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My Name is Bruce

Rarely feels like more than a padded sketch
By BETSY SHERMAN  |  November 5, 2008
2.0 2.0 Stars

mynsameisbruceinside.jpg


Chisel-profiled B-movie icon Bruce Campbell struck gold not with any particular role (though he deserves hall-of-fame status as Ash in the Evil Dead movies) but by detailing his career ups and downs in a very funny memoir, If Chins Could Kill. It's in this self-depreciating vein that he approaches his second effort as director, My Name IsBruce.

Spoofing horror-hero worship, Campbell plays a seedier, schmuckier version of himself who heeds the call of a teen fan to save the fan's hick town from a vengeful ghoul (who happens to be the Chinese god of bean curd). Bruce, thinking it's a prank, hits on the boy's mom; when the monster appears, he runs "like cheap mascara."

With copious in-joke references ("groovy," "boomstick," "McHale's Navy sucked!"), deliberately tacky gore, and troubadour narration, the movie has moments of cheeseball fun but rarely feels like more than a padded sketch. It's almost worth seeing, though, to watch Ted Raimi ham it up in not just one but three roles.

86 minutes | Kendall Square

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  Topics: Reviews , Bruce Campbell , Kendall Cinema , Books ,  More more >
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