Appelez-moi Bruce?

"Bruce" (Johnny Yune) is a hapless cook who just happens to work for the main mafia boss on the West Coast. But things aren't going well for the mob because of a series of drug busts by the feds. So, the boss of the West Coast named "Lil Pete" (Bill Capizzi) decides to use an unsuspecting Bruce to deliver his cocaine throughout the United States by fooling him into thinking that it is flour from China. Naturally, Bruce doesn't know any better. He also doesn't suspect that his new girlfriend, "Anita" (Pam Huntington), is a federal agent who has planted a bug on him to track his movements. Meanwhile, another mobster on the West Coast named "Big Al" (Martin Azarow) is seeking to discredit Lil Pete and has his girlfriend, "Karmen" (Margaux Hemingway) follow Bruce to inhibit his deliveries. Anyway, rather than detail the entire plot, I will just say that for a low-budget comedy, this wasn't too bad. Johnny Yune was absolutely hilarious. Unfortunately, the action scenes and everything not centered on him fell completely flat. In addition, the middle portion of the film really seemed to drag. All in all then I rate this film as about average.

Some of these people are being way too critical over the quality of the script and social stereotypes. People should take it for what it is...it's a spoof. It's not like they have money to recruit big-name stars. It's a movie that should be enjoyed by the public...it's not an oscar contender. Are the gags mundane? yes. Are there asian stereotypes? Yes. The movie plays on these stereotypes and they know that's how the general public viewed them at the time. Someone commented on how Johnny's acting was bad...but excuse me...there was no royal academy of acting in korea. Like Margaret Cho said, "There was war." And also...where do people get the idea that the character Bruce is Korean? Don't people see the Chinese motif in the story? Chinese flour, Chinese noodles, Chinese food? Marco Polo? The actor is Korean, yes, but they said nothing of Bruce being Korean.

I liked Johnny Yune, but it was the early 80s, and even though the likes of Bruce Lee had helped break some of the racial barriers, Yune and other Asian entertainers still wouldn't quite rocket to stardom, no matter how fun the film.

This is a pretty decent film, though there is some nudity and swearing, so it's not really a family film as such. And, as a 30 year vet of Tae Kwon Do I did borrow one or two of Yune's moves the first time I sparred. My instructor didn't think much of it (but I digress).

Drug running, mafiosos, an immigrant Asian on a quest to search for a special lady in New York. This film might have been his vehicle to stardom, but I only ever saw him in one other film after this, and that was the sequel to this very film. So, unlike the associate producer's comment in "The Canonball Run" DVD commentary track, Yune did NOT make it big, though I always appreciated his humor.

I'm not sure what else to add here. The film looks a bit old and has a slightly dated feel. And like Jackie Chan's film the martial art's sequences are typical Americanized slow and relatively un- dynamic compared to the their Asian counterparts.

The other thing is that it is a bit low budget. It doesn't have the gloss of Jackie Chan's film, largely because Yune is more of a standup comedian in spite of whatever martial arts' training he may have. Even so, for a martial arts' comedy film it's okay.

Maybe see it once and give it a shot.

Here's a unsuccessful comedy, you feel really tries, but still manages to be really entertaining, mainly thanks to Yune, a natural comic performer,and it's story and characters. Although really, does he look like Bruce Lee, "I think not". Parts of his face, around the eyes, yes, but really. He becomes a drug muel for a mafia organization he works for. He really isn't the sharpest tool in the box, but it's great watching him make his famous spaghetti- the best in the world, or make a vase magically break, by executing a karate strike, while standing nowhere near it, or too, eating chicken with numb chucks. His sidekick on his drug round, Freddy, is very likable, who, unlike his partner, knows what's really in those sacks, beside flour. The film's music score is the best thing about this lively, colorful film, that hosts some beautiful woman, none more than that sexy CIA agent, Bruce falls for, sort of. He's a really mislead lovable sort. This isn't a badly made film, but as I said, it really tries hard, where Yune is the film's star saving grace. This very talented guy should of done much more, film wise. Hemmingway is very good as a feminine fatale.

I had read the short review of this movie in "The Video Movie Guide" over and over, thinking it would be bad; but by luck, it was on T.V. one summer afternoon, so I watched it. Well, they were wrong (again).

This movie was good. It at least did its job in making me laugh like crazy at times, which is tough for anything coming down the pike these days.

Johnny Yune, a now forgotten comedian, plays Bruce, so-called because people mistake him for Bruce Lee (he looks nothing like him). Bruce gets himself involved with the Mafia, who use him and Ralph Mauro as unknowing guinea pigs to deliver "Chinese Flour", which is really cocaine, to various bosses from L.A. to N.Y. When things go sour, the late Margaux Hemmingway tries to off the heroes.

The film is very cheap-looking and dark, but there are some absolutely funny lines delivered by Yune.

When he's in Las Vegas and he's asked about gambling

Bruce: Ah Gambling! In China, I knew a woman who made her husband a millionaire through gambling. Only thing was, he used to be a billionaire.

When he's at a black church and asked to testify.

Bruce: We were so poor that when a thief broke into our house, we'd rob him!

Early in the film, his adventures at a dojo are pure slapstick, as well as a scene where Yune and Mauro are in a Texas jail, and they use the Chinese Flour to cause a jailbreak, then when the cocaine is on the clothes of the prisoners, they start sniffing at the clothes to snort the coke! Hilarious.

You won't find this on DVD, but you'll find this hidden gem somewhere in a video store. See it.