If Chins Could Kill: Confessions of A B Movie Actor

Rating:
Summary: A little rough around the edges, but charming anyway
Review: Just in case my biases weren't clear up front, I'm a big fan of the Evil Dead series (Evil Dead, Evil Dead 2, and Army of Darkness) and by proxy, the gents who worked on it (the Raimi brothers and Bruce Campbell). Bruce is known as THE MAN by fans. Watch Evil Dead 2 and you'll understand.

This is not to say that everything Bruce produces is gold. Indeed, he's slogged through a lot of crap to get where he is. Unfortunately, where Bruce is at this time does not involved huge piles of money, and if the returns on Bubba Ho-Tep are any indication, it's not going to happen any time soon.

But as Bruce would say - so what? If Chins Could Kill gives us an insight into Bruce's philosophy on life and his long, hard struggle from Michigan to Hollywood and back again. I was able to identify with much of Bruce's childhood because my wife grew up in the same area and I lived there for three years. Heck, I went to Michigan State University too (where Sam and Bruce first aired "The Happy Valley Kid").

That said, this book is a breezy read, chopped into chapters only as long as they need to be. Bruce talks about his life in such a way that you suspect he's not telling you everything - certainly, most of the personal stuff is left out except for the divorce from his wife. Even that is vague. Bruce wants us to think he's a well-meaning doofus, but he seems too shrewd and committed to his craft to have just stumbled into his career.

Fans who are familiar with the Evil Dead commentaries will find some of the recollections repetitive. Yeah, we all know about the locals who stole the power saw but not the thousand-dollar camera, or the Ram-O-Cam, or the reaction fans had to Evil Dead. On the other hand, there are little gems hidden here and there, most specifically when Bruce encounters a fox (the animal) and plays with it in the afternoon sun for a few hours. That chapter seems to sum up Bruce: a good-natured fellow who is nevertheless capable of taking advantage of the right situations at the right time.

Bruce's voice comes through in the narration, sometimes so informally that it's difficult to follow. He will often reference an acquaintance without any backstory and then talk about someone else in the next sentence. There's also a lot of pictures with supposedly funny captions - they're not that funny and since they're all in black-and-white, they're all very fuzzy. On the other hand, the (we can only presume) actual emails of various fans that start of each chapter are hysterical.

When Bruce isn't talking about his life (and some of the book does talk about his life, despite Bruce's disclaimer), he talks about the movie industry in a way that's valuable and informative. Here, we learn about movie etiquette, about movie stars who suck (hint: Tom Arnold) and just how capricious the casting process is.

Finally, the book has an addendum covering Bruce's "Chins Across America" tour. As a regular convention attendee myself, this part of the book was by far the most entertaining. It's also the least edited. Still, the fans are at least as entertaining as Bruce himself, and given that Bruce has worked in a variety of genres (fantasy, horror, westerns) his fan base is quite diverse.

Ultimately, Bruce's book is like his movies - it's a little rough around the edges but charming because of it.

Rating:
Summary: One of the most entertaining reads in a long time.
Review: I am not even finished with this book yet, but I had to give it a review. I enjoy reading autobiographies of people I find interesting and this one ranks right up there with Jimmy Buffett's A Pirate Looks at Fifty. There are some slightly redundant parts and a few things that seem slightly out of order, but these issues don't distract from the readability and the hilariousness of this book. I would recommend this to any fan of Campbell's as well as to anyone just look for a good read and a good laugh.

Ok I finished it now and can say that it is still a wonderful read, great book.

Rating:
Summary: A grade F book about a B movie star
Review: I am not the kind of person to write reviews, but I feel morally obliged to get the truth out about this book.

Having seen the overwhelmingly glowing reviews of this book and being surrounded by actor friends I couldn't wait to read it. The first 3 pages (written by the editor) were funnier than any Dave Barry or David Sedaris piece I've ever read (which is why I give this 2 stars rather than 1). I *like* Bruce Campbell films, but this writing style was so deplorable, so down right annoying, so...2nd grade...that I enlisted not one but TWO friends to see if I wasn't missing something. The Amazon reviews are 5 stars; am I missing the point? They reassured me, that no, I wasn't. The book sucks. I wish to God that it didn't, but the writing is full of typos and utterly ridiculous amounts of quotes. Like this:

So I was on "the set" in Virginia getting "made up" with the weird "masks" that Sam Raimi was "forcing" us all to "wear". How "Hollywood" can ya get?

When you read this, you might think I'm exaggerating. You might even think it's cute for a sentence. After 51 chapters?

In short, it's now blindingly obvious to me that these so-called reviews are almost exclusively written by his buddies, the publisher, and his family. I pity the author that he would stoop to this level. It's the movie trailer mentality: wow them for a few seconds to get them to part with their money. Once they pay, do you care? The author nor the publisher do not, I assure you.

Don't be duped by the 5-star reviews: this book's a top-notch stinker.

Rating:
Summary: Fast, funny read
Review: I just loved this book. I read it over a period of maybe 4 or 5 nights, and I spent most of that time laughing out loud. Bruce Campbell is just a funny man who can make any story interesting (and he has a LOT of stories). I only know him from "X-Files" and "Army of Darkness", so you obviously don't have to be a hardcore fan to be entertained by this book. Buy it, you'll laugh your ... off!

Rating:
Summary: Funny as hell
Review: My finacee turned me onto Bruce Campbell and the Evil Dead movies. I bought him this book last year for Christmas and I was finally able to read it myself this past month after my fiancee highly recommended it. I love all the pictures and drawings and the captions to each of them. I really apperciate it not being a pompous actor memior and instead, it really is about the working-class actor. We know enough about his personal life to make things more autobiographical but the main point of the book is to show how a non-A lister makes it in Hollywood and how hard it is to be normal. He truly apperciates his fans and knows what it is like to be a fan. He may not be the best actor or an A-lister but at least you know if you meet him in the street, he will take the time to at least say hello and shake your cold and clammy hand and sign an Ash action figure. Great fun to read!

Rating:
Summary: If Bruce Was Ash : Confessions Of A Satisfied Reader
Review: So, Bruce Campbell has finally written his own book? Is it any good? Well, if my grade doesn't help that much to answer that question, then let me continue reviewing this book...
I've got the paperback edition here at Amazon.com simply because it incluided a lot more of content, it incluided the "Chins Across America Tour" Charpter, which tells how the autograph-signing tour around USA was. But that's only one of the many charpters here, folks!
The book tells about Bruce Campbell's life, his movies, his childhood, everything you wanted to know about this great Cult-Movie (or B-Movie) actor. One of my favorite charpters in here was "Fanalysis", but, (un)fortunately, I've already had most of the information that was in it, because Bruce has already told the whole charpter in the Fanalysis, docummentary featured on The Evil Dead: Book Of The Dead Edition DVD. Bruce often show fan's emails along the book to keep telling things, interacting with you, with the fans, telling his story, conceiling this with fan's emails.
The book itself is not focused on the Evil Dead Trilogy. If you ask me, is that good or bad? I'd answer this way. It's both. It's bad because I wanted to know ever more information about the trilogy that I didn't get from Evil Dead Companion (which is much worse than If Chins Could Kill, in all subjects; pictures, writing...), and there are not many detailed information about the movies (even though there are new information about the trilogy which were not in Evil Dead Companion), the book isn't there to tell you the Evil Dead trilogy making-of. Bruce shares almost the same informations about the movies he was in. By doing so, he tries to tell you that he's not Ash, he's Bruce Campbell, actor; he doesn't want to be remembered only as Ash, but as an actor who also worked on the Evil Dead movies. And it's good because, by doing so, not being an Evil Dead book, it's more recommendable for everyone, even those who didn't like the trilogy. So, this book is perfect for all ages (even though is has some s-words, f-words, you know all that, and they only make the book better), for all kinds of people (unless for those who don't like movies in general, those who don't like funny books, those who don't love a quick and relaxing read).
If the review above still wasn't enough to convince you to buy this book. Then, let me tell you: it's one of the greatest books I've ever read. Nothing yet? Well, how about telling you that, when I wrote this review, there were no 1/5 stars review for this book, and just one 2/5 stars review for the book. Which means 99,9% of the book readers thought this book was, atlest, good. Still not convinced? Ok, then let me tell you... This is one of the many few products at Amazon.com who have an average rating of 5/5 stars, which means, perfect book. If you're not convinced by all that, I just feel sorry for you, you'll be missing one of the best books ever written.

Rating:
Summary: The best damned book
Review: " If Chins Could Kill: Confessions of a B movie Actor is my first book, and I invite you to ride with me through the choppy waters of blue-collar Hollywood. Okay so buy the damned book already and read like the wind Best Bruce Campbell P. S. If the book sucks, at least there are gobs of pictures and they're not crammed in the middle like all those other actor books" (If chins could kill 2001by Bruce Campbell). Bruce Campbell has led an important life with the cult following of the Evil Dead movie trilogy. I enjoyed this book very much and give it 5 stars because this book is very captivating and has made me appreciate who he is and were he came from. Even though Bruce Campbell is famous he still lives and acts like a normal everyday person. Campbell's life has been interesting starting with his childhood, high school to college years, The evil dead saga and last but not least fame in the aftermath.

In his youth Campbell has been interested in acting and film. Bruce would go with his father to one of the plays that his father was in. Reading about how Campbell grew up is quite hysterical, with how his other brothers would wrestle with him and how they would take stuff out of each others rooms without asking. Also about how they built an awesome fort in a tree that took them one whole summer. All the relationships that he had in his early days and how they ended are really funny.

In high school Campbell met Sam Raimi they became friends and started tormenting each other in the hallways. Sam would trip Bruce in the hallways as he walked by trying to talk to girls. In class Sam would hit Bruce in the back to make him yell during class. In college Bruce and Sam with a few other pals made Super 8 movies. Sadly only one of them was ever popular; it was It's Murder and was played over 250 times until it died out. Later on they made other films that weren't as good.

After college Bruce and Sam wrote a script for a movie called Within the woods. Later on it was called the Evil Dead, during the making of the film. They stayed at a real cabin were I fact it was all made. Sam started experiencing with different concepts of the camera. After when Evil Dead premiered it was a big hit and everyone liked it. When the script for Evil Dead 2: Dead by Dawn was written there was money problems so the dove into their own pockets to make the film. As always it was a big hit at the box office. Army of Darkness was the third installment of the trilogy and also a big problem for the cast. As for this film it was a big hit but not as big as the other 2 were.

After the Evil Dead trilogy Campbell sought after other rolls. He played Brisco county jr., Jack in Jack of all trades, the king of thieves in Hercules and Xena. His movie rolls are quite outstanding, in Congo he was the first to die in the start of the movie, in Mchales navy he was one of the crew members that was all talk. The aftermath of the Evil Dead series was very good. His fame is world wide and is noticed every where he goes.

In the end I hope you all enjoy this book as much as I do. Campbell is married and has 2 children. He is living in California until he moved to Michigan. The start of his childhood is very funny and interesting. In high school and in college you get a feel of how his acting skills came to be. With the Evil Dead trilogy he has made a lot of success with those films. The aftermath of the Evil Dead trilogy has made him very famous and he has gotten a lot of T.V. and Movie roles because of the success he has had .

Rating:
Summary: 'Shop Smart' and buy this book!
Review: 'If Chins Could Kill' is the biography of Bruce Campbell, star of the 'Evil Dead' movie series, TV's 'Brisco County Jr.,' and more. He has a cult following owing to his wise-cracking everyman hero persona. Barry Neville, Campbell's editor, writes the humorous foreword. In the introduction, Bruce dedicates the book to "the players on the second string, the "B" people," of which he includes himself as a member. The 2002 paperback edition also includes a 39-page addendum: 'Chins Across America, The Tour,' in which Campbell discusses his book tour in 2001 for the hardcover edition.

This is the story of Campbell's career and the people behind the scenes with whom he worked. He feels it is very important to recognize the contributions of all the employees who handle the various duties required in making a movie or television series. It is obvious that Bruce wrote this book with his fans in mind, because there are stories involving most of his projects. Campbell writes in a conversational way. Included are many discussions between himself and his buddies, reminiscing about their adventures from Michigan to Tennesee, from Hollywood to New Zealand. Through most of the book he talks about his friends he grew up with and made the first 'Evil Dead' with, including Sam Raimi, who went on to produce and/or direct such mega-hits as 'Spiderman.' Throughout the book, Campbell's humor is apparent. There are photos on nearly every page that tie into the text. I loved the humorous captions!

All Bruce Campbell fans will find something to like in this book. My personal favorite is 'Brisco County Jr.,' but I found this section of the book rather short. Probably because it is my favorite I just wanted it to go on and on.

There are several typos in this book (Mr. Neville, Bruce deserves better!). I believe the addendum is a necessity, as it gives his observations on interacting with his fans, and an update on 'where are they now' for the buddies he talks about in the main part of the book.

I am a Bruce Campbell fan and, of course, my copy of this book has his signature in it advising me to 'shop smart!' If you are also a true fan, you MUST 'shop smart' and purchase this book!

Rating:
Summary: A Solid Read.
Review: I have been a fan of Bruce Campbell since Evil Dead II was released many sinister moons ago; hell, I've even rented Maniac Cop 1 and 2. So I purchased this very entertaining book with a presumption about his self-depreciating humor (which is certainly here), and his career-long struggle to make it to the coveted A-list as an actor. First off, there are many moments here that made me laugh out loud and then appreciate Mr. Campbell as a human being with flaws and wit and drive and perseverance. However, I don't see how people who know nothing of his cult films could enjoy this book as much as say, someone familiar with his past work. Not to say they wouldn't. I have read many reviews here from men and women who never even heard of Bruce Campbell. So, in summation: if you're already a fan, get this book and fly through its pages as quickly as I did; if you are new to this very funny man, then get this book and see why he has such a loyal, devoted, albeit slightly eccentric following. "Name's Ash.....Housewares."

Rating:
Summary: Bruce - The actor, the filmmaker, the B movie legend
Review: This is an autobiography from Bruce Campbell that is mostly about himself but contains huge amounts of important tips and tricks for the budding filmmaker and actor. In his younger years Bruce Campbell used to make Super 8mm movies with his friends - one of whom was Sam Raimi, who later went on to direct the box office smash "Spiderman". Before Spiderman, Bruce and Sam where spending most of their time trying to make it as movie producers/actors/directors and were reasonably successful with works like "The Evil Dead" series. Bruce painfully, and I stress painfully, recounts how hard it is to make it in the film industry. I was actually quite surprised to learn that Bruce did everything from cab driving to security guard work just to support himself as an actor - even midway through his career which already had a low budget smash hit and over two dozen pictures with his name on it.

What this book offers is lots of authenticity. Bruce is not an actor who wants to "shoot the bull" with his reader. Instead he just scribes away at the raw ins and outs of his life as an actor/director/producer and recounts his rise from boyhood prankster to B movie star which includes its fair share of bit-part sitcom paychecks and "hey is that the guy in the used-car dealer commercial?"

All in all people love Bruce Campbell because he comes across in his work as someone who seems to be having a cracking good time and wants you to enjoy yourself too. That same talent is reproduced in this book but be warned - many of you "Campbellites" will have to put up with the fact that Bruce does not just concentrate on one part of his career, or film - nor does he go into massive detail on some of his more obscure projects for the die hard-core fan. What he does do is go through everything, giving ample-campbell details on the making of The Evil Dead and the Hercules television series. I wanted more on The Evil Dead and even though the DVD of the series has running commentaries, I hope that Campbell/Raimi and Tapert conjure up some book solely devoted to that topic alone.

The book is stuffed with original pictures and there is plenty of laughter to be had between the pages. The new edition of this book has an extra chapter on the book tour which rounds up with many of the characters that Campbell spent time with throughout his career.

All in all this is an excellent insiders guide to the man himself, acting, Hollywood and making it on your own steam. If you read books about film stars, movie making and Hollywood then get this at all costs! Fans could not ask for more....

.... but we will..... encore!