Is there a more beloved guy in the movie business than Bruce Campbell? He has been in nearly every movie that Sam Raimi has made, the Coen brothers cast him whenever they can and, goodness knows, his fans adore him -- mostly for his work in such B-movie classics as the "Evil Dead" flicks and the hilarious sendup "Bubba Ho-tep."

Campbell has made a self-deprecating homage to his own cheesy career with "My Name Is Bruce," in which he stars as a drunken, washed-up version of himself. When a Chinese demon is unleashed in a small Oregon town, the residents kidnap Campbell and enlist his pulp skills to slay the red-eyed monster.

Clearly meant as a love letter to his fans as well as to the Oregon community where Campbell makes his home, "My Name Is Bruce" is larded with in-jokes about his work, from "Moontrap" to "McHale's Navy." It's lame, corny, Ed Woodishly amateurish -- all of which is as lovable as the big lug himself. But too often Campbell, who directs from a script by Mark Verheiden, resorts to humor that isn't stupid-smart but just plain stupid. Still, Campbell fans will no doubt be won over whenever their good-natured, devilishly handsome hero sets his satirical sights on himself.

-- Ann Hornaday (Nov. 14, 2008)

Contains profanity and violence.