[Movie Review] A Million Ways to Die in the West (2014)

Posted on May 30, 2014 by thegrandshuckett in Movie Reviews // 0 Comments

Plot Summary: As a cowardly farmer begins to fall for the mysterious new woman in town, he must put his new-found courage to the test when her husband, a notorious gun-slinger, announces his arrival.

Director: Seth MacFarlane

Writers: Seth MacFarlane (written by), Alec Sulkin (written by), Wellesley Wild (written by)

Runtime:

Main Cast:

Seth MacFarlane as Albert
Charlize Theron as Anna
Amanda Seyfried as Louise
Liam Neeson as Clinch
Neil Patrick Harris as Foy
Sarah Silverman as Ruth
Giovanni Ribisi as Edward

Review: by Anthony and Lee

To be honest, we were not overly excited to see A Million Ways to Die in the West, but we saw it anyway because NPH was in it.

What We Liked:

We did not really even crack a smile before Neil Patrick Harris came on the screen. He was definitely the highlight of the movie. The previews showed him dancing, so we were hoping it would be a full-on NPH musical routine. It wasn’t, so we were disappointed that NPH wasn’t singing. It was still one of the best parts of the movie, though.

Charlize Theron was alright as well. She is a good actress, and she really made her scenes bearable. The scene between her and NPH was particularly enjoyable.

Also, there were several cameos, all of which were delightful. We really enjoyed the D’Jango cameo during the credits most of all.

What We Didn’t Like:

The entire movie felt like a long, bad Family Guy episode. There were a multitude of quick jokes and sight gags that ran on too long. It was really just the typical Seth MacFarlane humor that was a problem for us. If you like his comedy, then you may enjoy the movie, but that is the only way you will really enjoy it.

Also, as a mock Western, it fell short. The set and the wardrobe both failed miserably. If they were supposed to be humorously fake-looking, they still failed.

It seemed like it was trying to be Mel Brooks’ Blazing Saddles, but it was all wrong.

It was really jarring to see MacFarlane’s 2014 style humor in the 1882 setting. There were a lot of pop culture references and things of that sort that just did not actually fit with the time period. Again, it was trying to be Blazing Saddles but failed miserably.

There was excessive cursing, which felt way out of place and forced. There were total gross-out moments, like the sheep penis or the poop in the hat, that were just unnecessary and unnerving. And, finally, it was overly offensive. The runaway slave carnival game, the asian railroad workers, the Native American tribe, and several other gags existed only to be amusingly offensive; however, again, they failed because they simply were not funny.

Summary

A Million Ways to Die in the West was a Western spoof that failed to make us laugh. Neil Patrick Harris was the highlight of the entire movie, and not even he was enough to make it worth watching.