Movie Reviews
My Name is Bruce is a Clunky Love Letter to Fans
Greg Kaczynski |
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 I’ll cut straight to it: if you have no idea who Bruce Campbell is, if you’ve never heard of the Evil Dead movies, Maniac Cop or if you were never a big fan of TV shows like “Xena: Warrior Princess” or “Jack of All Trades,” do yourself a favor and walk away. However, if you recognize all of the titles mentioned above and know every other one there is in the Campbell library, then you might enjoy some quality time with Campbell’s new film, My Name is Bruce.
Directed and co-produced by Campbell himself, the film starts off in Gold Lick, an old mining town that is resident to an ancient Chinese god, Guan-Di, the god of war, protector of the dead and the patron god of bean curd. Yeah, it’s that kind of movie. In fact, it opens with two gentlemen (Ben and Butch McCain) singing a ballad, “Guan-Di is His Name,” on two guitars in a folksy, down-home style. Rampant corniness aside, the opening works well, as it sets audiences up for exactly what’s going to come.
In short, some teenage punks go out to the cemetery to make out and accidentally wake up the slumbering god, who then goes on a rampage, decapitating all but one of the teens. The sole survivor, Jeff (Taylor Sharpe), also happens to be Bruce Campbell’s biggest fan. This fact is hammered home perhaps a little too heavily in the opening scene where he is berated by his buddy who doesn’t understand the whole Bruce obsession; Jeff then drops a hefty “History of Bruce” lecture on his buddy, clearly cementing his “character.” Subtlety is not at play here.
Don’t expect finely crafted characters, good writing or even competent acting; My Name is Bruce is clearly fan service, drawing from the same genre pool that launched Campbell’s career. Ironically, a number of Campbell’s movies actually did have good characters and reasonable acting in them. My Name is Bruce is not one of them.
 The newly freed Guan-Di flips out and starts killing the residents of Gold Lick while Jeff tracks down and kidnaps Bruce, who he believes can save the town. The whole town believes this, too, based solely on this kid’s obsession. Gold Lick is clearly full of idiots who don’t understand the concept of film fiction.
Enter Bruce. Campbell is, as he should be, the shining star of the film. It’s clearly made for him--it’s also made by him--so it will come as no surprise that he steals every scene that he’s in with dialogue and action which very few who aren’t Campbell could pull off. As a longtime Campbell fan, it is fun to watch the man mock his own swaggering bigger-than-life persona. In Bruce, he’s a drunken jerk, plugging through awful B-movies, hitting on costars, bossing around PAs…all the while occasionally hassling his ex-wife. It’s a role tailor-made and it fits him just fine.
The remainder of the film revolves around the age-old tale of “bum discovering his true self” as Bruce insults the people of Gold Lick and saunters into a battle that he ultimately runs screaming from. In time, he realizes only he can save Gold Lick (and get the girl); he returns and the epic battle between good and evil ensues.
 Ted Raimi (brother of Evil Dead and Spider-Man director Sam Raimi) also appears, playing Bruce’s arrogant, weaselly agent, hamming it up with his long-time friend for the loyal fans. He returns later in the movie as Wing, a local Chinese man in Gold Lick. The Wing performance is half hilarious and half Mickey Rooney Breakfast at Tiffany’s level racist. I honestly don’t know what to say about Wing; a part of me feels it could’ve been handled just as well if not better by an actual Chinese actor, but part of me finds it perfectly offensively hilarious.
The problem with that, however, is that even though Campbell is a jerk throughout the film and says some nutty things, My Name is Bruce really isn’t a gross-out, offend everyone kind of movie--and that’s kind of a shame. Campbell got his start in the Evil Dead movies, and the fans are very aware of that heritage. Those films are known (and beloved) for their over-the-top gore and creativity, two things that are lacking in Bruce. While the Guan-Di song and a very funny bit later in the film involving a devil and angel Bruce are somewhat inspired, the glorious mayhem of those early films is lacking. They even use digital blood effects, the bane of any horror movie fan worth his or her salt, and I can’t imagine Sam Raimi ever resorting to that.
All of that being said, there is still a lot to enjoy in this film, not the least of which is the glut of inside jokes and references, like the much welcome cameos of Evil Dead actors Dan Hicks and Tim Quill. My Name is Bruce is a cheap thrill: cheaply made and produced, but for fans of Bruce Campbell, we’re used to it, and we’ll find the cheap bits okay and the good bits great.
My Name is Bruce is now playing exclusively at Landmark’s Nuart Theatre. Campbell will be at the Nuart Dec. 19-21 for Q & A sessions following the evening shows.
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