{{Short description|1982 American action comedy film}} {{For|the 2006 film about Bruce Campbell|My Name Is Bruce}} {{Use mdy dates|date=February 2026}} {{Use American English|date=January 2025}} {{Infobox film | name = They Call Me Bruce? | image = They-call-me-bruce-movie-poster-1982.jpg | caption = Theatrical release poster | writer = David B. Randolph, Tim Clawson | starring = {{plainlist| * [[Johnny Yune]] * [[Margaux Hemingway]] * Pam Huntington * [[Raf Mauro|Ralph Mauro]] }} | director = [[Elliott Hong]] | producer = | cinematography = [[Robert Primes]] | distributor = [[Film Ventures International]] | released = {{Film date|1982}} | runtime = 87 minutes | country = United States | language = English | music = [[Tommy Vig]] | budget = | gross = $16,894,678 or $6.9 million<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://archive.org/details/americanfilmdist0000dona/page/292/mode/1up|title= American film distribution : the changing marketplace|last=Donahue|first= Suzanne Mary|year=1987 |publisher=UMI Research Press |page=292|isbn= 9780835717762}} Please note figures are for rentals in US and Canada</ref> }}
'''''They Call Me Bruce?''''' (also known as '''''They Call Me Bruce''''') is a 1982 American [[action comedy film]] directed by [[Elliott Hong]], written by David B. Randolph and starring [[Johnny Yune]] and [[Margaux Hemingway]].<ref>{{cite web|title=KOREAN COMIC IN 'THEY CALL ME BRUCE'|author=F. Shepard, Richard|date=January 16, 1983|url=https://movies.nytimes.com/movie/review?res=9C03E7D9103BF935A25752C0A965948260|work=[[The New York Times]]|access-date=February 13, 2017|archive-date=February 13, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200213023811/https://www.nytimes.com/1983/01/16/movies/korean-comic-in-they-call-me-bruce.html|url-status=live}}</ref> A [[parody]] of [[kung fu movies]], it became a [[sleeper hit]].
The film was followed by a sequel, ''[[They Still Call Me Bruce]]'' (1987), which also starred Johnny Yune.
==Plot== The film opens with a young boy running to meet his grandfather (played by Yune), who lies dying on his bed. The young boy sadly explains that he could not find the medicine required to cure his grandfather's ailment and wonders aloud who will take care of him after his grandfather dies. His dying grandfather attempts to reassure the young boy and explains that he should go to [[United States|America]]. He further explains that when he was younger and working as a [[merchant marine]], he met "the most beautiful girl" in America and tells the young boy that if he goes there, she will take very good care of him. As the young boy is asking how to find her, his grandfather dies and the film fades to black.
When it fades back in, quite some time has passed and the young boy, who is now an adult, has arrived in America and has begun working as a chef, catering to some gangsters in California. The gangsters, who call the man "Bruce" due to his resemblance to the famed [[Martial arts|martial artist]] [[Bruce Lee]], are having trouble keeping their "boss of bosses" happy and are trying to come up with the perfect solution to distributing cocaine to all of their clients throughout the United States. Some previous attempts at moving the drug have resulted in busts and the boss of bosses is not happy.
Through a series of misunderstandings, Bruce makes it into the local newspaper as a hero, having thwarted an attempted robbery at the local market. Bruce's boss, Lil' Pete, sees the newspaper and quickly devises a plan, putting Bruce in control of moving the cocaine across the country and using Freddy, a stooge associated with the drug lords, as Bruce's [[limousine]] [[chauffeur]]. He convinces Bruce (who already wants to go to New York City to find the lady of whom his grandfather spoke) that he should drive to New York, not fly, as flying would rob him of seeing the beautiful countryside. Bruce agrees, and the rest of the film follows an unknowing Bruce delivering what he thinks to be Chinese [[flour]] to associates of the gangsters across the country, and the interactions he has with the people on this trip.
==Cast== {| class="wikitable" ! Actor !! Role |- | [[Johnny Yune]] || Bruce/Grandfather |- | [[Margaux Hemingway]] || Karmen |- | [[Raf Mauro]] || Freddy |- | Pam Huntington || Anita |- | [[Martin Azarow]] || Big Al |- | Tony Brande || Boss of Bosses |- | [[Bill Capizzi]] || Lil' Pete |- | [[Harvey Vernon]] || Officer Hangten |- | Heshimu Cumbuka || Curtis |- | Bob Hannah || Officer Carp |- | [[Phil Rubenstein]] || Vito Brazzi |- | [[Howard Mann]] || Joe the Finger |- | [[Ric Mancini]] || Don Atelli |- | Lou Tiano || Bugey |- | Philip Simms || Baby Moe |- | Nick Cinardo || Restaurant Boss |- | [[Chuck Mitchell]] || Bartender |- | [[John Fujioka]] || Master |- | René Le Vant || Reverend |- | Harvey Levine || Cashier |- | Vidonne Sayre Linn || Angela |- | David McCharen || Cowboy on Horse |- | [[Corinne Bohrer]] || Cowgirl Suzie |- | Geoff Parks || Texan Bartender |- | Robert Rovin || Chemist |- |[[Reggie Montgomery (clown)|Reggie Montgomery]] |Young Black Man |}
==Releases== The film was given a [[limited release]] theatrically in the [[United States]] by [[Film Ventures International]] and [[Canada]] in November 1982. Despite never being in more than 325 theaters, the film was a surprise success and grossed $16,894,678 at the box office.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=theycallmebruce.htm|title=They Call Me Bruce|publisher=boxofficemojo.com|accessdate=2011-04-16|archive-date=2011-04-12|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110412033516/http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=theycallmebruce.htm|url-status=live}}</ref>
==Reception== [[Roger Ebert]] of ''The Chicago Sun-Times'' gave the film a mixed 2-star review. He wrote ''They Call Me Bruce?'' had a few funny scenes, but the main flaw was being "a satire of a nearly satire-proof genre. Real kung-fu movies are so implausible and so inane that it's hard to make a satire".<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/they-call-me-bruce-1983 | title=They Call Me Bruce movie review (1983) | Roger Ebert | access-date=2024-02-08 | archive-date=2024-02-08 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240208133942/https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/they-call-me-bruce-1983 | url-status=live }}</ref>
==Home video== A [[DVD]] of the film was released on April 29, 2003 by [[Madacy Entertainment]], with some minor changes. Various scenes were cut, one of which was the removal of a short scene of [[nudity]] involving a woman disrobing while Bruce is in a [[hot tub]].
A 25th-Anniversary DVD edition of ''They Call Me Bruce?'' was released on June 30, 2009, by Liberation Entertainment. The film is a high-quality transfer from a newly discovered 35 mm print, which the studio calls "pristine", and also restores the scenes that were cut from the original DVD release.
==References== {{reflist}}
==External links== *{{IMDb title|0084786}} *{{rotten tomatoes|they_call_me_bruce}}
[[Category:1982 films]] [[Category:1982 martial arts films]] [[Category:1982 action comedy films]] [[Category:1980s parody films]] [[Category:1980s martial arts comedy films]] [[Category:American action comedy films]] [[Category:Films set in California]] [[Category:Films about cocaine]] [[Category:Films about immigration to the United States]] [[Category:Fiction about immigration]] [[Category:Films about Chinese Americans]] [[Category:Films about Korean Americans]] [[Category:Cultural depictions of Bruce Lee]] [[Category:Action films about Asian Americans]] [[Category:1982 English-language films]] [[Category:1982 American films]] [[Category:Films scored by Tommy Vig]] [[Category:English-language action comedy films]]