REVIEW: My Name Is Bruce

My Name Is Bruce is a comedy/horror and yes, it’s a B-Movie. B-Movies rock. Some may lack the star pulling power of Hollywood blockbusters but there are quite a few hidden gems out there. This is one of them.

The films opens with teenagers Jeff and Clayton driving up to the local old graveyard to get laid. On the journey Clayton finds Jeff’s stash of Bruce Campbell movies: Dance Of The Dead, Maniac Cop, Moonwarp, Man With Screaming Brains, Alien Apocolypse, Cave Alien, and Bubba Ho-Tep. Clayton disses Bruce Campbell to which Jeff replies “Bruce Campbell is the greatest actor of his generation” and to get out and walk if he doesn’t like Bruce. Clayton calms Jeff down and so they continue on their journey. Clayton introduces Jeff to Little Debbie and Big Debbie. Not everything goes as planned as they explore the graveyard and discover a boarded up entrance to the old mine. Jeff pulls an object from the entrance and awakens Guan-di. Carnage shortly follows. Cut to some sci-fi scene – relax it’s our hero filming his latest movie ‘Cave-Alien 2‘. Cue lots of over the top acting and continuity errors, but that’s just done deliberately. Bruce Campbell is obnoxious to pretty much everyone and is perfect in this send-up of himself.

The film even has his old pal Ted Raimi ( the brother of Sam Raimi who gave Bruce his big break in the original version of The Evil Dead) playing his agent which is just one of three roles he has in the movie.

Our hero is approached at his home in an unkempt trailer by Jeff, who he thinks is pitching a movie and slams the door in his face. Jeff tricks him into leaving his trailer and kidnaps him. Eventually, they arrive in Gold Lick where grateful residents greet him. Bruce thinks this is all part of some big birthday surprise arranged by his agent while the residents think Bruce will save them. Soon he discovers it’s all real. Will he be the hero they believe him to be or will he be the coward he is? I’m not going to spoil that for you.

Okay, so the special effects are not up to big blockbuster standards but they weren’t meant to be. The acting is good, and there are some great set ups of comedic moments. If they had Oscars for B-Movies Bruce Campbell would win Best Actor hands down. The supporting cast is terrific from bit players to fully fledged co-stars. Grace Thorsen shines as Kelly Graham, Jeff’s mother and potential love interest for Bruce. Taylor Sharpe as Jeff Graham also puts in a good performance. One scene in particular springs to mind and that is the chainsaw scene where his face displays excellent use of visual emotion.

My Name is Bruce was filmed on location on Bruce’s property. The cast of the town is made up of local unknown actors and a few friends and even some of Bruce’s relatives. Featuring local people and actors is great because you get the down to earth feel. As a director, he has done a good job though sometimes the night shots are a little dark but watching with lights off improves this.

The plot is your standard trope of teenagers release a demon, and a hero has to save the day. There are many nods to previous Campbell movies so for Bruce Campbell fans this film is a must. It also works as a movie for people who have never heard of him.  I could watch this movie easily again and again which makes it in my opinion a hit. So grab your popcorn and invite your friends over and discover the joy of Bruce Campbell.