Rating summary

Movie		2.5
Video		3.5
Audio		3.0
Extras		1.0
Overall		3.0

They Call Me Bruce? Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Brian Orndorf November 13, 2017

“They Call Me Bruce?” is a difficult film to understand, and perhaps it helps to be reminded that the production is from 1982, where stereotype-based humor was in its waning years, finding audiences growing tired of jokes that reinforced ugly ideas about race and foreign cultures. The screenplay strives to get in a few final hits before the window of opportunity closes, with director Elliot Hung seemingly have a ball staging this action comedy, which emerges as a purely cartoon understanding of East meets West clichés, striving to add a serious dollop of Looney Tunes to an already manic creation. “They Call Me Bruce?” isn’t a movie that’s ideal for a casual viewing, demanding an understanding of the time and place in which it was created, but for those capable of leaping over the effort’s questionable taste in jokes, perhaps there’s a wily creation in here somewhere that supplies sufficient entertainment value.

As a cook for a mafia family, “Bruce” (Johnny Yune) is content making pasta for the gang, delivering only the finest spaghetti made with special Chinese flour, winning over gangsters who enjoy making fun of him and his love for Bruce Lee. When cocaine trafficking becomes a problem for the criminals, they turn to Bruce and his indefatigable spirit to help out, tricking him into distributing drugs by packaging coke in flour bags, sending him and lackey Freddy (Raf Mauro) on the road, where they make a mess of things, dealing with hostile locals, cops, and their own ineptitude. On their trail is Federal Agent Anita (Pam Huntington), who’s using Bruce to infiltrate mafia dealings, tempting him with her sex appeal. And there’s Karmen (Margaux Hemingway), an underworld rival shadowing Bruce during his mission, trying to claim her place on top of the organized crime food chain.

“They Call Me Bruce?” is no cult comedy, doing some mild box office damage in 1982, becoming the 47th highest grossing movie of the year, positioned right above “Death Wish II” and right below “Zapped!” Not too shabby for a production with iffy creative achievements and no stars, attracting an audience through the power of silliness, offering curious filmgoers a farce with a heavy interest in pantsing the hits of the day, including “Rocky” (Bruce decides to toughen up by drinking raw eggs, only to decide to make egg foo young instead), “Saturday Night Fever,” and “The Godfather,” finding the mafia characters aware of their cinematic reflection. Honestly, I’m shocked there isn’t a “Star Wars” parody offered up here, but there is a Schlitz Malt Liquor gag involving a rampaging Chinese dragon. Perhaps that’s enough.

“They Call Me Bruce?” has a plot involving the distribution of cocaine in flour bags, but it doesn’t pay the closest attention to dramatic development. It’s a gag-centric viewing experience, bouncing around as it follows Bruce into disastrous situations, watching the mild chef who’s a wiz at preparing noodles sink deeper into trouble as he stumbles across the country. There’s trouble at home in Los Angeles that requires martial arts training, only to encounter a hothead instructor who doesn’t take kindly to Bruce’s accident-prone ways. An encounter with the cops forces Bruce to improvise, turning his nunchaku into makeshift chopsticks to avoid paying a fine. And his trip across the USA puts him in hot water with local rednecks, resulting in a bar fight and stint in jail that’s disrupted by a bag of cocaine hitting a cooling fan, getting everyone wired and forgetful. In fact, there are a lot of coke jokes in the movie, which is perhaps preferable to the writing, which is slavish to stereotype humor, with all kinds of races and cultures reduced to simple stoogery during the run time, keeping Hong busy as he orders up cringe-worthy scenes of confrontation, including one where Bruce tries to reason with members of a gang of black men using a jive translation book. Certainly it’s stupid, but most importantly, it’s a moldy bit, with “Airplane” beating “They Call Me Bruce?” to the punchline years earlier. Most of Hong’s work here carries the same sense of deja vu.

They Call Me Bruce? Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

While packaging boasts a "Brand new 2017 HD master," "They Call Me Bruce?" isn't a pretty picture to begin with. The AVC encoded image (1.78:1 aspect ratio) presentation favors softness, initially to help with flashback material, but sharpness isn't the production's goal, delivering a periodically hazy viewing experience. Clarity isn't completely removed, as certain sequences look better than others, and close-ups retain some texture. Set decoration is also available for inspection. Colors are adequate, never explosive, at their best with period costuming and bar interiors, which highlight glowing hues. Skintones are satisfactory. Delineation is decent. Source has its share of wear and tear, with the occasional splice marks and lines of damage, and speckling is present.

They Call Me Bruce? Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Also dealing with low-budget filmmaking standards is the sound, with the 2.0 DTS-HD MA mix coming through slightly muffled, challenging the clarity of dialogue exchanges as they're filtered through a multitude of accents and comedic timing. Nothing is completely lost, with one-liners defined enough to pass, but vocal sharpness is never achieved. Scoring is also dulled, but supportive with the wacky antics, seldom overpowering the performances. Sound effects are blunt and loud. Hiss carries throughout the listening event.

They Call Me Bruce? Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• A Theatrical Trailer (1:46, SD) is included.

They Call Me Bruce? Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

There are a few bright spots in the picture, with Huntington confident and bruising as Anita, while Hemingway also showcases some surprising toughness in action sequences, tossing around her co-stars. And Yune does what he can with the starring role, enjoying a chance to play as silly as possible with ancient one-liners, turning Bruce into a Borscht Belt comic who periodically has to fight his way out of a jam. Hong also handles the film's stunt work well, keeping things lively during car chases and brawls. "They Call Me Bruce?" is dated and should be viewed as a relic of the era, but even with an appropriate headspace, it's just not all that funny, cranking up dismal humor to such a degree, it tuckers out long before it's over.