A MILLION WAYS TO DIE IN THE WEST  2.3 ****

 

 

  Set in Arizona in 1882, the film stars Seth MacFarlane as Albert Stark, a mild-mannered sheep farmer living a mundane existence in the rough and tumble town of Old Stump. Stark has just lost his girlfriend (Amanda Seyfried) to a wealthy local businessman (Neil Patrick Harris), and spends his days drinking away his sorrows with his best (and seemingly only) friend Edward (Giovanni Ribisi) and his prostitute fiancée, Ruth (Sarah Silverman).Meanwhile, notorious outlaw Clinch Leatherwood (Liam Neeson) has dispatched his wife, Anna (Charlize Theron) to Old Stump to await his arrival while he and the rest of the gang pull off another stagecoach robbery. After a chance encounter during a bar fight, Theron takes an immediate liking to McFarlane, and agrees to help him win back the heart of his lost love, but fails to reveal that she’s Neeson’s wife which could cause grave consequences when Neeson shows up and finds out.

 

While the plot sounds like it could have come from any number of Western films, everything that occurs on the screen is seen through  MacFarlane's unique sense of humor (he’s also the Director). There are some funny moments but no laugh-out-loud kind… mostly just a few smiles and a few chuckles. The fact is that most of the film's humor is derived from the sort of R-rated content that MacFarlane can't get away with on television. There are only so many jokes about sex and bodily functions  that an audience can absorb before these topics stops being funny, and this film continues well past that mark. MacFarlane has proved time and again that he can write intelligent, thought-provoking comedy ( TV shows: “Family Guy” and “American Guy” and to some extent the movie ”Ted”): , but  he seems far too willing to cast that aside in favor of crude jokes and lame attempts to be offensive and shocking, just for the sake of being offensive and shocking.  

 

But, in fact, MacFarlane is the main problem because he's the one who's genuinely out of his depth. He doesn’t have a good sense of comedic timing and lacks a leading man’s charm and, thus is not capable of propping up a movie as the lead. The movie is far too long and veers off in a semi-serious direction that kills the humor.  MacFarlane assembled a good cast but largely ignores them in favor of himself (ego trip).

 

I will say the Arizona scenery is gorgeous and frequently used to the film’s credit.

Rated R for strong crude language throughout, sexual content, and some violence and drug material. |  

Also available in 3D but don’t waste your money (usually an extra $3) on it.. I did and regretted it… and almost the whole ticket price.

 

Clark