Category: Fangoria magazine

Fangoria magazine, June 2005

On the heels of his best-selling If Chins Could Kill: Confessions of a B-Movie Actor, Bruce Campbell began teasing his fans with the idea that his next book was going to be about relationships, and would be titled Make Love the Bruce Campbell Way. Some people thought it was a joke, others probably took him all too seriously and expected a self-help book or a how-to sex manual: The Campbell Sutra. Campbell has surprised everyone by indeed writing a book called Make Love! The Bruce Campbell Way, but it’s a novel, a novel about a B-movie actor named Bruce Campbell. (To keep things clear, I will refer to the book’s author as Campbell and its lead character as Bruce.)

We know it’s fiction, because in the story Bruce has been cast in a substantial role in a big-budget film called Let’s Make Love!, also starring Renee Zellweger and Richard Gere. In order to step up to the plate and earn the respect of his famous director and A-list castmates, Bruce frantically tries to prove himself by employing Method acting techniques and making suggestions based on his lower-budget filming experiences. In the process, he stumbles into several misadventures that threaten national security, endanger his career
and involve impersonating legendary producer Robert Evans.

As the production of Let’s Make Love! inexorably falls apart, largely due to Bruce’s involvement, Campbell wonders in his lovable, self-deprecating tone if he carries the dreaded “B-movie virus”, infecting any film he stars in, inevitably bringing it down to his level. (It must affect TV shows as well, if all the jabs at Jack of All Trades are any indication.) Just as he does in person, Campbell also makes great fun of his fans, writing about characters who refer to Bruce as Ash, collect Evil Dead action figures, and continually try to get him to say, “Groovy.”

Make Love! The Bruce Campbell Way is a wholly entertaining read, peppered with numerous comical photos and graphics, which alone are worth the price of the book. I devoured it in record time and wanted more when it was over. B-movie virus or not, Campbell definitely has buckets of talent as a writer. His wise-guy personality and wry sense of humor come across loud and clear in his writing, making this a must-read for fans. And for those admirers hoping for a book with more sex, well…there is a whole sequence in which Bruce sports an erection…