Movie review: Frontier funnies in ‘A Million Ways To Die In The West’

Difficult as it may be to imagine in this age of special effects blockbusters and corporate-mandated “event” films, there was a time when the humble Western was a surefire crowd-puller. Over the decades, however, audience familiarity with the genre’s trappings and conventions – combined with the sheer glut of titles released – spelled the end for that type of film being made.

Today, the only recent Western titles of note are postmodern takes like Clint Eastwood’s seminal, Academy Award-winning, “Unforgiven” and the Coen Brothers’ “True Grit” (based on the same book as the John Wayne classic). Even films tangentially related to the old West, such as “Wild Wild West” (featuring a slumming Kenneth Branagh), “Cowboys vs. Aliens” (featuring a slumming Harrison Ford) or “The Lone Ranger” (the film that pretty much killed Armie Hammer’s leading man aspirations), were released to abysmal receptions. Simply put, you know a genre’s in trouble when Jackie Chan’s “Shanghai Noon” stands as one of the best recent examples of a Wild West romp.

This brings us to “A Million Ways to Die in the West”, multi-talented funnyman Seth MacFarlane’s (creator of TV’s “Family Guy”) second stab at a live-action comedy film, following the runaway success of 2012’s “Ted” (currently standing as the highest-grossing R-rated film of all time). Instead of merely scripting, dubbing, and directing this time out, MacFarlane also appears as lead character Albert Stark, the least-qualified cowboy ever to eke out an existence on the wild frontier.

Mild-mannered, intelligent, and more than a little neurotic, Albert is a sheep farmer living with his parents on a sheep ranch located just outside the small town of Old Stump, Arizona. As the film opens, Albert is dumped by his longtime girlfriend, Louise (Amanda Seyfried), who has fallen for the suave charms of the mustachioed Foy (Neil Patrick Harris). As Albert tries to win back his lady love by challenging Foy to a duel, legendary outlaw Clinch Leatherwood (Liam Neeson) and his gang of murderous bandits are making their way to Old Stump rustle up some trouble. With the help and tutelage of experienced frontierswoman Anna (the ever-resplendent Charlize Theron), Albert just may make it through his duel in one piece. Unfortunately, what he may not survive is his inevitable encounter with Anna’s husband: Clinch Leatherwood.

As a film, “A Million Ways to Die in the West” is, like the aforementioned “Shanghai Noon”, cut from much the same irreverent, politically-incorrect cloth as Mel Brooks’ classic “Blazing Saddles” (1974). Where Chan, Brooks, and their cohorts sent-up Wild West stereotypes and tropes to illustrate the inherent idiocy behind racism, MacFarlane takes a more straightforward approach to satirizing the source material, attacking genre convention with maniacal glee, and it is an over-reliance on this approach that very nearly capsizes the film as a whole.

From a narrative standpoint, the film is at its ridiculous best when it drops the observational humor and forced crassness about how horrible life in the West is and just lets its characters and story carry the load. Honestly, there is enough going on here – with the main characters, the bandits, the townsfolk, and the impending duel – that we don’t need the movie’s title justified to us over and over again in dialogue, much less the shoehorned potty humor or all-too-obvious slapstick.

Fortunately, as a leading man, MacFarlane exudes a likeable charm, his natural baritone (immediately recognizable as that of “Family Guy’s” Brian) proving a surprisingly good fit for a man so clearly out of his element as to be anachronistic. Whether he’s chastising his best friend Edward (Giovanni Ribisi) over his questionable relationship with local prostitute Ruth (Sarah Silverman, wasted in a glorified cameo), or detailing –stand-up style – some of the more outlandish ways to meet one’s end in the West (smiling for pictures!), MacFarlane never outstays his welcome.

As the straight man to MacFarlane’s stooge, Theron proves a surprisingly capable comedic performer. While her Anna is just as anachronistically modern in speech and attitude as Albert, her ability to function in this world is never in question. Furthermore, Theron refrains from acting like the material is beneath her, displaying more of the natural ability to draw laughs that she’d never really utilized until 2011’s “Young Adult.”

Of the secondary cast, MacFarlane certainly knew what he was doing, filling even minor roles with an eye towards the A-list. Chief among these would be Neeson’s amusing lampoon of his “tough guy” image whilst clad in black leather and brandishing his Irish brogue with all the subtlety of a brick through a plate glass window. As Albert’s romantic rival, Foy, Harris plays his scenes as a foppish version of Barney Stinson opposite a sadly underutilized Seyfried. Much as in “Les Miserables”, Seyfried’s only function here is to look expectant and be sought after by the men around her.

Keeping with MacFarlane tradition is his penchant for penning original tunes with questionable lyrics, including the title song that plays over the end credits and one extolling the virtues and (virility) of mustachioed men. As with “Ted” (or an average episode of “Family Guy”), MacFarlane has made sure to pack “A Million Ways to Die in the West” with more pop culture nods and celebrity cameos than you can shake a stick at, including one gag that had this reviewer cheering out loud at its nostalgic audacity (you’ll know it when you see it), and a pre- (and post-) credits Easter egg to die for.

When all is said and done, “A Million Ways to Die in the West” may not quite achieve the heights of MacFarlane’s “Ted”, but there’s more than enough wit, absurdity, and all-around fun here to justify the purchase of a ticket. More significantly, as a sophomore effort, the film certainly goes a long way towards showing that there’s more to Seth MacFarlane’s creative arsenal than the pop culture cut-away gags and non-sequiturs that made him famous. — BM, GMA News

A Million Ways to Die in the West” is currently screening exclusively in Ayala Cinemas.