In the sleepy Oregon town of Goldlick, a group of teenagers partying in a cemetery filled with the Chinese victims of a decades old mine implosion inadvertently release Guan-Di, the Chinese god of war. He takes immediate, and hilarious, vengeance on them, and the sole survivor is Jeff…who just happens to be the world’s largest Bruce Campbell fan. So he sets out to wrangle his hero into saving his home town before virtually everyone in it is beheaded by the pissed off entity he has unleashed.

The problem?

Well, as it turns out, this Bruce Campbell character is an odious b-movie actor, the very essence of slovenliness. He is a messy, alcoholic, would be womanizer, who, quite frankly, is not very smart. On the precipice of a career crisis, he just wrapped the sequel to the worst movie he ever made, and is facing the horrible possibility of parts three and four. His divorce is final, and his ex is jacking him up for even more alimony that he can’t afford. In the midst of all of this, he is beaned on the bean and abducted to Goldlick and enlisted to fight their monster. He goes along at first, thinking it is all a gag put on by his duplicitous agent, and runs like a pussy when the all too real carnage begins. But, since this is a hero picture, he must face his inner demons and man up to the challenge, save the town, and win the girl.

My Name is Bruce is the ultimate Bruce Campbell fanboy (and girl) geekfest. I would hasten to say that while I found it to be possibly the best movie I have ever seen, because I fall into the fanboy category, if you do not, you will spend the 86 minute runtime scratching your head, trying to figure out why the fuck everyone is laughing. The gags run fast and loose, like a frat boy’s bowels after too much tequila, and I am hoping that the next screening I catch will allow me to catch even more of them. So, in lieu of stroking off for another few paragraphs about how vital a role the works of Bruce Campbell have played in my life, and what a treat this movie is because of that, I will instead offer a little primer for the uninitiated:

1. The movie that BC is filming in the film, Cave Alien, is a joke referencing the shitty Sci-Fi channel snoozefests he has been a part of, but it is not an actual film. Every other film mentioned is real, though. Neophytes should pay attention to the exchange between Jeff and his friend at the beginning of the film: watch all the movies they mention. (Side note: on my second viewing, I noticed that Evil Dead 2: Dead by Dawn was referenced to as Death of the Dead for some reason. Probably a rights issue)

2. When BC jokes that since he made a film in Bulgaria, that he is ready for anything, he is referencing two films that he did back to back there, Alien Apocalypse and The Man with the Screaming Brain (the former an admittedly shitty film that he had to agree to in order to be allowed to direct the latter, far superior effort).

3. Ted Raimi, who is the younger brother of director Sam Raimi, does his typical triple duty in this film. For those counting, he is BC’s agent, Luigi the Italian Painter (who incongruously has “Ted” stitched onto his work shirt) and Wing, the ancient Chinese wiseass. As Bruce says in the commentary on Screaming Brain, when all else fails, cut to Ted.

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Bobby B  - I don't know, man...   |67.170.183.xxx |2008-11-11 19:34:44 ...he's one of those people who I do not get. I don't have anything against him exactly, I just don't get it. He doesn't seem to be especially talented one way or the other and it's like, people love him -- just for that. He always seems to me like he knows he's pulled the wool over everybody's eyes and he's laughing all the way to the bank. So, I couldn't quite tell by your review: if you're not a "fanboy" (still not sure what that is) or a Bruce Campbell disciple is the movie any good? It sounds like it's deliberately of "B" quality and generally when that's a choice someone has made, to not give it their best shot, I try and stay away.

Zombie Bou   |12.197.177.xxx |2008-11-11 19:53:17 I thought I was pretty clear in the review that I have utterly no idea if you would enjoy this movie if you are not already a fan. But if you put a gun to my head, I would say that you might get some enjoyment out of it, but you would not feel the need to see it a second time. It is not deliberately B-quality: you think anyone making a film doesn't want big money and big stars? No, these people wanted to make their movie their way, which necessitated having a lower budget and more unknowns. That being the case, the only thing to do is throw all your weight into embracing B-movie culture. I see no shame in that.

Zombie Boy   |SAdministrator |2008-11-11 20:06:31 I fucked up my own screen name. Excellent.

Bobby B  - Hmmm...   |67.170.183.xxx |2008-11-11 21:09:20 I don't even think big money and big stars make a movie necessarily A-list. (Did you ever see Matthew Broderick's GODZILLA? Hoo boy.) I think it's just about intention and application. I know a lot of broke-ass actors who are amazing and we all know a lot of millionaire actors who suck shit. I've seen movies where actually trying to make a good movie seemed too threatening for the film-makers so they made a "spoof" where the actors spend the whole goddamn movie winking at the audience. I'm not so much down with that. On the other hand, if anyone is leaving everything on the field I definitely have no problem with that. Take your shot, you know what I mean?

Hemingway Kat  - Bruce Who?   |70.124.77.xxx |2008-11-12 08:17:59 Just kidding. I had no idea this movie existed. I wanna see!

Angela Mac  - Holy Wet Dream!   |67.142.161.xxx |2008-11-13 13:01:29 I cannot BELIEVE they were able to procure Sandweiss for even phone interaction. After those ED1 horror stories, this alone speaks volumes of BC's charm. When Campbell climbs into the mitten, I am so there!

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