"Sounds like there is some shizzle going on down there, my nizzle." - Pavel
What does one think of when they hear the name Bruce Campbell? Ususally it's anything realted to the Evil Dead franchise. Maybe Bubba Ho-tep or Burn Notice. I doubt they'll think about that Brisco County, Jr tv series, but hey. It had its fans. What I'm sure that 99% of anyone WON'T think of would be the film he directed from 2005 (and today's focus), The Man with the Screaming Brain.
Bruce Campbell plays the typical asshole businessman who's overseas in Bulgaria. While there, he is struck in the back of the head by a gypsy woman who has stolen a ring he bought for his wife. Witnessing this crime is former KGB agent and current taxi driver Yegor, who is then killed by said gypsy woman. Eventually both of their bodies end up in the lab of Dr. Ivan and his dimwitted assistant Pavel. Dr. Ivan has replaced the damaged parts of Bruce's brain with the healty parts of Yegor's. The rest of the movie is Bruce working with Yegor (who is partially in control of Bruce's body) to find the gypsy woman and get revenge, as well as Yegor falling in love with a robot that has the brain of Campbell's wife in it. Yep. You just read that.
Okay, here we go. Yes, this is as stupid as it sounds. However hear me out. Anyone who's anyone is watching this for one reason: Bruce Campbell. And he shows us why we love him: his great use of physical comedy. Bruce goes back to his Evil Dead 2 days of beating himself up, throwing himself on the ground and arguing with "himself" like a maniac. So much fun. And as fun as Bruce is, the star of the film in my opinion is Ted Raimi as Pavel. Pavel is the stupid yet lovable assistant to Dr. Ivan. He's goofy, "street wise", fun, and whatever other positive description you can think of. I 100% love him in this movie every time I see him, even when he's falling in love with his robot.
Now for the rest of the movie. First off, it's pretty fucking boring when there's no Bruce or Ted on screen. Well, hold up. Bruce himself is quite boring before he's assaulted by the gypsy as well. Some movies have a slow burn, this one takes forever to even ignite. The attempts at comedy from non-Bruce and Ted actors is DOA. It's quite a chore to get through.
Then there's the whole robot thing. Bruce Campbell's wife (whos already banged Yegor in the backseat of his taxi cab) is also killed by the gypsy woman. Pavel eventually finds her body and transfers her brain into what's basically his homemade sex doll and falls in love with her. It's dumb (and that's saying a lot with some of the ideas in this movie) and it's pulled off in a painfully unfunny way. I know it's put in to basically pad the movie for length, but man. It a horrible way to try to make the movie longer.
All in all, what do I think? Well, if you're a fan of Bruce Campbell, I say watch it at least once. You'll be brought back to the slapstick days of Evil Dead 2 and Army of Darkness. Ted Raimi is so much fun. The rest...well...have your phone near by so you can play Candy Crush or something during the boring parts. You'll probably get to level 100 by the time the movie is over. If this was an alcoholic drink, I'd say it would be Seagram's extra dry gin, taken in shots. It starts off rough. However after those first two shots,you start to have a little fun.Then you realize you've had too many shots but you keep going and you start to regret it. Finally when it's all over and you realize it wasn't worth the brief feeling of fun, it'll be the hangover you wish you never had. Bless their hearts, Bruce and Ted can only do so much.
Social media links:
Personal:
Twitter: @Movies_beer365
Facebook, Instagram. and Youtube: Hey Internet, Eric here.
Links to follow my podcasts:
2 Bearded Losers Twitter: @2_Beard_Losers
www.2BeardedLosers.com for all videos (podcasts and non-podcast related)
The Graveyard Shift (www.strangebiscuits.com/graveyard)
JayvtvUNCUT Podcast (Twitter: @Jayvtvuncutpod as well as a Facebook page).
All podcasts can be listened on all audio platforms. Enjoy. Please rate and review.