It's always a shame to see a promising auteur collapse under his own weight. Seth MacFarlane, creator of the occasionally ingenious but now mostly tiresome "Family Guy," took to live action deftly a few years ago with the hilarious Ted. His second feature as director is, sadly, a labor of love: a rare comedy-western that aims to be equally a parody of and a tribute to the classic films MacFarlane loves. But while Ted was funny, smart, and never overstayed its welcome, A Million Ways to Die in the West is repetitive, dumb, and long. When he tries, MacFarlane can be crude without being crass, hip without being too self-referential, and witty without being smug. This film represents two full hours of MacFarlane's worst habits and none of his good ones.
MacFarlane plays Albert Stark, a mouthy but cowardly sheep herder who always finds himself on the wrong end of somebody's fist. He lives in a small frontier town in the late 19th century, and he hates everything about the place and time he lives in. When his doe-eyed girlfriend (Amanda Seyfried) dumps him in favor of a handsome mustachioed shop owner (Neil Patrick Harris), he sinks further into depression. But then a gorgeous gunslinger named Anna (Charlize Theron) takes a liking to him, not revealing that she's actually married to Clinch Leatherwood (Liam Neeson), the most vicious gunfighter in the West.
MacFarlane's first mistake--and not his last--was casting himself in the lead role. It's clear what he's trying to do: the key lies within Woody Allen's early work, like Bananas and Love and Death, which placed Woody as a modern-speaking nebbish standing at a right angle to a conventional genre plot. The difference is that unlike Woody, MacFarlane doesn't have a self-deprecating bone in his body. He's always putting wisecracks and asides into his character's mouth, but in a way that makes him seem obnoxious and superior rather than charming. That the strikingly gorgeous Theron is required to fall in love with him at first sight only makes the film more awkward.
Still, Theron is a trooper. She's the best thing about the film, and should perform in comedies more often: with a better comic foil than MacFarlane to play with, she'd make an excellent straight woman. In fact, everyone in the cast who plays it straight is quite good. Neeson has some of the best scenes as the imposing villain. As Albert's wiry nemesis, Harris's big laughs rarely fall flat; the mere look of him is funnier than any of MacFarlane's labored gags.
A few moments do work. MacFarlane has a very funny Woody-esque monologue early in the film in which he runs through a laundry list of what a horrible time it is to be living. Bill Maher's cameo as a hacky square-dance comedian is spot-on. Christopher Lloyd appears in a scene that will melt the heart of everyone born in the '80s. MacFarlane's talent as a songwriter (along with composer Joel McNeely, whose score is a likable Dmitri Tiomkin soundalike) stands out with two very good songs: a fun dance number at the midpoint, and a closing-credits title song sung by Alan Jackson that has more laughs than the entire movie.
The rest of the movie drags on for two full hours. When MacFarlane tends toward the repetitively vulgar--as in a sub-plot featuring Giovanni Ribisi and his Christian prostitute girlfriend played by Sarah Silverman--the laughs wither soon. When he has the characters speak in a "meta" style, the movie suffers too. The numerous references to slavery and the massacre of the Indians are properly culturally sensitive but lazily written; he'll usually just have his characters comment flippantly on what's happening.
Some bad movies are a collaborative effort. This one is pretty much entirely MacFarlane's fault. It's not that MacFarlane is untalented, or as hackneyed as this material represents; he's done great things and will again. He will write and direct a great film again. Dare I say, he could even act again; though he's got an immensely better presence as a voice actor than as a live actor, he could be shaped into a good live performer. But he should never be allowed to direct himself in a live-action film again. Some auteurs need complete artistic freedom, but in every scene of this film MacFarlane desperately needs someone to check on him.
* 1/2 out of ****
Is it really that bad?: Yeah, for the most part it is.
Pain level: Moderate to intense, depending on whether Neeson or Harris is on screen.
Still, Theron is a trooper. She's the best thing about the film, and should perform in comedies more often: with a better comic foil than MacFarlane to play with, she'd make an excellent straight woman. In fact, everyone in the cast who plays it straight is quite good. Neeson has some of the best scenes as the imposing villain. As Albert's wiry nemesis, Harris's big laughs rarely fall flat; the mere look of him is funnier than any of MacFarlane's labored gags.
A few moments do work. MacFarlane has a very funny Woody-esque monologue early in the film in which he runs through a laundry list of what a horrible time it is to be living. Bill Maher's cameo as a hacky square-dance comedian is spot-on. Christopher Lloyd appears in a scene that will melt the heart of everyone born in the '80s. MacFarlane's talent as a songwriter (along with composer Joel McNeely, whose score is a likable Dmitri Tiomkin soundalike) stands out with two very good songs: a fun dance number at the midpoint, and a closing-credits title song sung by Alan Jackson that has more laughs than the entire movie.
The rest of the movie drags on for two full hours. When MacFarlane tends toward the repetitively vulgar--as in a sub-plot featuring Giovanni Ribisi and his Christian prostitute girlfriend played by Sarah Silverman--the laughs wither soon. When he has the characters speak in a "meta" style, the movie suffers too. The numerous references to slavery and the massacre of the Indians are properly culturally sensitive but lazily written; he'll usually just have his characters comment flippantly on what's happening.
Some bad movies are a collaborative effort. This one is pretty much entirely MacFarlane's fault. It's not that MacFarlane is untalented, or as hackneyed as this material represents; he's done great things and will again. He will write and direct a great film again. Dare I say, he could even act again; though he's got an immensely better presence as a voice actor than as a live actor, he could be shaped into a good live performer. But he should never be allowed to direct himself in a live-action film again. Some auteurs need complete artistic freedom, but in every scene of this film MacFarlane desperately needs someone to check on him.
* 1/2 out of ****
Is it really that bad?: Yeah, for the most part it is.
Pain level: Moderate to intense, depending on whether Neeson or Harris is on screen.
