A Million Ways To Die In The West
Starring: Seth MacFarlane, Charlize Theron, Liam Neeson, Giovanni Ribisi
Directed By: Seth MacFarlane
Reviewed by Brendan Dousi
[Rating: 2/5]
Family Guy used to be funny, right? If memory recalls, there was a juvenile charm and biting honest uniqueness to the comedy for the first few seasons that made it a show worth watching. That said, it first aired in 1999 and for all I know the juvenile brain found things amusing that the current one doesn’t and the show simply hasn’t changed at all in fifteen years. Regardless, Seth MacFarlane has made him mark and has become a strong presence in modern pop-culture comedy. From a slew of animated series, a live-action sit-com and even a reinvigoration of the beloved documentary series Cosmos, good ol’ Seth has been keeping himself very busy. However, it seems that his main, personal, focus these days is in writing, directing and now even starring in his own comedic films. With his crude-talking stuffed animal flick Ted a box-office success, Seth has decided to take another crack at translating his humour to the silver screen, this time putting himself even more front and centre in A Million Ways To Die In The West.
It’s the wild, wild west and things couldn’t be more unsafe for the average joe. People die every day in alarming numbers, be it by being set on fire at the county fair, having your head cracked open at a saloon or being attacked by rattle snakes on the walk to the out-house. Cowardly sheep farmer Albert (Seth MacFarlane) is perfectly happy dodging death by doing anything he can to avoid gunfights and public brawls with his best friend Edward (Giovanni Ribisi). Sick of his yellow-bellied ways, Albert’s girlfriend Louise (Amanda Seyfried) decides she needs some time to work on herself before almost immediately falling into the arms of the villainously moustached Foy (Neil Patrick Harris). Desperate to get Louise to fall in love with him again, Albert starts to plot ways that he can get her back, helped along the way by the mysterious new woman in town; Anna (Charlize Theron). Little does Albert know that the closer he gets to Anna, the more likely it is that he will be riddled with bullets by her nasty bandit husband Clinch (Liam Neeson).
A Million Ways To Die In The West is a decent deconstruction of the Western genre, that much is fair to say. MacFarlane and his fellow screenwriters are clearly fans of the genre and this film is as much a love letter to the westerns of old as it is a cynical and crude unravelling of them. The best comedy this film has to offer is in its humorous observations on the time and genre, bringing attention to pitfalls and circumstances and absurdities of the time period and living in such a desolate and seemingly hopeless time. Unfortunately, it seems that this is the point where the humour boils down into…uninspired. Perhaps 99% of the titular ‘million ways to die’ have been shown in trailers for months now, even if they were surprising they are still all played off in a way that just lacks tact. Jokes fly hard and fast but rarely stick, and even more rarely raise a chuckle. There were definitely members of the audience laughing, perhaps half the audience, so it is perhaps up to an individual’s taste in humour as to whether you find the majority of the comedy funny. In this case, if you find on the nose, driven-home-to-death jokes and gross-out humour your jam; all the power to you.
The film, however, is not a total bust. While Seth MacFarlane’s overly smooth face and Inspector-Gadget-esque teeth are disconcerting at first he has a level of earnestness and charm that genuinely makes you root for him, even if the humour is falling flat. The story over-all is very basic but the superb all-star supporting cast lifts the material to heights it probably doesn’t deserve. There is genuine and enjoyable chemistry between Theron and MacFarlane to keep you invested while the likes of Harris, Ribisi, Sarah Silverman and Neeson all do their best with what they’re given. It’s not a great, or even very good story, but the charisma on screen from the actors involved keep you invested and never leave you bored.
It may very well be that for half of you A Million Ways To Die In The West is right up your alley, your brand of humour and the kind of film you can really sink your teeth into. For the other half, you are probably in for a painful ride. Even if the humour doesn’t impress you, not all is lost, with a cast and premise interesting enough to make it worth accompanying that friend who really liked Ted and wants to check out the latest MacFarlane fair.
