My Name Is Bruce

I am not a scary Bruce Campbell fan but enjoy seeing him in really anything as he always is ever-ready to inject some humor into whatever vehicle he stars in or even just appears in. After seeing Bubba-Ho-Tep I soon found out that he has real acting talent though it is not so evident in this film that parodies Campbell's life(a fictionalized one) and his career and his fan base I might add. In a small mining town called Goldlick a Chinese demon is freed by curious teens in an old cemetery. One of the boys is a huge Campbell fan and eventually sets off to Campbell's abode(a dilapidated trailer in the middle of the woods(yes, it is indeed a fictionalized account of his life)to bring Campbell to Goldlick to defeat the demon. 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. This film is for Campbell fans as they are the only ones that will get much of the humor. That's okay. It is for them. Some I suspect will be disappointed at the really tame and almost sweet nature of the film. Campbell says and does inappropriate things but you never get the feeling he is mean-spirited in any way. Much of his humor is solely lampooning himself and more often his very real work resume. I found myself laughing regularly throughout though the film is silly throughout. Campbell delivers as does most of the cast. The gal playing his love interest Grace Thorsen is a real looker to boot. Campbell shows he has ability for creativity beyond his acting as he also directs the movie. The Chinses demon is impressive for the special effects used(obviously not a huge budget here). The best part of the film for me doesn't even have Campbell in it. The two minstrels that open the film(the mayor and the sheriff of the town playing guitars and singing the Ballad of Guan-Di_ and periodically pop up throughout the picture had me rolling as they sand so seriously and one in foreground and one in the background and walked and sang through the woods. Very clever and very funny!

Bruce Campbell is called to Gold Lick to fight the evil Chinese war god Guan-di after one of his biggest fans, Jeff, awakens the demon and mistakenly believes that Bruce would know how to fight such creatures. Campbell accepts, but only because he believes the entire thing to be a movie shoot.

Not surprisingly, there is going to be two groups of people for this film: the die-hard Campbell fans who love it, and the others. The others might like it, they might hate it, but they'll be left cold if they realize the jokes aren't meant for them. The film really has no solid plot (it's been done before...) and the acting isn't great... and the jokes are, at best, average.

Campbell's actor friends show up: Timothy Patrick Quill, Ted Raimi, Dan Hicks and even Ellen Sandweiss. Some of the in-jokes are slightly clever (having Sandweiss play "Cheryl", the same character's name she had in "Evil Dead") while others are just too blunt and insult the audience's intelligence. Other references such as "I worked with Sam Raimi" just seem thrown in for good measure. I understand the point was to reference Campbell's past films, but it wasn't subtle at all and seemed poorly thought out.

Bruce Campbell is Bruce Campbell, so if you like him, you will like this film. That's pretty much all there is to say about that. He directed it, he stars in it and he had a strong guiding hand in the writing process. You get the best of Campbell and the worst in this film... and don't forget for every good Campbell film ("Army of Darkness") there are at least two bad films.

I had the privilege of catching a screening in Madison with Campbell himself on hand for questions and answers. This really made the experience special, but did not make me feel any better about the film. The audience generally seemed to laugh more than I did, so maybe I'm in the minority. But when Bruce answered questions, he didn't offer any reassurance that he cared much about the film... if anything, his appearance seemed to suggest he felt he couldn't sell tickets without a gimmick.

I received a DVD copy in the mail as part of my reviewing duties, and gave it a second viewing. In all fairness, I en joyed the film much more the second time, having a better sense of what sort of humor and style the film would be going for. My suggestion is this: if you're a Campbell fan, pick up a copy. If not, you'll want to see other Campbell films first to really appreciate this one. Luckily for the people who made this film, there are plenty of Bruce Campbell fans to see this one with a smile on their face.

First, my comments are based on a sneak preview of the film. I was not completed--lots of special effects were missing, the soundtrack was said to be not final, so the soundtrack (including dialogue) was not polished.

Having said all of that, and based on the reaction of the small army of Bruce Campbell fans in attendance, this is clearly a movie that every Ash fan will want to see. Without giving away more of the plot than is in the outline, an monster has been unleashed on a small town in Southern Oregon, and Bruce is enlisted by local fans to fight it. But it's Bruce, not Ash, and he does his level best to portray himself as a washed-up B movie actor with no scruples or morals worth mentioning. There's a lot that reminded me of Galaxy Quest, but with Campbellian twist, and about one-tenth the special effects budget.

The crowd couldn't stop laughing, so go see this when it's out!

I too obtained a coveted pair of tickets to MNIB....

The plot is basically what it says---a town of goobers kidnaps Bruce Campbell & pins their hopes of defeating the monster thats killing off the town members using all his B-Movie beast killing knowledge etc....Bruce thinks it's a big joke...till the Bean Curd hits the fan!! very slapstick, cornball, digs all over him self as an actor

uses his old lines in new and inventive ways "...and maybe later honey, if your lucky I'll let you look at my BoomStick!" Anyone on the inside of these jokes will get it, love it and want more.... And those hard core haters who tear films to shreds will find plenty to hack on...But they wont get any fodder from me....just trust that if your a Bruce Campbell fan....your gonna buy it, and force your unwilling friends to watch it.

It's already been said that My Name is Bruce is a movie for Bruce Campbell fans, by Bruce Campbell; and I'm going to say it again because it's true. I won't say that I'm (quite) a part of the crowd that idolises the Evil Dead star; but I am a fan of his and his mere presence is generally enough to make me want to see a movie, no matter how bad it sounds. I decided that I was going to go into My Name is Bruce and rate it solely on how good it is rather than based on the fact that Bruce Campbell is in it; and overall I certainly wasn't disappointed; as My Name is Bruce is a thoroughly entertaining and hilarious comedy horror that is sure to delight anyone that is willing to enjoy the movie for what it is (or for the fact that Bruce Campbell is in it). The film focuses on Bruce Campbell, who plays an over the top version of himself. He's down and out and tired of starring in rubbish low budget horror. Meanwhile, a young kid (who loves Bruce Campbell so much that he uses Army of Darkness quotes to pick up women, without much success) unwittingly unleashes a vengeful demon, and the townsfolk see the actor as their only means of survival.

Much of the movie's humour is focused around Bruce Campbell and the actor is certainly willing to laugh at himself. I doubt the actor in real life much resembles his character in this film; but even so, I don't think there are many Hollywood stars (or 'stars') out there that would, for example, drink liquor out of a dog bowl while playing themselves. The fact that its Bruce Campbell playing Bruce Campbell is the brunt of the movie to such an extent that the rest of it almost comes off like an afterthought; but since most fans will go into this movie wanting that; and Campbell clearly made this movie purely for those people, that was always to be expected. The monster in the movie is a Chinese demon and it really looks ridiculous, but in a fun campy sort of way. The film features plenty of death scenes; although unfortunately most of them are not particularly bloody. I have to say that the film doesn't really capture the manic style of the Evil Dead trilogy (despite featuring some lines of dialogue, actors and scenes from said films) but the film has its own style and it works well. Obviously the story has no depth at all; but it just wouldn't be proper to criticise it for things like that, and overall I have to admit that I really liked this film a lot and I'm sure that my fellow Bruce Campbell/Low budget horror fans will too.