They Call Me Bruce?
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Movie Reviews of They Call Me Bruce?
Movie Review: Old Humor
Summary: 4 Stars
In the 80's this movie was one of my favs. As I was watching it I realized that much of the humor was tied to TV commercials that ran in those days. For example: "I was once run over by a Toyota, oh what a feeling". There are many other examples like this in the movie that people who are not familiar with the TV commercials of the day would not get at all.
If you are familiar with the 80's culture, the movie is still very funny, if not, well there are still some great laughs such as the beautiful girl at the hot tub and the alley confrontation.
Movie Review: Classic comedy
Summary: 4 Stars
This is a great movie. When it arrived, it was brand new in perfect condition. Watching this movie brought back many memories from the 80's when my cousin and I would watch it all the time (this movie was also alot easier to find in the 80s). The comedy was corny at times but always funny. They even worked some 80's TV commercials into their humor. A teenager today (or Brett) might not get all of the jokes, but would still have a great time watching this movie.Movie Review: Great Comedy
Summary: 4 Stars
A fun feel good comedy with some classic comedy scenes. Worth watching at least once.Movie Review: "Do you like sushi like I like sushi?"
Summary: 2 Stars
It's interesting how time can change one's perspective on things. Certain films, viewed again after many years, hold up well, allowing for a more mature eye to pick up on certain aspects missed during the initial viewing, finding even more enjoyment (Willie Wonka and the Chocolate Factory is a good example). Those films usually contain a timeless quality, one that doesn't deteriorate with the passage of time. Some films, on the other hand, aren't so lucky, but that's not necessarily a bad thing as they can be seen to represent the capturing of a certain period of time, allowing for a comparative look from where we were to where we are. They Call Me Bruce? (1982) sort of falls into the latter group, for me at least, as while I have fond, yet murky, memories seeing it on cable back in the early 80's, viewing it now, makes me realize that maybe this one would have been better left in the past, something not really worthy of reliving.
Someone not really worth mentioning directed this rather anemic spoof, but I will say there are four writers listed in the credits (including the star Johnny Yune), all of whom have since moved on to other aspects of the film business, obviously realizing writing wasn't their forte. The film stars the affable Johnny Yune (The Cannonball Run, They Still Call Me Bruce) and features appearances by Pam Huntington (Force Five), Raf `sometimes known as Ralph' Mauro (Beach Balls), and Margaux Hemingway (Lipstick, Double Obsession), granddaughter to the famous writer Ernest Hemingway, and sister of actress Mariel Hemingway. An interesting side note...Margaux, like her grandfather, is believed to have committed suicide in the mid-90's, some say after two failed marriages, alcohol problems, and a failed career, but her sister Mariel contends her sister didn't kill herself, but rather passed due to an epileptic seizure....but I digress...
So any way, Johnny Yune plays Bruce, a man, sent to America as a young boy, after his grandfather passes, to find a woman, his grandfather's lost love, in order that she would care for him. Bruce has a scroll describing the whereabouts of the woman, who's in New York, but he's stuck in Los Angeles, working as a cook for a local Italian mob. The mob's involved with the distribution of drugs, and has been negatively impacted by federal agencies and so they turn to Bruce, believing he has martial arts skills after he manages to foil a local robbery, conning him into delivering cocaine, believing it's a special Chinese flour. As Bruce is making the deliveries across America, eventually leading him to New York, allowing him to fulfill his grandfather's last wishes, he's hounded by various gangland elements, hitmen, and law enforcement agencies, enduring all kinds of comic mishaps and situations, eventually leading up to a meeting with the Boss of Bosses (seriously, that's what they call him in the movie), not knowing that the drugs he's carrying, which he thinks is flour, has really been switched to flour...
I, as many I think, have remembered this film kindly, but seeing it now, it seems very dated, and really not that funny. During my recent viewing, it came off as more of a curious oddity, filled with stereotypes (not really mean-spirited ones), excruciatingly lame jokes `I am a sex object...I always ask women for sex, and they object.' [insert rimshot here], and very mild slapstick comedy. Yune does possess a certain amount of charm and likeability, but the film was just so cornball it's hour and a half run time felt much longer. His character is referred to as Bruce throughout the film, in reference to Bruce Lee (only because they're both Asian), as he bumbles from one situation to another, seemingly his ignorance being his protection. The film seems more of a vehicle for Yune's bad jokes (his is a mixture between Henny Youngman and Rodney Dangerfield, but not as good), just like any of these sitcoms nowadays featuring popular comedians are created to allow the comedians to peddle their material (watch the first year of The Drew Carey Show, and see how obvious this aspect is). With the latter, there's usually time for the jokes to meld seamlessly into the stories and characters, but with a film, we don't really have that kind of time for development, so the lame jokes really stick out between the awkwardly constructed story and scenes. The one bright spot, as another has already mentioned is Pam Huntington, who started her career in 70's television commercials, appeared in a few films (this being her last) before falling off the Hollywood radar in obscurity. Her acting wasn't notable, but she's nice to look at...the other female lead, Margaux Hemingway, gave me the creeps, as she always exuded a very unnerving masculine tone due to strong physical features and a husky voice. I was never able to see the appeal in her, but many did, as she had lots of work modeling, and even a layout in Playboy once. The story just sort of rambles along, trying to develop situations for Yune to extol his corny quips `You must know kung-fu', `Yes, I stepped in some yesterday', finally coming to a rather schmaltzy end where Bruce finally finds the woman his grandfather loved.
Madacy Entertainment presents a rather shoddy full screen picture on this DVD, with plenty of flaws, but not so bad as to be unwatchable. The film has an original runtime of 87 minutes, but here it's listed at 85, suggesting a few scenes are missing. Surprisingly there are chapter stops, and special features include a theatrical trailer for the film and some sneak previews for some cruddy Madacy DVD releases including Shades (1999), Presence of Mind (1999), and Side Streets (1998). Apparently The Call Me Bruce? (1982) did well enough to warrant a sequel five years later titled, aptly enough, They Still Call Me Bruce (1987).
Cookieman108
Movie Review: They Call This A Classic?
Summary: 2 Stars
I guess to some, this over the top, slapstick comedy, from the early 80's, is the funniest thing they have ever seen. But by today's standards it's pretty lame/tame.
Bruce is a chef or something from China whose grandfather left him some words of wisdom on his death bed, so Bruce has come to America to fulfill his grandfathers wishes. Bruce's idol is Bruce Lee and he wants to be Bruce Lee... only he's a klutz and no good at anything really. He accidentally bumbles a crime in a quickie mart/convenience store and becomes a hero for 15 minutes while his boss sends him across the country delivering what he thinks is flour to people, while at the same time being hunted down by bad people and the FBI.
It sounds better then it is. It's very dated in parts. I wouldn't say I hated it, I think i just got my hopes up way too high thinking it was going to be exactly what the reviews said it would be that are printed on the cover... however, even a movie as bad as "The Slaughterhouse Massacre (Sickle)" had a raving review printed on it, so I should learn to ignore those things for good in future.
The humor is very lame in parts, some of it comes out funny, but it's pretty stupid in most parts. I got a laugh now and then out of it and there are even a few classic lines in it, but overall, only check it out if it's under $5, that's about all it's worth.. i feel ripped off for having payed more then double that.