My Name is Bruce - review
I started to write this review, but I'm getting tired. I'll do this in the morning.
“Activism is a way for useless people to feel important, even if the consequences of their activism are counterproductive for those they claim to be helping and damaging to the fabric of society as a whole.” - Dr Thomas Sowell
Tease? No, I'm pretty easy.
Onto the movie review:
(I was 10-15 minutes late getting into the theater, but I know the story thanks to the one shot Dark Horse comic of the film that was released about two weeks ago.)
If you're not a fan of Bruce Campbell's you should not see this film. In fact, you can stop reading right here.
If you are a Bruce Campbell film, this film was made for you. This is Bruce's equivalent of Kevin Smith's Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back.
In the town of Goldlick, some teenagers release a Chinese demon from his imprisonment and he rewards them by killing them and terrorizing the town. The townsfolk aren't sure what to do about the problem until one of the surviving teens suggests they bring in a monster fighting expert, Bruce Campbell.
Like the aforementioned Smith film, this movie is loaded with inside jokes that only film and Campbell fans will get. There are shots at Raimi, internet fans, filmmakers, Campbell (a lot), etc. Several people make cameos, but you wouldn't know who they were unless you were a fan of Campbell's.
The movie is directed, lit, acted, and written like a B list indy film, but that's the point. The movie that keep going through my head is The Rocky Horror Picture Show.
The humor is pretty in face face ala his other films, but at times there is a subtlety beneath the more obvious jokes.
I was disappointed by a few things though:
-For one thing, the pacing was insanely fact in the second half of the movie.
-The second thing that disappointed me is the love interest storyline. The girl is a total MILF, but something was lacking. Not sure if it was her or the chemistry between them, but it wasn't working.
-The third thing is that I actually think the comic did a much better job with the "Bruce vs. ancient monster" storyline than the movie. The comic focused only on it and didn't spend time on inside jokes and back story, so while the fight played out the same way, the comic showed it in greater detail and it flowed much better. In fact, Bruce came off looking far better in the comic than in the film.
Overall, if you don't like Bruce Campbell or haven't seen most of his indy films, you'll hate the film. I cannot stress that enough. If you're curious about Campbell, this is not the film to start watching him. Go rent Evil Dead 1 & 2 and Army of Darkness, then you'll have an idea of why he's a cult star and what this film is probably about.
Although, filmmakers, actors, etc. might get a lot of the jokes related to film making even if they are not huge Campbell fans.
If you're a Campbell fan, you should love it for the jokes and the camp.
7 out of 10.
Onto the movie review:
(I was 10-15 minutes late getting into the theater, but I know the story thanks to the one shot Dark Horse comic of the film that was released about two weeks ago.)
If you're not a fan of Bruce Campbell's you should not see this film. In fact, you can stop reading right here.
If you are a Bruce Campbell film, this film was made for you. This is Bruce's equivalent of Kevin Smith's Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back.
In the town of Goldlick, some teenagers release a Chinese demon from his imprisonment and he rewards them by killing them and terrorizing the town. The townsfolk aren't sure what to do about the problem until one of the surviving teens suggests they bring in a monster fighting expert, Bruce Campbell.
Like the aforementioned Smith film, this movie is loaded with inside jokes that only film and Campbell fans will get. There are shots at Raimi, internet fans, filmmakers, Campbell (a lot), etc. Several people make cameos, but you wouldn't know who they were unless you were a fan of Campbell's.
The movie is directed, lit, acted, and written like a B list indy film, but that's the point. The movie that keep going through my head is The Rocky Horror Picture Show.
The humor is pretty in face face ala his other films, but at times there is a subtlety beneath the more obvious jokes.
I was disappointed by a few things though:
-For one thing, the pacing was insanely fact in the second half of the movie.
-The second thing that disappointed me is the love interest storyline. The girl is a total MILF, but something was lacking. Not sure if it was her or the chemistry between them, but it wasn't working.
-The third thing is that I actually think the comic did a much better job with the "Bruce vs. ancient monster" storyline than the movie. The comic focused only on it and didn't spend time on inside jokes and back story, so while the fight played out the same way, the comic showed it in greater detail and it flowed much better. In fact, Bruce came off looking far better in the comic than in the film.
Overall, if you don't like Bruce Campbell or haven't seen most of his indy films, you'll hate the film. I cannot stress that enough. If you're curious about Campbell, this is not the film to start watching him. Go rent Evil Dead 1 & 2 and Army of Darkness, then you'll have an idea of why he's a cult star and what this film is probably about.
Although, filmmakers, actors, etc. might get a lot of the jokes related to film making even if they are not huge Campbell fans.
If you're a Campbell fan, you should love it for the jokes and the camp.
7 out of 10.
“Activism is a way for useless people to feel important, even if the consequences of their activism are counterproductive for those they claim to be helping and damaging to the fabric of society as a whole.” - Dr Thomas Sowell