Appelez-moi Bruce?

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.

To answer the implied question about Australians in an earlier comment, I saw the film for what it was: a spoof comedy. I thoroughly enjoyed it as such. I didn't look for errors of continuity or consistency; that seemed rather pointless; or for any hidden meanings. I simply took the gags at face value and enjoyed them.

I would not draw any conclusions about "real" Asians from this movie; any more than you would say draw conclusions about any other nationalities from comedy movies. I guess that Woody Allen comedies would be a perfect example of how that would not work.

As for the best line, in my opinion it is:

"...and then I got run over by a Toyota. Oh, what a feeling".

Get set for all the zany fun in this hilarious comedy about an Asian immigrant that everyone calls "Bruce," because of his resemblance to the legendary Bruce Lee.

Bruce unknowingly works as cook for the mob and is duped into making deliveries of "Chinese Flour" - which is really cocaine - all across the U.S.

It's a non-stop, rollicking romp when Bruce is persuaded by a wild and crazy assortment of characters - Texas sheriffs, Vegas hookers, rival mobsters, Kung Fu Krishnas, street punks, Urban cowboys and a host of other wacky, weird people interested in "flour."