Isn’t that . . . what’s his name?
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“What’s wrong with Bruce Campbell?” one character asks of another early on in “My Name Is Bruce.” Directed by and starring the very same Bruce Campbell, the B-list veteran best known for his work in the “Evil Dead” movies, this film sets about both having fun with and essentially answering that central question. (His talents are, shall we say, specific.)
In the film, a fan of Campbell’s kidnaps the actor to help stop an ancient Chinese demon that has been unleashed on a remote former mining depot. Self-consciously mugging his way through the film with typical aplomb, Campbell pokes at his own persona while never getting quite as wrapped up in the meta-confessional of it all as the recent Jean-Claude Van Damme vehicle “JCVD.”
Campbell’s self-knowing smirk and twinkle-eyed arched brow go only so far, however, especially when the effects are cheap and shabby, the jokes are real groaners, and the story seems woefully stretched out while still clocking in at under an hour-and-a-half.
Perhaps the best thing that can be said about “My Name Is Bruce” is that Bruce Campbell has in fact appeared in worse movies.
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‘My Name Is Bruce’
MPAA rating: R for language and some violence
Running time: 1 hour, 26 minutes
Playing: At the Nuart Theatre, 11272 Santa Monica Blvd., West Los Angeles, (310) 281-8223
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