Get Bruce!
Get Bruce!
| 01 January 1999 (USA)
Get Bruce! Trailers

Affectionate tribute to Bruce Vilanch, who writes material for celebrities who make public appearances, from Oscar hosts and award recipients to Presidents. We meet his mom and see photos of his childhood; in Chicago, he writes for the Tribune and then heads West. Whoopi Goldberg, Billy Crystal, Robin Williams, and Bette Midler talk with him and to the camera about working with Bruce, and we also watch Bruce help others prepare for Liz Taylor's 60th, Bill Clinton's 50th, and an AIDS awards banquet where the hirsute, rotund Vilanch lets his emotions show.

Reviews
CommentsXp Best movie ever!
Hadrina The movie's neither hopeful in contrived ways, nor hopeless in different contrived ways. Somehow it manages to be wonderful
Beulah Bram A film of deceptively outspoken contemporary relevance, this is cinema at its most alert, alarming and alive.
Dana An old-fashioned movie made with new-fashioned finesse.
Syl I only saw this documentary because it was one of five films on a multi film disc that I got out of the bargain bin and this wasn't the film that I was going for. Bruce Vilanch is an openly gay comedian and writer. He writes for stars especially for the Oscar Awards ceremonies for hosts like Billy Crystal and Whoopi Goldberg. We meet his mother and learn he is adopted. He wears crazy t-shirts and has an ugly beard. I don't think he's a horrible person. He is far more open than most people were long before it was fashionable to come out of the closet. While the documentary has plenty of faults and flaws, it's enjoyable and sometimes just pointless to honor somebody like Bruce Vilanch. When you want a good comedy writer to help with the show like the Oscars, you get Bruce Vilanch to write some jokes. He has written performance pieces for Bette Midler and has been friends for decades with legendary performers. It's interesting to see his past as writing for the Brady Bunch Variety Show in the 1970s after he left Chicago to get his start in Hollywood writing.
Schlockmeister Bruce gets his due that is. This is a man many people don't even know and when they do they know him as the guy who sits in the square next to Whoopi Goldberg on "Hollywood Squares". There is a reason he is there beside some of the best comic minds in Hollywood. Bruce Vilanch is who they go to to get jokes. He is the man behind the best comic moments of the biggest events in Hollywood. This movie follows Bruce as he writes and cuts up with various celebs (the funniest parts are when they just talk in stream-of-conscious style and let the jokes come as they may.) Celebrities are interviewed and Bruce is praised as the comedy-messiah come to earth (which he is), Bruce's mother is interviewed in true Jewish mother fashion and you see where he gets his humor being raised by this lady. If you like gossipy Hollywood humor and in-jokes, you might really enjoy this movie. Recommended!
eewittme sure, get bruce is pretty funny, but it trips a bit...the film begins with the typical "bunch of people talking about the subject." this does not work. i found myself bored and thinking i was going to make a big mistake."get bruce" is at its best when it shows the subject (a guy who writes jokes for celebs) at work. the scenes where bruce is working one on one with billy crystal, whoopi goldberg, robin williams, et al, are some of the laugh-out-loud funniest things i've seen in a long time. and i don't even like robin williams.sadly, when all these portraits are done, the directors scope pans out again and tries to make general statements about the subject. here, he again fails. perhaps it would have been funnier had the filmmakers consulted bruce.six of ten
Greg-214 The whole theater laughed at this one. A peek at a comedy writer most people have never heard of. People who are incredible snobs won't like it because, after all, this guy writes jokes for the Oscars and popular entertainers.I happen to think Bette Middler is incredibly funny ... same for Robin Williams, etc. This guy works for these people and anyone who is not in the entertainment business will probably find it interesting to see how he does it, how he tailors his approach for each client, etc. But the payoff is the humor, watching the clips of his clients preparing material and doing it live.