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Honest Trailer - The Mummy (1999)

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Honest Trailers - The Mummy (1999) is the 294th episode of Screen Junkies comedy series Honest Trailers. It was written by Spencer Gilbert, Joe Starr, Dan Murrell, Danielle Radford and Lon Harris. It was narrated by Jon Bailey as Epic Voice Guy. It parodies the 1999 action horror film The Mummy. The video is 5 minutes 24 seconds long. It was published on May 7, 2019, to coincide with the 20th anniversary of the film. This video kicked off Screen Junkies' first Blockbuster Summer season in which they turned their attention to blockbusters both old and new. The video has been viewed over 1.6 million times.

Watch Honest Trailers - The Mummy (1999) on YouTube

"It's time to revisit the only Mummy film anyone under 80 has actually seen and enjoyed." ~ Honest Trailers - The Mummy

Script []

This summer, we're getting honest about summer blockbusters past and present. This is Honest Trailers: Blockbuster Summer.

You've seen the classic 1932 Boris Karloff version. (shows the 1932 film's logo) Doesn't ring a bell? Okay. You explored Tom Cruise's Dark Universe. (shows the 2017 film's logo) Skipped that one, too? Well, then, it's time to revisit the only Mummy film anyone under 80 has actually seen and enjoyed.

The Mummy, the Brendan Fraser one. (shows an image of Brendan Fraser winking)

Meet Rick O'Connell, whose solution to every problem is to shoot guns at it. (shows Rick firing two pistols at Imhotep) Literally every problem. (montage of Rick shooting guns) He may not have a plan...

Rick: Who--Who was talking about... what?

Jonathan: (shrugs)

...he may not have consent (shows Rick forcefully kissing Evelyn), but Rick's armed with the ultimate superpower (shows Rick growling at Imhotep, then blasting him with a shotgun): being Brendan Fraser. I mean, look at those eyes, that jawline! Who wouldn't want B. Fras raiding their tomb, huh?

Evelyn: (drunkenly) --I am going to kiss you, Mr. O'Connell. (falls asleep)

Joining O'Connell for the ride is a crude Arab stereotype (shows Hassan spitting), and some arrogant white people...

Jonathan: And where'd our smelly little friend get to?

...on a quest to plunder another culture's sacred artifacts; together, they'll unearth an ancient treasure, unleash an ancient curse (shows Imhotep's rotting corpse screeching), and they won't let you forget for a second how ancient everything is.

Ardeth: (narrating) --ancient curses. / --ancient burial site...

Evelyn: --Ancient Egyptian...

Terence: --ancient Arab storytellers...

Rick: --ancient booby trap.

Allen: --ancient times...

Evelyn: --ancient Egyptian curses...

Terence: --ancient secret society.

Evelyn: Ancient mirrors. It's an ancient Egyptian trick.

Watch in horror as they accidentally resurrect Imhotep, an ancient Egyptian priest who was so hated by the Pharaoh, he gave him... superpowers?

Ardeth: (narrating) --for he would arise a walking disease, a plague upon mankind, an unholy flesh-eater with the strength of ages, power over the sands, and the glory of invincibility.

What happened to murder?! Does murder not work anymore?!

Strap in for the 90's answer to the Indiana Jones franchise, that's set around the same time period (shows a title reading "Hamunaptra - 1923"), in similar locations, and employs the same combination of adventure, comedy, and... exact characters. (shows Indy shooting and killing an overeager swordsman in Raiders of the Lost Ark, followed by Rick disarming Ardeth with a gunshot)

Marion Ravenwood: Abner was sorry for dragging me all over this earth looking for his little bits of junk.

Evelyn: (drunkenly) --my father was a very [...] famous explorer.

René Belloq: --there is nothing you can possess which I cannot take away.

Beni: It looks to me like I've got all the horses!

Kazim (Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade): The secret of the Grail has been safe for a thousand years... [The] Brotherhood of the Cruciform Sword have been prepared to do anything to keep it safe.

Ardeth: (narrating) And for 3,000 years, we, the Medjai, the descendants of Pharaoh's sacred bodyguards, kept watch.

But, in fairness, those Indy movies were inspired by classic adventure serials (shows the title card for King Solomon's Mines (1950)), which were inspired by radio dramas...

Allan Quatermain (King Solomon's Mines (2017)): (narrating) We continued our journey along Solomon's great road...

...which were inspired by pulp novels (shows multiple covers for King Solomon's Mines by H. Rider Haggard); so let The Mummy be yet another reminder that nothing you've ever enjoyed is original.

Rick: Rescue the damsel in distress, kill the bad guy, and save the world.

Havelock: Oh? Hahaha!

<sigh>

So buckle up and ride along, as our heroes track down a map, that's hidden behind a key, which they need to open some books...

Evelyn: I think this may be the Book of the Dead.

...while their ancient foe tracks down some body parts (shows Isaac being drained of his body fluids by Imhotep), which he needs to find some jars for...

Imhotep: (in Ancient Egyptian) Where are the other sacred jars?!

...for which he needs to bring back his lover... (shows Evelyn screaming as Anck-su-namun's corpse is revived) Eh, the plot doesn't really matter, though; what you're really here for is the charming characters, and the violence. (shows Rick and the French Foreign Legion fighting an army of Tuareg raiders) The brutal, non-stop violence. (shows Rick shooting some more raiders) Wow, this movie is really violent. (shows Rick and Evelyn fighting off some Medjai) But hey, there's no blood, so bring the kids! (as a child is heard crying) Why are your eyes closed, Billy? There aren't even any brains on the floor! Stop crying, or I'll make you watch The Scorpion King!

Harem Woman (The Scorpion King): A man. / And it gets so lonely. (shows Mathayus cocking an eyebrow)

Starring: Dune Patrol (Brendan Fraser as Rick O'Connell); God of Lore (Rachel Weisz as Evelyn Carnahan); Courage the Cowardly Dude (Kevin J. O'Connor as Beni Gabor); Darth Plagueis the Dry (Arnold Vosloo as Imhotep); Kort Russell (Stephen Dunham as Isaac Henderson); After Effects "Sand" Texture (shows Imhotep's face in a magical sandstorm); A Shadow with the Face of Stannis Baratheon (shows Anck-su-namun's spirit returning to her body); and Khakis (montage of characters wearing khaki pants).

1001 Arabian Whites

The for The Mummy (1999) was '1001 Arabian Whites.' Title design by .

The honest title for The Mummy (1999) was '1001 Arabian Whites.' Title design by Robert Holtby.

Since we know the Mummy is scared of cats, why don't all the heroes just defeat him by covering themselves in cats? I'd watch Brendan Fraser in a cat suit! (shows Rick holding a cat that hisses at Imhotep)

Trivia[]

Honest_Trailers_Commentary_-_The_Mummy_(1999)

Honest Trailers Commentary - The Mummy (1999)

  • The writers created Blockbuster Summer in order to make several highly requested Honest Trailers that they otherwise had no reason to do. The writers were surprised to learn The Mummy (1999) had such a passionate fanbase. In fact, the fandom has their own wiki which is called, fittingly, Rickipedia.
  • In the associated episode of Honest Trailers Commentaries, the writers riffed on the pharoah's ludicrous plan to punish Imhotep by giving him superpowers when he could simply be killed. They also mocked the pharoah's foolish decision to preserve the key to Imotep's release and the only copy of the resurrection spell, when both items could be easily destroyed.
  • This video expands on the Epic Voice Guy lore: he has a child called Billy.
  • The last viewer's comments pay tribute to Star Wars vetaran Peter Mayhew, who had died this year.
  • Screen Junkies also made an Honest Trailer for the 2017 remake of The Mummy, starring Tom cruise. They have also made Honest Trailers for several other historical action movies including Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, Pirates of the Caribbean, Gladiator, Robin Hood (2018), 300 and many more. See list of Honest Trailers for more.

Watch the full Honest Trailer Commentary on YouTube

Reception[]

Honest Trailers - The Mummy (1999) has a 98.1% approval rating from YouTube viewers. The Awesomer wrote that Screen Junkies "lovingly roast" the movie in the Honest Trailer. Ethan Anderton of SlashFilm appreciated the Honest Trailer for highlighting that "Rick O’Connell shoot guns at anything and everything, but he’s also screaming a lot. The 1920s were a different time. In fact, so was 1999, because it was still totally acceptable to have awful Middle Eastern stereotypes for sidekicks."

The Mary Sue observed "Honest Trailers has fun poking holes in The Mummy‘s character and plot run-down, comparing how much is identical to people and tropes we find in the Indiana Jones series. To be fair, however, they also demonstrate how much Indiana Jones borrowed from the adventure stories and radio plays that came before him." In the same article, The Mary Sue also noted that "the Honest Trailer also highlights why the movie still works. That’s all due to its standout, often outlandish characters, who make this more than just a rote good guys-fight-CGI-monster flick." The site added, "There’s no better nostalgic joke than the one Honest Trailers squeezes in here about the Mummy himself, Arnold Vosloo, calling him 'Billy' in passing, because of his near-identical appearance to actor Billy Zane."

Production Credits[]

Video thumbnail for Honest Trailers - The Mummy (1999).

Video thumbnail for Honest Trailers - The Mummy (1999).

Epic Voice Guy: Jon Bailey

Title Design by Robert Holtby

Written by Spencer Gilbert, Joe Starr, Dan Murrell, Danielle Radford & Lon Harris

Produced by Spencer Gilbert, Dan Murrell, Joe Starr & Max Dionne

Edited by Kevin Williamsen

External links []

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