Just take my word for it: it's groovy, baby. I may still be a Bruce fanboy to some people, but I'll be the first to say this was one weak Bruce outing. There's much homage from that. So, sorry for now, plucky fan boy who worships Bruce Campell. Hell, I just remembered my ringtone to this day is quotes from Army of Darkness.
In all fairness, I en joyed the film muchmore the second time, having a better sense of what sort of humor andstyle the film would be going for. One should give Campbell props for portraying himself as an egocentric boozing jackass living in a run-down trailer car, but it seems like a missed opportunity not to have had other real life actors portraying parodies of themselves. The best part of the film for me doesn't even have Campbell in it. Campbell says and does inappropriate things but you never get the feeling he is mean-spirited in any way. Bruce Campbell takes on the Chinese God of Bean Curd, Quan-Di, in an epic battle of good versus evil with Ted Raimi appearing as multiple characters. But when Bruce answered questions, he didn't offer anyreassurance that he cared much about the film. This isn't to dismay anyone from seeing it, especially Bruce fans, since there are tons of nods and hidden jokes, but if you also can control your giddiness and fanboyisms? Take it as it is.
When a small town in Oregon is attacked by a evil monster, who do youcall? This is a movie for everyone that appreciates film-making,and most importantly films that aren't trying to make millions ofdollars. However, the part just after his first real confrontation with the Chinese demon and the ensuing shooting was pretty funny. Slapped with an 'R'rating, this film serves up some raunchy language,bloody violence,andthe central protagonist's sleazy lifestyle. Then, there is of course, the evil monster, Quan-Di, who's chops peoples' heads off in a cool, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon style. Everything we love about Bruce is played so well over the top you can't help but laugh yourself silly! Throw in a few more demons or some zombies or something. For those into that, the movie is far from gory no spurts of blood even but there are plenty of funny quick decapitations. The fact that in the spoof sci fi movie he is doing Bruce acts better than he does in the rest of the movie shows what a pile of horse droppings this film is.
I should note that what I saw was a rough cut of the film, not entirely finished, so I don't know the names of all the actors because there were no opening and closing credits. The actress playing the country barmaid played it straight and was rather impressive. And the biggest reason why, the amateur level seriously shows. I had an arrangement with the lady behind the counter that when my license was ready, instead of calling my name, she would call once like a Wood Owl and thrice like a Sagehen, and then wink across the room at me. I can only remember myself smirking a handful of times, and that's no joke.
He makes lame action seem a little more interesting. Something else in this movie that's uber-cool and cult fans will enjoy: Ted Raimi. When a monster attacks an Oregon town, Bruce Campbell played by Bruce Campbell , mistaken for his character Ash, is hired to fight it and rescue the citizens. It's not really scary in any way but I don't think it was intended to be. Bruce thinks this is an elaborate joke and plays along untilhe finally sees Guan Di. I found it mildly entertaining but I wouldn't pay to see it again and I would have certainly felt cheated seeing this in a theater. It is a fun movie and really nothing else than a chance to see Campbell give his fans what they want to see - him mugging his way through each and every scene, interacting with the other actors in some real funny dialog, and plot scenarios that at least incorporate some of the Campbell mythos if you will.
Campbell delivers as does most of the cast. I should take off another rating point for the unrealistic--and thankless--gay characters, although the portrayal wasn't disrespectful, it was still a silly attempt to use gayness for humor, and unsuccessful at that. With 'My Name Is Bruce,' I don't think it even made an attempt to capture any horror as the horror elements were almost non-existent. This is a movie for everyone that appreciates film-making, and most importantly films that aren't trying to make millions of dollars. Lack of money can be blamed for many things such as bad effects,bad acting and bad props,but there is no excuse for such a poor script. Alas, I was still recognized.
When he gets a visit from the teen who survived Guan-Di's onslaught, and subsequently kidnapped, he eventually thinks it's a birthday gag from his agent and plays along. Regardless, without horror, it still plays well as a comedy, mostly through Bruce's interaction with the people. It's still good though, and it will probably be a great film to sit around and have a few beers to. While it wasn't the 'perfect' satisfaction we were looking for, it's still quite good. Bruce thinks it's a big joke. The Chinses demon is impressive for the special effects used obviously not a huge budget here. The story itself is kinda cool, especially when we heard about it 5 years ago.
I decided that I was going to go into My Name isBruce and rate it solely on how good it is rather than based on thefact that Bruce Campbell is in it; and overall I certainly wasn'tdisappointed; as My Name is Bruce is a thoroughly entertaining andhilarious comedy horror that is sure to delight anyone that is willingto enjoy the movie for what it is or for the fact that Bruce Campbellis in it. My Name is Bruce is a hilarious comedy directed by and starring thegreat Bruce Campbell. That's funny, and still is. What follows is a nearly non stop roller coaster ride of a movie,with loads of in jokes, pop culture references,a beautiful woman,andsome bloody but darkly funny violence. My suggestion is this: if you're aCampbell fan, pick up a copy. And although it was presented as a true story, it was very hard to believe. I saw this at the East Lansing Film Festival and the audience could notsit still.
But with writing this weak, that's no easy chore. The fact that its Bruce Campbell playing Bruce Campbell isthe brunt of the movie to such an extent that the rest of it almostcomes off like an afterthought; but since most fans will go into thismovie wanting that; and Campbell clearly made this movie purely forthose people, that was always to be expected. She was probably taking revenge on me for calling her chunky. As a big fan of Bruce Campbell, I enjoyed this film and found myself having goofy fun with it. The stuff with the old lady also.