Sounds like some sort of old-timey, folksy cliché: A Million Ways to Die in the West. Hyperbolic is what comes to my mind. Cholera, dysentery, starvation, drowning while your wagon attempts to ford a river. Now, I could attempt to describe the other ways in which you could die in the video game Oregon Trail but it wouldn’t come close to a million, and I think really, it just means there’s “a lot.”
My cantankerous nature aside, more than a few people do meet their maker in writer/director/actor Seth MacFarlane’s new film, set in the Arizona town of Old Stump circa 1882. MacFarlane plays a smart-ass sheep herder, with all the over-accentuated self-awareness regarding his own mortality one would expect from the creator of Family Guy and Ted. In any case, he’s just been dumped by his girlfriend (Amanda Seyfried). Despite the reassurances of his best friends, played by Giovanni Ribisi and Sarah Silverman, MacFarlane thinks losing Seyfried is the last straw and thinks a move to San Francisco may be in order – that is, until Charlize Theron shows up in town under false pretenses.
At this point, you cue the predictable romantic subplot of Theron helping MacFarlane make Seyfried jealous only to see this new friendship blossom into something even more lovey dovey. It’s sort of like a really foul-mouthed version of Just One of the Guys … only MacFarlane knows Theron’s a woman the whole time. Of course, complications arise when Theron’s husband, a notorious gunslinger (played by Liam Neeson and his particular set of skills), comes riding into town looking to reclaim his marital property.
As you can tell, plot-wise the movie doesn’t stray far from a generic formula audiences have seen time and time again. However, the people that should be attracted to a movie like this probably don’t care so much about that. It’s all about the over-the-top, often gross, and always raunchy humor for which MacFarlane is so well known. In that respect, A Million Ways to Die in the West delivers in spades. Subsequently, it’s quite easy to identify whether or not this is something you might want to see, either in theaters or once it hits the home market. If you’re a fan of MacFarlane’s previous works, you’ll enjoy the shenanigans on display here. If not, seek your comedy elsewhere.
I like MacFarlane’s sense of humor, so I found the majority of the film enjoyable, aside from a joke or two that tested my intestinal fortitude. While MacFarlane himself isn’t going to be winning any Best Actor Oscars anytime soon, he certainly understands this about himself, and the character is written to play to his strong suits. Theron was a nice casting decision, and she plays well against the almost nebbish nature of MacFarlane. Ribisi and Silverman have a couple’s dynamic that’s delightfully funny in how very screwed up it’s set up to be, and Neeson clearly enjoys playing the man in the black hat, so to speak.
Despite my potshots at the title, A Million Ways to Die in the West is apropos considering the many discussions about mortality MacFarlane and company get into over the course of the film. A few of those ways to die may even come as a bit of a shock when you see them; if only because of the surprisingly graphic manner in which they are depicted. However, the core of the movie is its irreverent humor, and it really is a no-brainer that MacFarlane fans will enjoy this trip back in time to the Wild Wild West. The proceedings could have ended about 10 to 15 minutes sooner as there’s an extra bit or two thrown in at the end that feels tacked on to ensure a few more stereotypical checkboxes are hit, but other than that, this was simply a fun time at the movies.
GRADE: B-
A Million Ways to Die in the West is rated R for strong crude and sexual content, language throughout, some violence and drug material.
