A Million Ways to Die in the West (2014)
2014-05-31 00:57:00
Released May 30, 2014 / Comedy, Western / R
Cook Time
1 hr 56 min
Ingredients
- Stars: Seth MacFarlane, Charlize Theron, Amanda Seyfried, Liam Neeson, Giovanni Ribisi,
- Neil Patrick Harris, Sarah Silverman
- Written by: Seth MacFarlane, Alec Sulkin
- Directed by: Seth MacFarlane
Instructions
- Seth MacFarlane directs, produces, co-writes and plays the role of the cowardly sheep farmer Albert in A Million Ways to Die in the West.
- After Albert backs out of a gunfight, his fickle girlfriend (Amanda Seyfried) leaves him for another man (Neil Patrick Harris). When a mysterious and beautiful woman (Charlize Theron) rides into town, she helps him find his courage and they begin to fall in love. But when her husband (Liam Neeson), a notorious outlaw, arrives seeking revenge, the farmer must put his newfound courage to the test.
Notes
- I really wanted to like this movie. I generally like Seth MacFarlane’s humor. I enjoy “Family Guy” and to a bigger extent “American Dad.” I thought “Ted” was very funny and just overall a good film. But I learned over the years to never go into a movie with overly high expectations. You’re only setting yourself up for disappointment. So I’d say I went into this film with very normal expectations. I figured, in terms of jokes, a few hits, a few misses, but that I’d probably enjoy it to some degree. I did not -- to any degree. Neither 90, 180 and sure as hell not 360.
- There are just so many problems with the film that it’s hard to decide where to begin. Actually, no it’s not. I’ll begin here. The movie’s not funny. Sure, there are some laughs. If you keep throwing jokes at the screen, something will eventually hit. But I expected better than that from MacFarlane. He plays this as someone whose friends have told him he was a funny guy, but then choice to test that compliment out onstage… and died. Funny in person doesn’t always translate to funny onstage (or on screen).
- Next up, the movie is just too damn long. If feels the full length of the runtime and then some. I always believed that most comedies work best around 1 hour and 40 minutes. Two hours is just too long. Did you hear that Judd Apatow? And the film’s pacing was terribly off, most likely due to the long runtime.
- And sadly, I found some of cameos to be forced and out of place. Most just didn’t play well and seemed shoehorned in. There is one in particular that I’m thinking of, but I don’t want to spoil it here. Also, it was clearly obvious they could only get Liam Neeson for a short period of time since his character awkwardly disappears for most of the film. But if that was intentional, it was a poor scripting choice. And then let me touch upon the film’s blatant overuse of cursing. I have no problem with cursing at all, but MacFarlane is only using it here for the shock value. Unfortunately for him, cursing is no longer shocking. He was clearly going for the cheap laugh. But no one was laughing.
- I do believe there was a much better film to be made here. I think the main issue is that Seth MacFarlane didn’t know what kind of movie he was making. I feel as if he threw the kitchen sink at the screen but ultimately broke it in the process. And I do think that a more tightly edited (and shorter) version could’ve possibly helped the film greatly. A lot of people attacked MacFarlane’s screen presence. I don’t think he’s bad onscreen, but he does need to relax more and not ham it up so much. He’s forcing himself to be funny in the film and it shows (badly). And his constant modern day commentary on the Old West just took me out of the film. It made me feel as though I was watching him narrate a documentary on that time period. His character was just too aware. I understand the unique style he was going for, but it didn’t work.
- I really do like Seth MacFarlane. And I hope this film serves as nothing more than a thorn in what is otherwise a very good career. I do very much look forward to seeing his future offerings.
- And on a side note, why does no one know how to use Sarah Silverman? I loved her show on Comedy Central a few years back. It was original and very funny and really showcased what she’s capable of doing. But in films, no one seems to give her the kind of material to really exhibit her comic abilities and this movie didn’t certainly do that. And I’d like to give special kudos to Charlize Theron for really giving it her all and doing a great job. And to Gilbert Gottfried for his very funny (and too short) portrayal as one of our American Presidents.
Know It All Joe http://www.knowitalljoe.com/
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Citation * The Instructions are from the Official Site for the film.