theaters and failed to perform well at the boxoffice, yet were exceptional films. We just want to give out a hardy slap on the back and say “We love ya anyway”.
This whole category… nay… they whole phrase “movies that deserved better” was created for this one film. Bubba Ho-Tep is nothing short of a brilliant film. One of those very rare gems that not only was ass bustingly funny, but also made some incredible commentary and observations. The movie has one of the funniest premises I’ve ever seen, with a now very aged and very much alive Elvis Presley living in a seniors home with an old black man (The immortal Ossie Davis) who thinks he’s JFK… the two have to team up to fight an ancient Mummy who is stalking and killing the resident of the Seniors home. HILLARIOUS.
But… at the same time, when you look past the laughs, there are some great moments and observations made about the issues of aging… and life… and reflecting back on what meaning and impact you’ve made. In one heart breaking scene, one of the residents dies, and his estranged daughter shows up to collect his stuff… and really… the man’s whole life came down to a daughter that didn’t care, and a little box with some trinkets in it. How a movie manages to pull off both those extremes is amazing to say the least.
This brilliant film was never given a chance. No studios or distributors picked it up or gave it a full wide release. Instead, it was more important to give movies like “Motocross The Movie” a wide release. I’ll NEVER understand that.
In the end, Bubba Ho-Tep made just over $1 million at the box office. The good news is that it found an audience once it got to DVD due to the insanely popular word of mouth…. but even on DVD I’m shocked by how many people have never seen… and some haven’t even heard of… BUBBA HO-TEP!.
There aren’t enough words for how truly amazing and wonderful this little movie is. A simple, pretty low budget film that relies of a great script, great directing and a masterful.. nay… LEGENDARY performance by Bruce Campbell. If you haven’t seen Bubba Ho-Tep, go rent it… if you have seen it… go rent it again.
