They Call Me Bruce

To answer the implied question about Australians in an earlier comment, I saw the film for what it was: a spoof comedy. I thoroughly enjoyed it as such. I didn't look for errors of continuity or consistency; that seemed rather pointless; or for any hidden meanings. I simply took the gags at face value and enjoyed them.

I would not draw any conclusions about "real" Asians from this movie; any more than you would say draw conclusions about any other nationalities from comedy movies. I guess that Woody Allen comedies would be a perfect example of how that would not work.

As for the best line, in my opinion it is:

"...and then I got run over by a Toyota. Oh, what a feeling".

Get set for all the zany fun in this hilarious comedy about an Asian immigrant that everyone calls "Bruce," because of his resemblance to the legendary Bruce Lee.

Bruce unknowingly works as cook for the mob and is duped into making deliveries of "Chinese Flour" - which is really cocaine - all across the U.S.

It's a non-stop, rollicking romp when Bruce is persuaded by a wild and crazy assortment of characters - Texas sheriffs, Vegas hookers, rival mobsters, Kung Fu Krishnas, street punks, Urban cowboys and a host of other wacky, weird people interested in "flour."

"Bruce" (Johnny Yune) is a hapless cook who just happens to work for the main mafia boss on the West Coast. But things aren't going well for the mob because of a series of drug busts by the feds. So, the boss of the West Coast named "Lil Pete" (Bill Capizzi) decides to use an unsuspecting Bruce to deliver his cocaine throughout the United States by fooling him into thinking that it is flour from China. Naturally, Bruce doesn't know any better. He also doesn't suspect that his new girlfriend, "Anita" (Pam Huntington), is a federal agent who has planted a bug on him to track his movements. Meanwhile, another mobster on the West Coast named "Big Al" (Martin Azarow) is seeking to discredit Lil Pete and has his girlfriend, "Karmen" (Margaux Hemingway) follow Bruce to inhibit his deliveries. Anyway, rather than detail the entire plot, I will just say that for a low-budget comedy, this wasn't too bad. Johnny Yune was absolutely hilarious. Unfortunately, the action scenes and everything not centered on him fell completely flat. In addition, the middle portion of the film really seemed to drag. All in all then I rate this film as about average.

First, I loved the movie. I thought it was hilarious. But then again, that was MANY years ago when I saw the movie. I miss funny movies from the 1980's, when it was easier to laugh at ourselves.

I think the dude who posted the bologna and deli comments missed the point. The movie wasn't meant to poke fun at Asians or Asian Americans. It poked fun at EVERYONE. And more specifically, everyone BUT Asian Americans, who were ignorant of all people of Asian decent. It reminds me of the line Gene Wilder had in " Blazing Saddles. " " They're common people, simple folk, people of the land... ya know? MORONS. "

Some people don't get it. Some see it as it is. And some people ( like myself ) just love the movie for nostalgia reasons. It was simple humor and funny. No one in the movie needed to curse like a sailor or shoot and kill people to entertain. TV and Movies NEED that these days. God Bless Johnny Yune wherever he may be... and thank you, sir.

I liked Johnny Yune, but it was the early 80s, and even though the likes of Bruce Lee had helped break some of the racial barriers, Yune and other Asian entertainers still wouldn't quite rocket to stardom, no matter how fun the film.

This is a pretty decent film, though there is some nudity and swearing, so it's not really a family film as such. And, as a 30 year vet of Tae Kwon Do I did borrow one or two of Yune's moves the first time I sparred. My instructor didn't think much of it (but I digress).

Drug running, mafiosos, an immigrant Asian on a quest to search for a special lady in New York. This film might have been his vehicle to stardom, but I only ever saw him in one other film after this, and that was the sequel to this very film. So, unlike the associate producer's comment in "The Canonball Run" DVD commentary track, Yune did NOT make it big, though I always appreciated his humor.

I'm not sure what else to add here. The film looks a bit old and has a slightly dated feel. And like Jackie Chan's film the martial art's sequences are typical Americanized slow and relatively un- dynamic compared to the their Asian counterparts.

The other thing is that it is a bit low budget. It doesn't have the gloss of Jackie Chan's film, largely because Yune is more of a standup comedian in spite of whatever martial arts' training he may have. Even so, for a martial arts' comedy film it's okay.

Maybe see it once and give it a shot.