Movie Review: A Million Ways to Die in The West (2014)
Written by Anthony Sargon
I’m a big Seth MacFarlane fan. I love Family Guy, although I’d be lying if I said I was still keeping up with the latest episodes. While I really enjoyed Ted, I wasn’t as into it as I wanted to be, and couldn’t help but feel like MacFarlane could have done more with his directorial debut. Well, MacFarlane is back with A Million Ways to Die in the West, not only as the film’s director, but as its leading star as well. So how does his follow-up effort fare? Not too badly, actually.
Seth MacFarlane plays Albert Stark, a cowardly sheep farmer living in the American Frontier. When his girlfriend Louise (Amanda Seyfried) dumps him after he embarrasses himself in a duel, he loses the only thing that mattered to him. He eventually meets Anna (Charlize Theron), a beautiful but mysterious dame who helps him find his courage just in time for the arrival of Clinch Leatherwood (Liam Neeson), the most dangerous outlaw in the West.
I’ll be the first to admit that A Million Ways to Die in the West has its fair share of problems, but it’s also a consistently funny comedy that will have you laughing throughout its two-hour running time. If you’ve ever watched anything MacFarlane has worked on in the past, then you know exactly what kind of humor to expect, and there’s plenty of it here. Much like Ted, it can feel like an extended Family Guy episode, which isn’t a bad thing if you enjoy this brand of humor. The Wild West is picked apart here, and the results are often hilarious.
My biggest complaint about the film would be that MacFarlane is the star of the show. I love his comedy and voice work, but that doesn’t necessarily mean it translates into a solid live-action performance. His inexperience as an actor becomes more and more apparent as he shares the screen with infinitely more talented actors like Charlize Theron, Giovanni Ribisi, and Neil Patrick Harris, just to name a few.
MacFarlane also doesn’t at all feel like a guy who grew up in the West; rather more like a guy who was plucked from present-day Los Angeles and dumped there for fun. While that may be what he’s going for, it would have been more appropriate if time-travel was an element in the story. Still, it’s a testament to MacFarlane’s writing and directing ability that the film remains as funny as it is, even though it would have strongly benefited from a different actor in the lead. Some gags certainly fall flat, but it’s forgivable considering how many jokes have been crammed into this thing.
Although I was laughing till the very end, the film is easily about 20 minutes too long; some pacing issues near the film’s last half hour really began to test my patience. I thought the rest of the cast did a fantastic job, and was particularly taken by Giovanni Ribisi and Sarah Silverman, who play an extremely weird couple you won’t soon forget. Theron, Neeson, and NPH also bring their A-game, and give the film some much-needed gravitas. There are also a handful of blink-and-you’ll-miss-them cameos, so keep your eyes peeled.
The Verdict:
Funny and irreverent, A Million Ways to Die in the West manages to overcome its faults to be a solidly entertaining comedy. It most certainly won’t be half as popular as Ted, but it proves that MacFarlane has what it takes to deliver an effective summer comedy. It’s a tad self-indulgenet and would have benefited from a different lead actor, but how much does that matter when the laughs keep on coming?
Numerical Score: 7.5/10
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