PRGAAMWA Game #6: Bubba Ho-Tep vs. Superman
The King versus The Man of Steel sounds like something from WWE, and that’s pretty much what this match comes down to: a wrestling match for my affection. I love Superman. I love Elvis Presley. I even named my cat after Elvis Presley, but she’s kind of a spazzy bonehead and scratches when I try to put a sparkly white cape on her.
I liked Bubba Ho-Tep before I even saw it. It’s Bruce Campbell, dressed as Elvis, fighting a mummy. I love Bruce. I love Elvis. And mummies? Well, they’re just awesome. What else can you ask for from a movie? If you absolutely need a story, Bubba Ho-Tep has that too: two rest home residents who think they’re Elvis and JFK fight a mummy who sucks the life force out of people’s butts. That’s ingenious.
The only complaint I had with Bubba Ho-Tep was the pacing. Although it’s a short movie, it felt longer than 92 minutes.
Superman also felt longer than it’s 143 minute running time, particularly whenever Lois Lane shows up. I really dislike Margot Kidder as Lois Lane. She got the plucky reporter thing down, but something about her performance was stale. I never quite believe that she’s the daring reporter she’s supposed to be. And I really hate the flying scene when she’s wearing that dopey, powder blue chiffon nightmare.
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Then there was Christopher Reeve. He didn’t push me toward puberty in the same way that Erin Gray as Wilma Deering did for John, but I was young enough when I saw Superman that it made an impression, and to this day, Christopher Reeve is the epitome of everything I find attractive in a man.
Superman is also iconic and has the nostalgia factor. As soon as John Williams’ score starts, I’m six years old again, running around the house with my arms extended in front of me, pretending to fly. Don’t judge me.
As much as I love Elvis and Bruce Campbell, I love Superman and Christopher Reeve more. Superman takes this match.
Here’s how it works for the first PRGAAMWA Tournament: John and I each had thirty seconds to pull eight genre movies from our DVD shelf for a total of sixteen movies. Then we did random seeding with our match-ups: with eyes closed, we each grabbed a DVD from the pile. Whichever two we pulled are matched up in the first round of the tournament.
The scores so far. . .
Game #1: Batman Begins struggled past Mulholland Drive
Game #2: Serenity fed Clash of the Titans to the Kraken
Game #4: Ladyhawke nails it to Planet of the Apes, despite it’s army of poop flinging primates.
Game #5: The Iron Giant uses sheer sweetness to overcome Night Watch.
