My Name Is Bruce

Plot synopsis:
In the mining town of Gold Lick, Oregon, Jeff (Taylor Sharpe), a young fan of B movie actor Bruce Campbell, and his friend Clayton (Logan Martin) go out to a cemetery to meet two girls, Big Debbie (Ariel Badenhop) and Little Debbie (Ali Akay). Jeff removes a medallion off the mausoleum, unleashing the Chinese god of the dead, Guan Di (James Peck), who kills Clayton and the Debbies while Jeff flees.
Meanwhile, Bruce Campbell is finishing filming for the fictional Cave Alien II, and is promised a birthday surprise from his agent, Mills Toddner (Ted Raimi). Bruce meets Jeff, who kidnaps Campbell and takes him to Gold Lick in hopes that his hero can save the town from Guan Di. Upon arrival, Bruce assumes it's his birthday surprise from Mills, and thinks it's all a movie, despite a lack of cameras and a script, and agrees to "help". He learns about Guan-Di in the town's hall and during a dinner party, Bruce gets on the good side of Jeff's mother, Kelly (Grace Thorsen), who had initially been irritated by Bruce's behavior.
After gearing up at Gold Lick's gun shop, Bruce and many citizens of Gold Lick go out into the woods to take on Guan Di, which Bruce still thinks is part of a movie. Bruce then finds out that it's all real and flees Gold Lick, angering the townspeople, disappointing Kelly and upsetting Jeff. As part of a running gag, an Italian painter (also played by Ted Raimi) constantly repaints the population sign every time someone dies, including himself. Bruce returns to his caravan to find that everyone, including his own dog, hates him a lot. He has a restraining order placed upon him by his ex-wife, Cheryl (Ellen Sandweiss), and finds that his "surprise birthday present" from Mills was just a singing prostitute named Kasey (Janelle Farber). Bruce is then called by Jeff, who informs him that he's going to take on Guan Di alone in spite of Bruce's retreat.
Kasey takes Bruce back to Gold Lick, where he is treated with contempt and tries to reconcile with Kelly. To rescue Jeff, they both drive to the old cemetery, in which they set up dynamite at the mausoleum and try to lure Guan Di inside with one of Jeff's cardboard cut-outs of Bruce, which Guan Di doesn't fall for. After kissing Kelly, Bruce decides to sacrifice himself (with bean curd playing a significant role in luring Guan Di) and the dynamite is blown up. He emerges from the debris alive, and hangs the medallion back onto the mausoleum wall to ease the spirit. Guan Di then also comes back to life, and at the very last minute, it turns out the whole scenario was a movie. Bruce argues with Ted Raimi about the cliched ending and turns it into a happy ending, which involves Bruce and Kelly married, living in a nice house with their son, Jeff, who is accepted into Harvard University. After the movie ends, Bruce asks "What could be a better ending than that?", after which Guan Di appears and attacks Bruce.

Tags: cult, gothic

Review:
Before and after the show, Bruce talked a bit about how making a film in one's hometown, how great it was for him to "be able make a film and sleep in his own bed for the first time in 10 years" and that you don't need a big Hollywood studio and a big blockbuster budget to make a good movie everyone can enjoy.
Bruce takes no mercy in making fun of himself - in this film, he's a washed up, boozing, C-movie actor, who's just finalized his divorce, making horrible alien movie sequels while treating his devoted fans like crap (the scene where he kicks a fan in a wheelchair down a hill - PRICELESS - but just one of many)!
I'll have to check out a clean version to be sure.In conclusion, if you're a Bruce Campbell fan, you're going to see this movie regardless of what you read here; however, I'll save you the anxiety and say you won't be disappointed in the least.
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 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!!
Dumbs**t teenagers, whom are messing around in a graveyard built for Chinese people who mined gold in the town of Gold Lick, Oregon, unleash the Chinese war deity, Guan Di.The film then cuts to Bruce on the set of his latest movie, Cave Alien 2.
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.
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).
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..
So, we have (in)famous B-movie actor Bruce Campbell playing a parody of his real-life self who gets recruited despite himself to stop a real Chinese demon in a small hick town by people who believe he's a real hero.
Maybe it was the expectations that killed it for me, after all, I have been waiting for a full year to see it, but I did not think it was terribly funny.The plot centers around Bruce Campbell and his failed life: busted marriage, bad movies, career plummeting and, above all, being a complete jerk.
The movie IS bad, the effects ARE cheesy, he continues to be a jerk that one can't relate to much, the jokes get worse and worse and in the end, the grand finale is pretty lame.Bottom line: If you are a die hard fan of Campbell, you will probably "get it", but I really doubt many people will be amused by the movie..
From my summary it is obvious that i feel let down by this movie and by it,s creator Bruce Campbell.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.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.As a Bruce Campbell fan who has liked the majority of his work from Evil Dead to Xena,i have to say he has let his fans down with poor poor effort.If he has made half has much money has i suspect from this movie from DVD sales,and has half as much integrity as i hope he has he will plow the money into another much better movie that will deserve to have his name in the title..
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.
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.
The film had the entire audience laughing til it hurt throughout.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.The acting is pretty good throughout and the jokes will leave you rolling in the aisle.
Two teenagers, one a hardcore Bruce Campbell fan meet up with two girls in a nearby graveyard and when one inadvertently unleashes the evil spirit ,Guan-Di, that proceeds to terrorize the nearby hillbilly town, there is only one guy whom the townsfolk think can save the day: Bruce Campbell (playing a caricature of himself).
As a big fan of Bruce Campbell, I enjoyed this film and found myself having goofy fun with it.
Hell it might even win over some new converts.My Grade: B+ DVD Extras: Commentary by Director/Producer/actor Bruce Campbell & Producer Mike Richardson; an hour long Making-of documentary; 2 minutes of awkward moments with 'Kif'; around 4 minutes of Bruce on various topics; a fake trailer for Cavealien 2; a Maiking of Cavealien 2; 2 and a half minute interview with 'Kif'; 3 galleries (Poster art, Props art, & Photo); 2 deleted scenes; "My Name is Bruce" trailer; and trailers for Keith & Palo Alto 20 Easter Eggs: On the main menu, go down to special features and press left for a thought bubble over Bruce's head for a clip of Bruce laughing about the extras, and highlight the tag on the gun for Bruce blowing his nose, Now go to set-up options and highlight the i-pod device for a short scene of a conversation with a cardboard cut-out of Bruce, the chainsaw for an extremely short clip of Bruce in the kitchen & the I in Ichin for 'how the temperature is perfect'; Go to the first page of the 'sepecial features' menu & highlight the glasses for Bruce watching a tree being cut down & highlight the camera lens for a deleted scene; now onto the second page, highlight the alien's eyes for talk about editing the Making-of documentary; On the third page highlight Bruce's shirt for Bruce goofing around, & finally on the forth page highlight the hat for Ellen Sandweiss wanting more acting gigsAlso with a BIG thank you & shout out to 'Peacock-15' who informed me "If you scroll to the last page of the bonus features and hit the right arrow until the icon disappears, then hit enter, it brings up a poster for the movie.
Egomaniac and arrogant (if this was the true life Bruce, and he was scheduled for a fourth cameo in Spider-Man 4 – I vow not to see that film, although after the disappointing Spidey3) Campbell, playing himself, is called into action after a fan lives in a small town with a Chinese cursed history, blah blah, he learns to be a hero, yada yada, you get the drift.
Hoping for the intelligent and good-natured satirical humor of Campbell's books "Chins" and "Make Love", what I got instead was a rather crude and mostly unremarkable parody of modern low budget horror films.The biggest problem, I believe, lies in the way that the Bruce Campbell character is so ridiculously exaggerated as a raging egomaniac and out-of-control alcoholic.
Failing to accept the main character as being a real but comically fictionalized version of the actual Bruce Campbell means that the fundamental premise of the film is completely wasted.A Bruce Campbell fan with the proper attitude can still have a great time watching this movie.
Hm, well...).At the end of the day, this is another Bruce Campbell-vehicle saved by the presence of his charismatic leading actor, and even if the story makes no sense, the movie is still better than your average Campbell-flick (hell, I even liked it better than "Bubba Ho-tep").
Who the hell would go see a movie "directed by Bruce Campbell" after watching this waste of time?I don't know exactly who these Bruce Cambell fans are that gave this thing a good review but it doesn't seem possible that anyone would ever do that.
I hate to say it but it looks like the worst film with Bruce Campbell and he made it himself so he has no one to blame.The plot is ridiculous and I don't see how they could go about ripping off the Evil Dead to this extent with outlandish nods to Raimi's characters.
Bruce's decision to continue being in bad movies like this is almost as bad as the idea to remake the evil dead but I guess even sam raimi isn't beyond bastardizing a genre that helped make him famous for a quick buck - look at the ghost house releases - nuff said..
Perhaps he is too old, perhaps it is a lack of directing experience, perhaps it is the short running time resulting in a rushed story, but all I know is that the film may disappoint if you set your expectations too high.Bruce Campbell plays himself; a selfish, mild mannered B-movie star who hates his career.
But, for those of you who don't know, Bruce 'the chin' Campbell is primarily-known for his B-movie films and the 'Evil Dead' franchise in particular.
Since I last watched it I've also invested my time into Bruce's current project – the TV series 'Ash vs The Evil Dead.' I can't help but notice how some of the early episodes actually recycle a few jokes and situations, but that's really for a review of the TV series (which I also recommend you watch if you like your horror gory and cheeky!).So, as I first said, what you have here is a film with a real niche audience.
It's a cheap and cheerful outing which sees Campbell travelling to a hick town, where he must do battle with an ancient Chinese demon with a penchant for decapitating innocent townsfolk.Whether you enjoy this film or not depends on how much you like the star and how well you know his persona.
What is obvious is that Campbell has a great sense of humour and is willing to laugh at himself all the while.Fans will spot many familiar faces from the past (including THE EVIL DEAD's Ellen Sandweiss, INTRUDER's Dan Hicks and the ubiquitous Ted Raimi) and references to earlier movies from Campbell's career.
Had they approached this the same way Bob Sagat makes fun of "himself" in Entourage it would have been true comedy gold.The movie was a disappointment for me, I got all the jokes since I am a die-hard Campbell fan yet they still flat, but I still say hail to the King!.
Quite silly at times but with lots of laugh, you would probably have to be a fan of Bruce Campbell or at least horror movies to enjoy this too its full potential, i'm not sure if it would be everyone cup of tea.
Meanwhile, Bruce Campbell is finishing low-budget film Cave Alien 2 when he is kidnapped from his trailer by Jeff, who takes him to Goldlick to help fight off Guan-Di. Thinking it's a birthday present from his hapless agent Mills (Ted Raimi), he plays along and tries it on with Jeff's mother Kelly (Grace Thorsen), until, that is, he realises the killer is real.I really wanted to like this movie.
I'm a huge fan of Campbell and the Evil Dead (1981-1992) films, and it's an interesting idea to have the actor playing a fictionalised version of himself in a horror setting, a genre he is certainly no stranger to.
Reading some other reviews on IMDb by fellow Bruce Campbell fans, it would seem other people actually like this film.
In order to create a buffer between himself and these over-adoring followers, the star has carefully developed a reputation for being somewhat brusque when face-to-face with his devotees—requests to say 'Give me some sugar, baby' are apparently met with short shrift—and this affected animosity has since become part of the Campbell legend.In post-modern horror/comedy My Name Is Bruce, Campbell portrays himself as a highly exaggerated caricature of this obnoxious alter-ego—a wise-cracking, sexist, hard drinking jerk, quick with the quips, fast with the fillies, and mean to those who worship his every move; in the right hands, this knowingly silly slice of self-mockery could have been a lot of fun, but the wildly uneven script delivers only a few genuine laughs and zero scares (the film's demon about as frightening as your average Scooby Doo monster), while Campbell's routine direction displays little of the visual flair that one might expect from someone who has worked so closely with Sam Raimi in the past.Campbell does manage to deliver a reasonable smattering of gore, with heads lopped off left, right and centre, but that other prerequisite of any self-respecting B-movie—gratuitous female nudity—sadly goes unfulfilled, a shame because leading actress Grace Thorsen possesses a rack as fine and as mighty as Bruce's legendary chin..
The plot of "My Name Is Bruce" is fairly simple:a group of teenagers has accidentally unleashed an ancient Chinese demon named Guan-Di.The demon is killing citizens of a small town named Gold Lick.The premise of "My Name Is Bruce" is certainly fantastic:Bruce Campbell is mistaken for his on screen "Evil Dead" persona and forced into battle with a real demon.The film offers plenty of comedy and clever in-jokes,but it fails to generate any tension.Chinese creature Guan-Di is completely flat and unmenacing and his inevitable confrontation with Bruce is simply laughable.The cinematography is mediocre and the film looks cheap.Still if you are fan of Bruce Campbell you can't miss it.This guy truly is a charming horror star.6 out of 10..
I just wonder how the number one Bruce Campbell fan I know in real life would like this bit of comedy/horror.
Sure, it is more comedy than horror, but it was funny throughout.Bruce place a real trailer-trash, hard-drinking, obnoxious B-movie actor (Is her like that in real life?), and we all know what is going to happen when his number one fan Jeff (Taylor Sharpe) kidnaps him to save the town from Guan-Di.He immediately hit on Jeff's mom, Kelly (Grace Thorsen), who has the equipment to make it big in horror films.
On one wasted night, a die hard young fan of his tracks him down to his trail and takes him against his will to his home town- where they believe he's really the character he plays in his Evil Dead movies and will help them stop a demonic creature that is terrorizing them.Self parody films are quite popular at the moment, with subtle references in various new comedy films to outright mickey takes of certain individuals like this.
Just watched My Name Is Bruce.First things first, you have to be a serious Campbell fan to both 'get' and enjoy this movie.
I'm not trying to be sarcastic, that's just the way I feel.The movie itself was an okay parody, and Campbell obviously had a great deal of fun playing his "real" self.
I'm almost 30 years old and still a die hard fan of the Evil Dead films and there are all kinds of unflattering words for guys like me, but here the cheese level is just a little too thick for me.Bruce plays himself, as you know.
If you've seen the Evil Dead movie series or like Bruce Campbell even a little bit, then this one's for you.
Here Bruce Campbell plays himself who is nothing like his heroic and badass Evil Dead character Ash, instead he's a yellow-bellied couch potato coward who is a big wimp when a small town need his help to fight a monster for real.
It would have given the Campbell fans something to laugh at---Bruce reciting some of his old Evil Dead lines as Ash---"This is my boomstick"---that was what was advertised on the description of the movie, but that was not the end product.
For me that thinks his more classic movies like Evil Dead and Army of Darkness are fun to watch but don't consider myself a fan, it is not that great.
Adapted from a comic book by Dark Horse Comics, this R rated film sees B-List Movie actor Bruce Campbell being mistaken for a real-like monster hunter and forced to fight a real Chinese monster, Guan-Di in a small town in Oregon.
Overall: if you're a Bruce Campbell fan, you're going to see this movie regardless of what you read here; however, I'll save you the time and say it did has that pure id gonzo that keeps the spirit of 1980s grindhouse film mostly alive.