Bubba Ho-tep

Strap yourself in for the plot to this one; Elvis and JFK are alive and unwell in nursing home in Texas. The former swapped places with an impersonator for a quiet life, the latter survived Dallas and was dyed black by the CIA so he couldn't be found. Then they realise that a mummy who has lived in the American south for so long that he's become a redneck has been sucking the souls of the residents of the nursing home through their bums thanks to some graffiti he's left in the public bathroom after crapping the soul residue out. Well The King and the President ain't taking it and armed with an electric wheelchair and a zimmer frame set out to kill Bubba. Oh and the entire narrative thrust of the film revolves around Elvis getting his first hard-on in over a decade.

It sounds like the most ludicrous film ever made, and yet it is in fact poignant, surprisingly moving and damn funny. Of course it's up to you if this is really Elvis and JFK, common sense would say no but the movie peppers little clues that suggest that they may not be two old mental cases. Either way by the end you'll have fallen so greatly for the characters that you won't care if they're the real deal or not. In fact you won't even notice how ridiculous this all is. This is mainly thanks to the performances. Ossie Davis as Jack is at once Presidential and also paranoid. Look for the little quirks he brings to the role, forever looking out for Lyndon B. trying to get him. Even better is Bruce Campbell, the God of cult schlock. It is often ignored, mainly thanks to the films that Campbell is in, that he is a pretty good actor. The fact that he chooses to do these projects, as opposed to them being all he can get, shows this. If you've seen his stint in the show Burn Notice you'll have already realised how good he can be. Here he is breathtaking as a man defeated, regretting the choices he has made in life and reduced to a bed-ridden, cancer of the penis stricken wreck. As the events unfold he finds he still has some life in him and finally gets to play the hero and go out a somebody. Again it doesn't matter if he really is Elvis, he believes he is and so he experiences true longing for a life gone south. The fact that Campbell manages all this while trying to be one of the most iconic people who ever lived, and a staple impression of every drunk guy, while in tons of old guy make up is even more unbelievable. It's just typical that when he finally turns in a performance like this he does it in a movie with this premise meaning that it will be forever ignored. It's unjust and deserves to be seen.

It's not just a sad peon to how to grow old gracefully. It's also a great comedy. The premise should tell you that, but the whole approach to language, and in particular Elvis' way of describing stuff is just beautiful in its hilarity. The fact that Elvis would clearly describe the size of a cockroach in relation to banana and peanut butter sandwiches is brilliantly observed, as is Bubba's hick speech, represented by hieroglyphs that spew forth from his mouth. Also look out for Jack's Oval Office style room and his words to ward off evil.

Bubba Ho-tep is a classic example of a film that could never be made within the studio system. Its premise is just too ludicrous and its execution totally skewed from what you'd expect. If a studio did green light this they'd insist on something less sad, more scary and they'd probably want a younger Elvis. And Bruce Campbell would never be allowed in this, unless he was killed first.