My Name Is Bruce

 

 

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Please bear with me. If you're a fan of Bruce Campbell, you don't need a review to tell you to see this movie. That's ridiculous.

However, if you are among the dwindling specks of human life remaining on this planet who do not know the massive power of The Bruce, or have not yet seen any of his performances, then it is you who are ridiculous.

Hercules: The Legendary Journeys Season 3 or Xena: Warrior Princess Season 2? His pal Sam Raimi's Spider-Man Trilogy? Raimi's The Evil Dead Trilogy? The USA Network's Burn Notice?

If you have just crawled from the primordial pool, and are currently adjusting to your life as a biped with newly-evolved stereoscopic colour vision, and you have finally opted for lungs over gills, I forgive you.

Read on.

A note about the film's title. Reminiscent of William Shatner's "Get a life!" cry from the now-famous 1986 Saturday Night Live sketch, the title of this film was Campbell's way of teasing his fan-base about their relentless proclivity for referring to him as the character of Ash from his best-known performance in The Evil Dead Trilogy.

This was intended as both a playful rewording of the oft-quoted "Name's Ash... Housewares!" line from the third instalment, The Army of Darkness, and a contentious statement of correction for the actor. The key difference between Shatner's breaking of the celebrity fourth wall, and Campbell's meta-fictional character in My Name is Bruce, is that our intrepid hero makes the insistence self-mockingly. Campbell has never completely turned his back on what made him popular, and begrudgingly accepts it without anything more vitriolic than a sigh, an eye-roll, and a shrug.

This is what makes him so compelling, and as a loyal fan (having gone so far as to watch Lois & Clark, suffer through 1997's remake of The Love Bug, and track down countless other B-Movies and television shows in which he has appeared), I can't help but smile every time he enters the frame. Bruce Campbell is a singular talent, and this movie is a showcase of his most endearing qualities.

My Name is Bruce is meant to be enjoyed as a bookend to his over-the-top performances in the B-Movies that created the persona the actor wears (see: Bubba Ho-Tep, The Man With the Screaming Brain, Sundown: The Vampire in Retreat, and Alien Apocalypse, or better yet, read his first autobiography and then watch them). In all honesty, I can't fathom what this movie would look like to the uninitiated, but I liken it to subsisting on a diet of Dung Beetle larvae and Sunny D. In other words, it would be a poor substitution for living.

As always, I look forward to whatever roles The Bruce cares to indulge in, and I shamelessly expound his virtues to anything more civilized than a mung bean. If that's you, then take heed: watch some of the above-mentioned suggestions, and then buy this movie.

My Name is Bruce(with wide release in Oct/08),produced in cooperation with Dark Horse comics,is full of self deprecating comments like that one throughout its'86 minute run.In fact everyone gets a send up including people like you and me who review here on Amazon!That specific reference,like every other in this film,tells you never,but never,take yourself too seriously.
The film's plot has four kids out on a lark to a cemetery outside the backwoods mining town of Goldlick.One of the teens(Jeff)takes the protective marker off some wood around an entrance to a local mine.This unleashes Guan-Di,the spirit protector of 100 Chinese miners who perished long ago in an accident there.The scene shifts to Bruce on the set of his "latest" B(or C,or E,or....)film called Cavealien 2.Things are not going well and he gets spiffed and heads back to his home/trailer.With a knock on the door comes a bonk on the head and before he knows it Bruce is up in Goldlick to help save the town from Guan -Di,whose fave pastime is chopping the heads off anyone who comes within a few feet of him.Campbell is more than peeved at his kidnapping until he reasons it is all just a birthday joke set up by his agent.He plays along with the townsfolk until later he actually meets up with Guan-Di,mano et monster,and immediately retreats for all he's worth.He makes his way back to his trailer but gets a phone call from Jeff who is now taking on the demon by himself to save the town.Bruce has second thoughts,not to mention the guilt's,and hurries back to Goldlick.He meets up with Jeff's mother who didn't know about her son's plan,and which,by the way,spawns the title quote for this review.They both race to the graveyard and find Jeff.Working together to defeat Guan-Di they try and trap him in the mine again but just as they are walking away Guan-Di slips up behind them and the three simultaneously scream.The film stops and we are in a projection room where Campbell asks the makers if they can't have a happy ending for a change.The film runs a cheesy happy ending and as Bruce stands up applauding this change Guan-Di springs out of the screen,"heading" for Bruce.
Like many other Campbell films Bruce has brought back a plethora of folks he has worked with many times over the years,to get this small budget film up and running.The stand out of course is Ted Raimi(Producer/Director Sam's brother).Ted is a triple threat here who plays an Italian sign painter,a local Chinese resident of Goldlick and Bruce's on-screen agent.I always love seeing Ted and he doesn't disappoint.Bruce is,well Bruce and his wise-acre,funny and self deprecating humour is in full throttle throughout.There are countless references both subtle and obvious to his past works.The obvious comes as Bruce enters Jeff's room who is a Campbell fanatic,which is filled with memorabilia.An example of less subtle is the name on the case of dynamite Jeff has in his trunk;"Hercules Dynamite"-referencing his work with his old cohorts Sam Raimi and Robert Tapert in TV's Hercules,starring Kevin Sorbo.Also music meister supreme from Xena and Hercules,Joe LoDuca provides the music.
This DVD is chock full of extras which will thrill every Bruce Campbell fan to the nth degree.There is a making of featurette,movie commentary,featurettes on "Bruce on...",an inside the making of the Cavealiens 2 movie,"Kifs" corner,awkward moments with "Kif",Love birds,the Hard Truth about Bruce,Cavealien 2 trailer,photo galleries of posters,props and movie photos.It is in its' original a/r of 1:78:1 and the picture is clean and crisp.
With plenty of laughs and Campbell's bravado on full tilt,this movie is a fun 86 minute romp that will you have you laughing out loud more than a few times.It's all tongue in cheek and with a HUGE poke at the movie industry itself,and alot of its' hanger-ons.The demon monster is wonderfully shot and realistic looking which adds an air of needed legitimacy to such films.Bruce Campbell fans rejoice,as your hero does it again.
P.S.By the way,Mr.Campbell? I can't get that @#$!! Guan-Di song out of my head now....thanks alot pally!

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