Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		2.0
Audio		3.0
Extras		3.5
Overall		3.5

My Name Is Bruce Blu-ray Movie Review

This hillarious spoof on Bruce Campbell is a must-see for genre fans.

Reviewed by Martin Liebman February 3, 2009

Bruce Campbell is the greatest actor of his generation!

Cult hero and B-movie superstar Bruce Campbell, "America's Actor" (OK, maybe not), stars in My Name is Bruce, a parody film of all things B-movie and, of course, Bruce Campbell. Known for chainsaws, boom sticks, battles with the living dead, and a gargantuan chin, the star directs himself in a dead-on romp through the world of B-movie stardom. My Name is Bruce is a terrible movie, objectively, but when a film sets out to be terrible, and it unequivocally succeeds in being so, is it then above criticism? In this case, the answer is undoubtedly "yes." Made on the relative cheap and relishing every minute of it, My Name is Bruce understands its place, its audience, and most importantly, its material. The film offers everything a Bruce Campbell fan might expect of this sort of movie, and more. It's got plenty of Campbell references, comical amounts of gore, lousy yet endearing dialogue, a chainsaw, a boom stick, and, of course, Campbell being Campbell. What's not to love?

Since the movie's title just calls him "Bruce," they apparently had to guess on the last name.

Next time you unleash an ancient demon, call that Buffy chick!

While B-movie icon Bruce Campbell (Bruce Campbell, My Name is Bruce) is filming his latest goldmine, er, B-movie, entitled Cavealien 2, a quartet of trouble-making teenagers accidentally let loose the ancient Chinese demon Guan Di on their backwoods town of GoldLick, Oregon. Fortunately for GoldLick, the only teen to survive the experience is Bruce Campbell's biggest fan, Jeff (Taylor Sharpe). He travels to Campbell's place of residence, a luxurious broken down trailer (where else would the world's number one B-movie star live?), and kidnaps the superstar and returns him to GoldLick where he is met as a folk hero. Bruce believes this to be the set-up for his next movie. He plays along with the townsfolk, prepares to confront Guan Di, and even falls for Jeff's mother, Kelly (Grace Thorsen). However, when Bruce discovers that Guan Di and the danger the town finds itself in is real, he does exactly what one would expect of Bruce Campbell -- he tucks tail and runs! Now, having learned that young Jeff has become inspired to face the evil alone, Bruce must choose to dig deep and get back in the fight, or begin preparing for his close-ups in Cavealien 3 & 4.

I've heard some lame pictures in my day, but that takes the cake!

My Name is Bruce screams "B-movie" through and through, and does so passionately and with tongue planted -- no, cemented -- firmly in-cheek. Not only is it an excellent send-up on Bruce Campbell and his films, but it weaves an appropriately cheesy story cohesively together that makes sense in context but leaves plenty of room for visual gags, jokes, gore, genre references, memorable scenes, and even a sprinkling of romance to lend some credibility to the story. My Name is Bruce could have been another disastrous movie that completely forgets that, even when making parodies and B-movies, there has to be some sort of story to hold it all together. Sure, the story is completely out of left field, but so what? It gets the job done, allows for Campbell to be Campbell, and ensures that the film offers up more laughs than most any other comedy around. Genre and Campbell fans will find more to like here than the average viewer with limited Bruce Campbell and B-movie exposure, but enough of it works so as to entertain just about any potential audience member. No doubt about it, though, the film is tailor-made for people just like the character of Jeff, someone who can quote Campbell all day long, owns a copy of all his movies, and maybe even collects some Campbell-related memorabilia.

My Name Is Bruce Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Image Entertainment presents My Name is Bruce with a hit-or-miss 1080p transfer, framed inside a 1.78:1 window. This is a nice looking transfer on the surface. It's a bit soft and somewhat lacking in its presentation of fine detail in places, but it looks nice for what it is. Black levels are fine, but not overly deep or natural, coming off as slightly too bright. The graveyard scene early in the film, for example, looks all right, but is definitely lacking in the finer nuances. Colors are pleasing and bright throughout, though like the rest of the film, maybe lacking that last bit of nuance to push it over the edge and into the realm of the upper-echelon transfers. Flesh tones, too, are sufficient but not perfect. Considering the low budget nature of the film and its intention on being a B-movie through and through, detail, blacks, colors, and flesh tones are about as good as one might expect. Unfortunately, the transfer sees a tremendous amount of heavy blocking and light banding all through the movie. It's distracting at best, and bordering on unwatchable for hardcore videophiles. Fortunately, the strength of the movie is enough to overcome this shortcoming, but it is definitely a major hindrance to the transfer. There is also quite a bit of noise over the image. My Name is Bruce could have looked worse considering the low budget nature of the production, but even as it stands, the transfer is mostly disappointing.

My Name Is Bruce Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The DTS-HD MA 5.1 lossless soundtrack that accompanies My Name is Bruce manages to outclass the video presentation. This is by no means a fantastic mix, but it sounds good in all areas and offers no single glaring weakness. Dialogue is clear and robust, and music at times plays out almost like it is live, particularly the down-home acoustic Guan Di-focused folk song heard during various parts of the film. The entire soundstage is used to full effect during the action scenes with a fair amount of play from the subwoofer and rear channels. Gunshots are crisp and loud, not all that precise but fun. The track features some decent atmospherics, too; chapter seven, featuring Bruce's arrival in GoldLick, makes some good use ambient effects, including birds chirping, insects buzzing, and wind blowing. This is a blue-collar soundtrack that won't impress in any one area, but one that simply gets the job done to good effect.

My Name Is Bruce Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

My Name is Bruce features plenty of bonus materials, beginning with a 22-page color comic book included as an insert inside the Blu-ray disc case. As for the material on the actual disc, things get started with a feature-length commentary track with Actor/Director/Producer Bruce Campbell and Producer Mike Richardson. The track almost completely eliminates the sounds of the movie while the participants are speaking. Campbell and Richardson discuss shooting locations (mostly on Campbell's own property), the casting, the crew, the gags, keeping the Evil Dead references to a large minimum, and more. There is plenty here recounting the work that went into the shoot, and the track is somewhat more technical in nature than one might expect, but it is still a winner. Heart of Dorkness (480p, 1:00:02) is a fine "mockumentary" detailing he making of the film. Despite the title, the piece does play as a very good making-of piece, but with a bit of a comic edge. The piece features plenty of interview clips, beginning with a look at the genesis of the project, the shooting locations, and moves on to focus on the day-by-day creation of the film with behind-the-scenes footage and cast interviews galore.

Awkward Moments With "Kif" (480p, 1:59) features various cast members engaged in small talk. Kif's Korner (480p, 2:44) features Associate Producer Craig Sanborn showing viewers the phony movie posters and DVD artwork seen in the film. Bruce On... (480p, 4:06) features Bruce Campbell, well, being Bruce Campbell, sharing his thoughts on various, mostly inconsequential, tidbits, including film budgets, DVD extras, rap music, and more. Beyond Inside the Cave: The Making of 'Cavealien 2' (480p, 8:02) is a farcical piece that looks at the making of this "movie within a movie" and also pokes fun at all of the standard "making-of" pieces found on DVD and now Blu-ray releases. The Hard Truth (480p, 3:52) is another less-than-serious piece featuring the cast and crew discussing their thoughts on the man Bruce Campbell. Love Birds (480p, 1:07) looks at the relationship between two of the characters in the film. Also included are three galleries -- "Poster Art," "Props Art," and "Photo," and two trailers, one for My Name is Bruce (1080p, 2:19) and another for the fictitious Cavealien 2 (480p, 1:42). There are also a few "easter eggs" to be found by maneuvering around the main menu.

My Name Is Bruce Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

My Name is Bruce will make for an excellent addition to the Campbell cannon. It's almost the perfect spoof, capturing the essence of the actor, the characters he's played, and the films he's played them in. The movie is full of laughs that both fans and non-fans will appreciate. It also features plenty of gore, cheesy dialogue delivered in true B-movie fashion, and Bruce being Bruce. What's not to love? Well, the video quality accompanying the film, unfortunately. It looks good at a glance, but is hindered by an obscene amount of blocking that drags it down considerably. The audio is surprisingly efficient and entertaining, and like any good Bruce Campbell movie should, there are plenty of bonus features to dig through here. Despite a few reservations about the video quality, My Name is Bruce -- based on the strength of the film -- earns a hearty recommendation. Groovy.