Bruce Campbell is a B-Movie King. His unique style has brought joy to millions of dedicated fans. His blunt and witty comedy has made just about everything he’s acted in become instant comedy gold. Most likely you have heard of him through his massive cult-hit series; Evil Dead. Who hasn’t seen Army Of Darkness? If you haven’t, you must watch it right now! Your internet overlord (me) commands it!
I decided to talk about some of Bruce Campbell’s other, lesser known projects. Bubba Ho-Tep, Jack Of All Trades, The Adventures Of Brisco County Jr. and of course his own movies My Name Is Bruce and The Man With The Screaming Brain.
Bubba Ho-tep tells the “true” story of what really happened to Elvis Presley. Elvis (played by Bruce Campbell) lives in an East Texas rest home after having switched identities with an impersonator years before his “death”. Elvis meets Jack, a fellow nursing home resident who thinks that he is actually President John F. Kennedy. The two aging icons set forth in battle with an evil ancient egytian who has risen from the dead and disrupted the once peaceful rest-home. The entire movie is riddled with classic Bruce Campbell-esque humour from start to finish. This movie is made of innuendo and corny one-liners, making a hilarious cheesefest of a comedy movie.
Next up; Jack Of All Trades. Once again, this movie is just a big lump of innuendo and one-liners. Jack Stiles (Bruce Campbell’s character) is an american spy sent by Thomas Jefferson to the tiny East Indies island of Palau-Palau where he teams up with British agent and inventor Emilia Rothschild to thwart the efforts of Napoleon and France in that region of the world. While acting as Emilia’s man-servant, Jack dons the masked garb of the legendary Daring Dragoon and fights the local French Governor as well as thwarting various other schemes against America. Sam Raimi did a wonderful job directing this with his quirky sense of humor.
Hired by local robber barons, Harvard Law Graduate Brisco County Jr. searches for the members of the infamous John Bly gang, the same men who killed his father, a famous marshal and western legend. Accompanied by his one-time rival and fellow bounty hunter Lord Bowler, Brisco rides through the West trying to bring his father’s killers to justice. Along the way, he encounters mysterious golden orbs with strange abilities and colorful characters who help or hinder his mission as he hunts down the Bly gang one by one. Brisco County Jr. is more subtle than most of Bruce Campbell’s other shows, but his style and trademark quips and expressions are all there. A good description of Brisco County Jr. is that it is like Firefly except with a scifi twist on a western world instead of a western twist on a scifi world.
In My Name Is Bruce, Bruce gets kidnapped from the set of a B horror movie and taken to a small town overrun by demons where he is forced to play the role of his movie characters. The movie is chock full of Evil Dead quotes and references. In a way it feels like Galaxy Quest with Bruce Campbell.
William Cole, a wealthy industrialist, winds up with part of his brain replaced by that of a Russian cab driver Yegor. About the only thing they have in common is the woman who murdered them both. Brought back to life by a mad scientist, William and Yegor form a bizarre team to track down their murderer. Once again this is another classic Bruce Campbell film filled with hilarity and style.
If you liked Evil Dead or even just comedy in general you should check all of these out. All, in my mind, are pure comedy gold. You can’t make a bad movie with Bruce in it.
