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31 Days of Halloween: My Name Is Bruce (2007), the ultimate self parody

By Susan Leighton

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It’s Day 8 of 1428 Elm’s 31 Days of Halloween, and today we’re looking at the Bruce Campbell horror comedy flick directed by the man himself, the 2007 My Name Is Bruce.

“Next time you unleash an ancient demon, call that Buffy chick.” – Bruce Campbell

Graveyard of Love

My Name Is Bruce – Guan Di – Courtesy of Dark Horse Entertainment and Image Entertainment

When I watched My Name Is Bruce for the first time, I will be honest. I didn’t dig it. Yeah, I know hard to believe, right? However, I gave it a second chance and I fell in love. If you go into this movie with the expectation that it is Schindler’s List, you will be disappointed.

My second go around, I went in expecting a B movie within a B movie and I was totally satisfied. The film starts off with a group of teenagers wanting to make out in a graveyard. Because where else would you go when you are in high school to score?

As with every horror film involving horny kids, one of them has always got to do something stupid. In this case it is Jeff (Taylor Sharpe). Jeff just so happens to be Bruce’s number one fan. He steals an amulet from the tomb of the ancient god of death and bean curd, Guan Di (James Peck).

This pisses the deity off, so he ends up killing Jeff’s friends in gruesome ways. His buddy Clayton (Logan Martin) even loses his hand! Sound familiar? Sure, it does! Jeff ends up high tailing it out of there and going back to town.

Being Bruce Campbell

My Name is Bruce – Bruce Campbell 2 – Courtesy of Dark Horse Entertainment and Image Entertainment

At the beginning of this flick, we find him shooting the sci-fi opus, Cave Alien 2. Basically, Campbell is parodying his life and his career.  This looks suspiciously like Alien Apocalypse down to the green goo that Bruce gets creamed with when the insect like beings are meeting their demises.

Yes, it is every bit as ridiculous as it sounds. Of course, this incarnation of Bruce Campbell is an idiotic, self-centered hot mess who treats the crew on his movie like his servants. His fans are bothersome and in need of deodorant and then there is his agent Mills Toddner played by the ubiquitous Ted Raimi.

Toddner feigns interest in Bruce’s plight as a misunderstood creative genius. In order to keep his client in line, Mills tells him that he has a birthday present for him. This is designed to buoy Bruce’s spirits and for Toddner to keep his 10% coming since he is secretly banging Campbell’s ex-wife, Cheryl (Ellen Sandweiss).

Given a sense of false hope that quickly evaporates when he has to push his piece of crap car home, the drunk Campbell laments his terrible life. Once at his trailer (why is he always relegated to living in a trailer in the middle of nowhere?) he proceeds to get trashed off his ass.

In a drunken haze, he dials his ex-wife Cheryl. This entire scene is hysterically funny. When Cheryl recounts why she divorced him because he couldn’t commit to anything, Campbell replies, “So, the cheating, the boozing and the endless whining were okay?”

Hi, Mr. Campbell! I Will Be Your Abductor

My Name Is Bruce – Jeff – Courtesy of Dark Horse Entertainment – Image Entertainment

After the ill-fated phone call to his ex-wife, Campbell is disturbed by a knock on his front door. He answers it to find Jeff standing there. When asked why he is at his place at 4:30 in the morning, Jeff tells him about Guan Di and begs him for his assistance.

Bruce thinks that the kid is trying to pitch him a movie so he begins to give him instructions on how to do it properly. Then he shuts the door in Jeff’s face. Two seconds later, there is a knock on the door.

Prepared to yell at Jeff, he sees no one is there. However, he does see a shiny quarter. When he goes to pick it up, Jeff hits him over the head with a bat knocking him out.

Bruce wakes up later and he is in the trunk of a car. Jeff has kidnapped him. One excessively bumpy ride later and Campbell finds himself in the charming burb of Gold Lick, Oregon. A fun piece of trivia, the entire Gold Lick set was built on Campbell’s property.

Not thrilled with his circumstance, Bruce proceeds to treat the citizens similarly to the denizens of Army of Darkness. You can almost hear him threaten them with his boomstick. Although, he does lighten up when he sees Jeff’s mom, the comely Kelly (Grace Thorsen).

Finally, he agrees to all of this because he thinks that it is Mills’ way of playing a practical joke on him on his birthday. So, he goes along with the townspeople telling them that he will help them vanquish Guan Di who is wreaking havoc on them.

Make Love the Bruce Campbell Way

Grace Thorsen and Bruce Campbell

Bruce instantly smitten with Kelly, goes out of his way to be as obnoxious as he possibly can. She can’t stand him and he doesn’t seem to get the hint. At a party thrown in his honor at Kelly’s saloon, he tries coming on to her again but she rebuffs him.

The Mayor (Ben Cain) steps in and “suggests” that Kelly be nice to Campbell. After all, he has agreed to rescue the town. Reluctantly, she capitulates. Next thing you know, they are dancing and wrecking the joint (you have to see it to believe it) and falling in love.  Literally.

Bruce and Kelly take a moonlight stroll around town where Campbell hesitantly reveals to her that he comes on strong because he is really shy. Then he tells her that he has trouble expressing his true feelings. As they get closer to one another and it looks like they may share a tender kiss, the Mayor interrupts them. It’s time to save the town!

The Battle Cry of Retreat?

My Name Is Bruce – Townspeople – Courtesy of Dark Horse Entertainment and Image Entertainment

Once Bruce selects his weapon of choice from gun store owner, Frank (played by another Campbell close posse member, Timothy Quill) he is ready to kick some Guan Di ass. The townspeople rally behind him as they set out to find the evil deity.

As luck would have it, they stumble upon the ancient god and instead of being as brave as Ash Williams, Bruce tucks his tail between his legs and runs. He books it all the way home to his trailer.

Safe in his sanctuary, Bruce doesn’t have a moment of peace because he is met with a message from his ex-wife Cheryl that she has slapped him with a restraining order and she wants extra alimony. As if that isn’t bad enough, he gets treated to a birthday hooker, Kasey (Janelle Farber) from Mills.

Adding further insult to injury, Bruce receives a phone call from Jeff who informs him that he is going after Guan Di alone. Not wanting to seem like a total loser for leaving Gold Lick in the lurch and fearing for Jeff’s safety, Campbell asks Kasey to drive him back to town.

Holding Out for a Hero

My Name Is Bruce – Bruce Campbell – Courtesy of Dark Horse Entertainment, Image Entertainment

Will Bruce be able to save Gold Lick? Is he the one to defeat Guan Di? Can he rekindle the flame of love with Kelly? Unfortunately, I am not going to give any spoilers away. If you are a Bruce Campbell fan this film needs to be in your collection.

The Verdict

My Name Is Bruce is a fun little romp with a twist ending that is a grand homage to popular slasher films like Halloween and Friday the 13th. Campbell’s trademark wit and charm are on full display. Although he is playing Bruce Campbell, he isn’t really being himself on film. It takes talent to pull off a successful self-parody and he does this with remarkable skill.

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Mark Verheiden who happens to be the current showrunner of Ash vs Evil Dead penned the script. It is obvious that he has an ear for dialogue because he channels Campbell’s persona with a laser like precision.

Bruce is actually a solid director cutting his teeth on television shows such as Xena, Hercules and VIP. His other outing in film was SyFy channel’s Man with the Screaming Brain. It is well known that he is a font of knowledge on all things related to the filmmaking process and it shows.

Some of the performers were literally plucked from local theater and even high schools for this production. Campbell pulled some decent performances out of those actors who never stood in front of a camera before so kudos to him.

The music in this movie, particularly the song The Legend of Guan Di by the McCain Brothers is an ear worm. Trust me, this tune will live in your mind for days so get used to it!

I highly recommend this film as a fun alternative to the normal Halloween choices. You will definitely laugh and if you enjoy schlocky B movies, this is one to see.

Next: 31 Days of Halloween: Moontrap (1989) or attack of the cyborgs

Are you familiar with My Name Is Bruce? Have you seen it before? Feel free to share your thoughts and feelings in the comment section below. We want to hear from you!

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