A Million Ways To Die In The West

Distributor:            Universal Pictures

Year:                       2014

MPAA:                     R

Content:                 AC, AL, V

Genres:                  WES / COM

Technical:              2.35:1 (HD)

Runtime:                116 mins.

Country:                 USA

Language:             English

Budget:                  $40M

 

 

CAST

Seth MacFarlane, Charlize Theron, Amanda Seyfried, Giovanni Ribisi, Neil Patrick Harris, Sarah Silverman, Wes Studi, Rex Linn & Liam Neeson; cameos: Alex Borstein, Ralph Garman, Amick Byram, Dennis Haskins, Christopher Lloyd, Gilbert Gottfried, Ewan MacGregor, John Michael Higgins, Ryan Reynolds & Jamie Foxx

 

CREDITS

Director: Seth MacFarlane; Screenwriters: Seth MacFarlane, Alec Sulkin & Wellesley Wild; Producers: Scott Stuber & Jason Clark; Director Of Photography: Michael Barrett; Production Designer: Stephen Lineweaver; Editor: Jeff Freeman; Costume Designer: Cindy Evans; Music Composer: Joel McNeely

 

BRIEF SYNOPSIS

1882: Old Stump, Arizona. The wild, Wild West is a dangerous place—especially for the milquetoast sheep farmer Albert Stark (MacFarlane)—who just lost his snooty girlfriend Louise (Seyfried)–after chickening out of a duel—to debonair mustache store proprietor Foy (Harris). Deciding to leave Old Stump for San Francisco, he is convinced to stay by his best friend Edward (Ribisi) and his prostitute girlfriend Ruth (Silverman)—who won’t sleep with Edward till they are properly married!

Elsewhere, dastardly bandit Clinch Leatherwood (Neeson) sends his beautiful wife Anna (Theron) into Old Stump while he and his goons hide out from the law. Albert ends up saving her life during a ballroom brawl—thus developing a friendship that eventually deepens. Especially when she (a crack shot) trains Albert to shoot guns when he challenges Foy to a duel in a misguided effort to win Louise back. Albert will need all the training he can get when Clinch finally rolls into town…

 

THE (mini) REVIEW

Family Guy über-meister Seth MacFarlane’s comedic western A MILLION WAYS TO DIE IN THE WEST is amusing, but ultimately fails to transcend classic genre movies like Ted Post’s Hang ‘Em High (1968) and Mel Brook’s masterpiece Blazing Saddles (1974). I bring those films up because—per MacFarlane (via the production notes)—those were among two movies that inspired he and his merry band of writers (Family Guy alumni Sulkin & Wild). Apparently, so did moustaches and songs about them (thanks, Stephen Foster!).

Saddled (excuse the pun) with a dormant genre (the Western—although it got a workout in last year’s entertaining-but-painful misfire The Tonto Movie—err, The Lone Ranger) and more clichés than a tumbleweed kegger, MILLION WAYS goes for broke in a pedestrian screenplay where most of the best jokes are shown in the freakin’ trailer! Sad, as he (and the others) is responsible for not only TV’s randy Family Guy, but also the hysterical Ted (2012). I give MacFarlane credit for trying to skewer this most American of genres—but Brooks did it better—as did director Burt Kennedy before him with the James Garner classics Support Your Local Sheriff! (1969) & Support Your Local Gunfighter (1971).

To be fair, MILLION WAYS has plenty of throwaway R-rated gags—and a terrific mid-movie dance number (thanks again, Stephen Foster!) and MacFarlane the director certainly knows where to place the camera—and how to get what he wants out of his game cast. I loved the stunning Charlize Theron—bringing moxie and empathy to her role. Neil Patrick Harris continues to amuse in his role as the fey Foy (tongue-twister anyone?) while Ribisi continues his quirky character shtick. He is abetted by comedienne Sarah Silverman—charmingly less annoying here than usual. The lovely Amanda Seyfried plays a rather unpleasant character—begging the question: why would the nice Albert want to stay with such a bitch?

And what can I say about Liam Neeson? Taking time out from shooting Eurotrash villains, the imposing Neeson gets to play a real bad guy (with a Northern Ireland accent, natch—research your Family Guy history to see why). Throw in plenty of great cameos—see above—and there is some hope left for a decent time-filler. MacFarlane’s one casting mistake: putting himself in the main role (shades of the multi-hyphenate Charles Chaplin, perhaps?). His smirking, self-aware, hipster, character pulls us out of the story proper, and thanks to that great voice of his—reminds me that Peter Griffith & Brian are still with us…even in the Old West!

Production values on this $40 million production (boxofficemojo.com) are solid across the board—and the movie’s equalizer. MILLION WAYS was produced in New Mexico and benefits from terrific (but surprisingly clean) genre sets courtesy of production designer Stephen J. Lineweaver (Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls, Jerry Maguire, Blades Of Glory, Ted) and old-school cowboy leather & old-style lace costumes by veteran designer Cindy Evans (Memento, Along Came Polly, Red Riding Hood, Savages). Smooth cutting is courtesy of veteran editor Jeff Freeman (The Craft, Cruel Intentions, Paul Blart: Mall Cop, Ted)—though this comedy probably wears out its welcome after 100 minutes or so.  And I also enjoyed the rousing genre score by veteran composer Joel McNeely (Squanto: A Warrior’s Tale, Soldier, Virus).

MILLION WAYS was lensed digitally (via the Sony CineAlta PMW-F55 camera system) by veteran cinematographer Michael Barrett (Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, You Don’t Mess With The Zohan, Zookeeper, Ted). The movie exhibits clean, HD-widescreen lensing that takes advantage of plenty of daytime exteriors (the Sun—ya beautiful key light, you…). My only problem here is that the filmmakers (who wanted to do an homage to the classic Westerns) chose to shoot digitally instead of on 35mm film. Why?

Film would have given this movie much more texture and (at the very least) have earned more accolades in the technical facets. Not convinced? Well, the two greatest non-Sergio Leone Westerns since John Ford hung up his spurs & megaphone (his last Western was 1964’s Cheyenne Autumn) are the aforementioned Blazing Saddles (1974) and the Kevin Jarre/Kurt Russell/George P. Cosmatos masterpiece Tombstone (1993). Know what they have in common? Both were filmed on 35mm film using the PANAVISION^® scope format; see how handsome those films came out? Exactly.

All told, MILLION WAYS falls a bit flat…earning amused groans and eye rolls instead of belly-busting guffaws. It’s amazing how farting cowboys and politically incorrect attitudes were funnier back in the 1970s than they are today. But then again, that other movie had Harvey Korman and company. Here, we’re left stroking our collective moustaches and wondering what could have been—wait, never mind that shit…here comes Mongo!!

 

 

 

 

IMDB:                    http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2557490/

Wikipedia:             http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Million_Ways_to_Die_in_the_West

Official Site:          http://www.amillionways.com