Bruce Campbell
Make Love the Bruce Campbell Way (2005)
Author: Bruce Campbell
Genre: Literary Fiction (Humorous)
Plot Summary:
This semi-autobiographical novel, in which the protagonist is conveniently named Bruce Campbell, is a hilarious gutbuster about a ‘B’ movie actor who gets a shot at an A-list film. The book opens with Campbell being selected to star in the latest Mike Nichols film (director of The Graduate) with Rene Zellweger and Richard Gere. Campbell tackles the opportunity by developing a back story for his character and then working to immerse himself therein. This, naturally, leads to several comic escapades. The plot is complicated by Campbell’s “adversaries”, the Paramount production managers who feel that Campbell is dragging the production down—and, in a sense, he is. His ‘B’ movie suggestions (overblown violence, campy dialogue, etc.) are slowly incorporated into the film by Nichols—much to the shock of said Paramount executives. SPOILER: The book ends with “mission: impossible” antics as Campbell attempts to break into the Paramount studios and steal emails that will clear his name and place the blame for the “camp-ification” of the new Nichols film squarely at the feet of Campbell’s nemesis at Paramount.
Geographical Location: Los Angeles; New York; Las Vegas; Richmond, Virginia
Time Period: current day (2005)
Appeal Characteristics:
I loved this book. Not many books make me laugh out loud, but this one had me doing so from cover to cover. This book will surely appeal to fans of Bruce Campbell, star of the Evil Dead films (which were directed by Sam Raimi of Spiderman fame). There are numerous references to Evil Dead and Campbell’s early Super-8 work with Raimi. The book also offers humorous insight into the Hollywood experience, from trying to break into the big time to the technical work that goes into the productions. Campbell’s writing style makes for a quick read. It is light, but he is skilled with dialogue, and some of the funniest moments in the book take place in the context of the back-and-forth of Campbell’s characters. The book is also supplemented by many images (yes, the book has pictures!) of Campbell in an assortment of doctored photos that had me rolling on the floor laughing so hard I nearly teared up. The pace is brisk, and the focus is on the action. In fact, the book reads like a movie, and I wouldn’t be surprise if the story is optioned (then again, maybe those are just high hopes).
Read-alikes: you might also try Campbell’s first book, If Chins Could Kill: Confessions of a ‘B’ Movie Actor; American Scream: The Bill Hicks Story by Cynthia True; Agent of Evolution by Kevin Booth and Michael Bertin
Red Flags: some foul language and a bit of “blue” humor
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