|
They Call Me Bruce?Rating:
Release Date: 29 April, 2003 Retail Price: $9.98 OUR Price: $9.98 You SAVE: $0.00! Cast: Complete Cast (5 total) |
They Call Me Bruce? Reviews
It's all about the Yune
Johnny Yune plays an affable if somewhat dim witted immigrant who inadvertently gets mixed up with the drug trafficking underworld. To say any more about the plot would be pointless as it only serves as a device to spotlight Yune's silly stand-up humor within several contrived situations.
The acting is bad and the jokes are tired but Yune's character is so likable that you can't help but root for him. He's goofy, innocent, clever and has a heart of gold.
Oddly enough, the DVD has been edited of a couple of "tiny bits" to receive a PG rating that my old Beta tape did not have. The items cut were small and unimportant, but it seems strange as what's left of the film isn't exactly inoffensive. Yes, like many films of it's time, it has plenty of politically incorrect, stereotyping humor. But it's directed at everyone and so ridiculous that it can't be taken seriously.
I like this film probably because I saw it on cable over 15 years ago where it ran over and over again and somehow etched itself into my sub consciousness. I also like it because Yune is genuinely funny and charming. You may like it if you like other tasteless and absurd 70s/80s comedies
"Do you like sushi like I like sushi?"
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
More Customer Reviews (6 total)
You like They Call Me Bruce??
|
© 2004 DVD Booty | Don't Plunder Our Cache of Booty, Matey!
Hosting Provided by Why Consolidate Debt
