christophaskell Review of Bubba Ho-Tep

Bubba Ho-Tep (2002)

...don't even think about comparing it with any of the Evil Dead films.

[3 November 2003]

Bruce Campbell was perfect in this movie. He's proven himself time and again, but any skeptics need only watch this to be a hundred percent sure he's the real deal. The way the script was written, there could have been nobody except for Campbell playing this role, and Coscarelli knew exactly how to write for Mr. Bruce. Ossie Davis is perfect in this movie as well. In this fantastical world director Coscarelli creates, it's almost possible that he actually is JFK. Besides the two leads, however, I felt ‘Bubba Ho-tep' left a lot to be desired. Every corner of the movie was explained in such detail that I wonder if Coscarelli felt obligated to dumb down the exposition so as to appeal to a larger audience. Speaking of the exposition, we're asked to swallow quite a large `just take it as truth' pill as the audience. Maybe that's where the fun of the movie is and I missed it, but just like a Scooby-doo cartoon (or any other kids detective story) the facts fall into place without an explanation and always at the right time. Despite the irrationality of pretty much everything, I did laugh a lot, so I would say I enjoyed it overall. Please don't have high expectations, however, and don't even think about comparing it with any of the Evil Dead films. Rating: 23/40