This raunchy summer comedy toots its western horn “from the guys who brought you Ted” which one would suspect is a good thing, though Ted starts out positive to an eventual decline, whereas this film starts out slow to a positive build. Together, they’d make the perfect movie.
In this western satire, it’s clear that Seth MacFarlane is the Mel Brooks of this generation’s Blazing Saddles, but he seems to almost know it/think it, and somehow, despite his mischievous and bratty sense of self, gets away with it much like his teddy bear in Ted. But alas, does he have audience appeal as just himself and not the voice of a character (think of Family Guy, too)? Answer: Yes. At a certain point when he’s knee-deep in one of innocent-faced crisis, he’s reminiscent on Michael J Fox in Back of the Future. And no sooner you might think that, when low and behold, Christopher Lloyd makes a guest appearance in full-out ‘Doc’ mode.
But in this, set against the backdrop of the “American west, a dirty cesspool of despair” MacFarlane plays Albert, an innocent sheep-herder, circa 1882, among outlaws and whore houses. Devastated that his girlfriend, Louise (Amanda Seyfried) has dumped him for the local moustache-god, Foy (Neil Patrick Harris) it’s a sudden beard-scratching-stroke-of-luck when a sweet gun-slinging cowgirl, Anna (Charlize Theron) comes along and builds Albert’s confidence, not to mention improves his shooting strategies. Rounding out the kooky cast is Sarah Silverman as an overly-enthusiastic Mae West of the community to her virgin-betrothed Giovani Ribisi, and Liam Neeson in a bad guy role, as Clinch Leatherwood, who has just moseyed into town to find the man responsible for inappropriate flirtations with his wife.
The film’s gags lie in the trademarks of the old west taking a modern day spin, even referencing words before their time (“Parkinson’s disease.”) The film is vulgar-hilarious with its ongoing petticoat and coyote jokes, but lacks in any soul or depth…the characters one dimensional against a multidimensional plot. Theron is the exception…lovely to look at, and with a conscience to match her Oscar-winning demeanor, and gives a much-believable chemistry against our boy, Seth MacFarlane.
All in all it’s highly entertaining, certainly a box office summer hit, with some surprise cameos from Ryan Reynolds, Bill Maher and Jamie Foxx. The movie will fair well until the July 22 Jump Street tosses it from its comic throne. ♕ ♚ ♛