MovieChat Forums > Bubba Ho-Tep (2003) Discussion > Can the Humor of This Movie Be Explained...

Can the Humor of This Movie Be Explained?

posted 16 years ago by Dale The Bold
92 replies | jump to latest

I really don't want this to turn into a "You're Dumb for Liking/Disliking This Movie" debate, I am honestly and respectfully just trying to figure out how certain films can be loved by some, but loathed by others.

I remember being a kid in elementary school and watching animal videos in school. If a bear or raccoon fell out of a tree and rolled down a hill, the other kids would be laughing hysterically, while I would be sitting there wondering what was so funny. I was perplexed, wondering if I was missing out on what was actually funny or if the kids who were laughing were just easily amused.

I believe that there are categories of funny that usually work on different levels for different people. A big one is incongruity, such as an arrogant snob farting, or a person making an argument and making an embarrassing typo--especially if it contains an unintentional innuendo. Another is seeing mild misfortune, like someone falling on the sidewalk--which usually gets a bigger laugh if they are carrying something and it breaks. In both of those examples, the humor is found at the mild expense of someone. We don't laugh at major misfortunes, only little things. Nothing more than someone's minor loss of some dignity plus the cost of a pie.

It may be against the law, but I didn't find Bubba Ho-Tep or the Monty Python movies funny. Both were recommended by the same friends. Are there people who liked Bubba Ho-tep but didn't like Monty Python? The only common denominator I can identify between those examples is that they have a gritty, low-budget feel to them and I wonder if that environment helps set the stage for certain folks. I wonder if the humor in them appeals to people of a "humor orientation" different from my own.

I don't find the Three Stooges funny, I don't find physical comedy funny except when performed by John Ritter (he had a style), and old Warner Bros cartoons were cool, but not usually funny (to me). Sometimes a comedy turn-off is when they try too hard. It almost comes across as overly-confident and that can kill humor. Another comedy-killer is condescension. If I feel that the filmmaker is talking down to me or going for the cheap laugh, my emotional reaction is to simply anticipate the next scene and hope it is better.

For example, this quote (and I mean no disrespect, fans, please don't be offended):

"I was dreamin'. Dreamin' my dick was out and I was checkin' to see if that infected bump on the head of it had filled with pus again. If it had, I was gonna name it after my ex-wife Priscilla and bust it by jackin' off. Or I'd like to think that's what I'd do. Dreams let you think like that. Truth was, I hadn't had a hard-on in years."

The quote above gets the following reaction from me:
How unfortunate a dick infection must be. The insult to his ex-wife is kind of funny as it indicates that he has held on to a grudge for years and enjoys a good jab at her when the opportunity arises. I can relate. The talk about hard-on deprivation, which must come from old age, makes me think of Viagra jokes. And I can't help but think this appeals to our inner juvenile. As a result, it reeks of "cheap laugh," for me. I wonder if the Elvis accent and regional colloquialisms add to the "ambience" of the humor, like many Southern sayings do.

Then there is the scene where Elvis is trying to kill the bug. I think we can all relate to the adventures of bug-squishing when it doesn't go well, but I didn't even know that scene was trying to be funny. I have read reviews of Bubba Ho-Tep where that scene was described as THE funniest sequence ever. Suddenly, I felt like I was back in elementary school, once again NOT laughing at that bear cub tumbling down a hill, while everyone else was. I have chased a good many bugs around my apartment, and I usually talk trash to them when I do. "That toilet is your punishment for being ugly. Enjoy your eternity in Sewer Hell. Give my best to toilet-satan." I do that to amuse myself in my own silly way, but I never knew that it would be hilarious for others if they saw it.

What I would like to see in this thread is an explanation, not only of WHAT people found hilarious in this movie, but WHY. I know explaining it often ruins it, but with me, it's already not funny. I just want to satisfy that curiosity. Please explain.

[–] LeonardPine 9 years ago

You have no sense of humour. Not a problem as not everybody has one.

"Perhaps he's wondering why someone would SHOOT a man before throwing him out of a plane"

[–] hurricanehorton 9 years ago

I do feel this film is something quite distinct.

Reading the plot, I was expecting it to be a cheesy b-movie. The humour in those films comes from being very tounge in cheek. So where the characters were getting attacked by alien clowns, killer tomatoes and leprechauns wanting their gold back, you laughed because it was absurd. The actors knew it was absurd, and were making it funny with their ridiculous overacting to such ridiculous situations.

As much as it sounded like that, this wasn't what Bubba Ho-Tep was. It was almost black comedy in parts. Whether the character was the real Elvis Presley, or just a deluded Elvis impersonator, doesn't really matter. Either way he cuts a sympathetic figure. You weren't laughing because his dick didn't work, you were sympathising with him whilst smiling at the bleak humour with which he dictated the situation.

It almost bordered on irony, that a situation so impossible, you almost felt could happen. This real could be the real Elvis fighting an Egyptian Mummy. His friend could legitimately be JFK disguised as a black man. There are people on this board actually debating whether or not both character's were really who they claimed to be or not. That's not something I expected this movie to pull off.

There were the odd nod to B-Movies, of course. Elvis attacking the mummy with JFK's wheelchair. But that just added to the broad humour of this movie. If anything it featured quite a lot of different humour styles, meshed into one film.

[–] thatblackcat 8 years ago

I just watched it tonight. Not what I thought I'd be getting (a silly B horror/monster movie that was absurd and funny, whether it meant to be or not). For me it was so much better.

The movie is something I'd definitely categorise as black comedy. Because the underlying themes are bleak and sad, and filled with pathos. Sure, there's a silly mummy running around and some stupid lines that are classic B kitsch funny (whether I like them or not, or just groan), but really, the writing and the bones are intricate and serious.

We explore loneliness both that comes with isolation from the realisation having what you thought you wanted isn't what you wanted (Elvis running away and switching with the impersonator. And Elvis realising he missed the important things: real love and family), and the isolation of being alone and abandoned by a world that has moved past you because you're old and infirmed. We explore the results of just giving up and feeling lack of self-worth. We explore the way the elderly are treated and dismissed. And we explore the meanings of friendship and how fleeting our ties can be with others and how we only notice them when they're gone.

It's also got real heart to it, beneath the B movie veneer.

I wouldn't call it hilarious for me (though I found it funny), but I thought it was a great movie. Actually it reminded me a lot of a much darker black comedy, Bad Boy Bubby, as in the movie can be categorised as many things, but really beneath whether you find it funny or not, you should find a thought-provoking, well-made film. If you can get part either gross/shocking things (BBB), or the cheese and your take on the comedy in it as puerile or potty-mouth (BHT), then I think it's a movie worth rewatching, without any preconceived notions, and see what you think.

*the you in the above paragraph is the universal you, much like the royal we, except all can use the universal you.

**I know I posted this to Hurricane, because I started off responding to his/her/their post as I agreed with their thoughtful points and explanations, but really, if the OP ever decides to revisit and read this thread, I hope this helps boost the insight above. Or not.



[–] Paynebyname 9 years ago

The appeal of the film is not in the humour. It's the tale of regrets, getting old, lost opportunities, second chances, intriguing concepts, great music and enjoyable characters.

It's not a film requiring over analysis. It's something you either get or you don't.

Small moves Ellie, small moves

[–] Darthfrodo58 9 years ago

This is an old thread, but it's a relevant one.

Humor is an observation, just like beauty is. You may look at a certain woman and find her stunningly beautiful, but someone else may see her as just ordinary, or possibly even unattractive. When it comes to humor, something you find hilarious may not be funny at all to another. It all depends on taste and the person. The movie 'This is the End' (which my brother thinks is the funniest movie ever made) didn't even make me so much as grin once. It's just a matter of taste, and what you like. Your taste may be different that someone else's.

Snakes....I hate snakes

[–] washclothrepairman 7 years ago

I think it's a case of "You either get it or you don't."

Never trust a black man named "Chip." 

[–] chilone (17296) 6 years ago

Different strokes. I thought it was abysmally bad all the way around.