Everybody’s favorite big chinned B-movie actor is back in the role he was born to play, himself. Bruce Campbell stars and directs this low-budget self-parody with mediocre results. You’d think a movie where Bruce Campbell acts like a jackass for an hour and a half would be a helluva lot of fun, but it’s only a mildly diverting piece of fluff.
In My Name is Bruce, Campbell plays himself as a drunkard, letch, and jerk. He hits on his female co-stars during the making of the riveting action thriller, Cave Aliens 2. He treats most of his fans with disdain, even giving a wheelchair-bound fan the boot. Then again, if I had to deal with the mouth-breathing freaks that infest the convention circuit nonstop, I’d be an asshole too.
Awkward Goth kid Jeff is just about the biggest Bruce Campbell fan on the planet. He finally gets the chance to meet his idol when Jeff recruits him to save the town of Gold Lick which has come under attack from the Chinese war deity (and guardian of bean curd), Guan Di. Campbell initially thinks the whole thing is a put-on and spends most of the time making fun of all the primitive screwheads and hitting on Jeff’s mom (”…a MILF’s a MILF.”). If you’ve seen Three Amigos, you get the gist of the plot as Campbell eventually summons the courage needed to save the day.
Bruce Campbell alone is almost enough to make this movie. Almost. Most of the humor just falls flat. This includes a really pathetic Brokeback Mountain reference because nobody has ever made an "I can't quit you" joke. I know they probably couldn’t afford anything better, but Guan-Di was a rather silly villain. He does little else except hack through hapless victims in typical slasher fashion and it doesn’t get any more thrilling after fifth or sixth time. I kept waiting for the Scooby Doo ending. That’s not Guan-Di. Its Old Man Winters, the creepy caretaker!
My Name is Bruce is one long in-joke for Bruce Campbell fans. Obviously, if you’re not a fan, you won’t get it. For those who are, My Name is Bruce might pass for a fun rental. However, the film suffers when Campbell isn’t on-screen. He’s charismatic enough to make the middling material work, but he deserved better.
Rating: **
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