MacGruber Review

Posted by Bryan Kristopowitz on 05.24.2010

MacGruber will be your new hero...

"MacGruber" Review

Will Forte- MacGruber
Kristen Wiig- Vicki St. Elmo
Ryan Phillippe- Lt. Dixon Piper
Val Kilmer- Dieter Von Cunth
Powers Boothe- Col. James Faith
Maya Rudolph- Casey
Chris Jericho- Frank Korver
Mark Henry- Tut Beemer
MVP- Vernon Freedom
The Great Khali- Tug Phelps
Kane- Tanker Lutz
Paul "The Big Show" White- Brick Hughes

Directed by Jorma Taccone
Screenplay by Will Forte, John Solomon, and Jorma Taccone

Distributed by Universal Pictures

Rated R for strong crude and sexual content, violence, language and some nudity
Runtime- 99 minutes

Website: http://www.macgruber.com/



Movies based on sketches from "Saturday Night Live" don't exactly have the best track record. For every "The Blues Brothers" and "Wayne's World" there's a "Superstar" and "It's Pat." The latest movie based on a "Saturday Night Live" sketch, "MacGruber," is actually one of the better ones, although its, for the lack of a better word, "genius," probably won't be recognized for some time.

The flick, directed by first timer Jorma Taccone, stars Will Forte as MacGruber, one of the greatest American agents of all time (he's been a Navy SEAL, a Green Beret, and a football hero, he's earned numerous purple hearts, and he's considered a legend within the American military and intelligence communities). When the flick opens, after Val Kilmer's dastardly villain Dieter von Cunth steals a Russian nuclear weapon from a desert in Siberia (yes, that's what I said), we find out that MacGruber has been living in a monastery in Ecuador (similar to the monastery that John Rambo was living in at the beginning of "Rambo III"), trying to live in peace. He's tormented by the death of his wife Casey (Maya Rudolph), and he's been legally dead for a decade. MacGruber just wants to get on with his life. But when he finds out what Cunth is up to he decides to get back in the game.



MacGruber's first days back aren't exactly stellar. He rebuffs his boss, Col. James Faith (the great Powers Boothe), and his choice of a second-in-command, Lt. Dixon Piper (Ryan Phillippe), fails to connect with his old friend Vicki St Elmo (Kristen Wiig), and accidentally blows up his hand picked team of Special Forces ass kickers (as played by WWE stars Chris Jericho, Mark Henry, The Great Khali, MVP, and Kane. The Big Show also makes an appearance as a gay car mechanic but he isn't a part of MacGruber's team). After some back and forth with Col. Faith (the Colonel threatened to remove MacGruber from the case, feeling as though it was a mistake to bring MacGruber back, but eventually allows him to continue on), MacGruber agrees to work with Lt. Dixon which then leads to Vicki agreeing to come back. With a stable team in place, MacGruber starts his search for Cunth in earnest. The search sends MacGruber and company all over the country, eventually leading to a final showdown in Washington, D.C., where Cunth's ultimate plan is revealed. Will MacGruber, Vicki, and Lt. Dixon be able to prevent Cunth's evil scheme?



The best part about "MacGruber" is the excellent cast's willingness to go for broke even when the situation at hand is absolutely ridiculous. Forte is brilliant as the incredibly inept MacGruber. He's a foul mouthed jerk that's more talk than action, existing solely on his "legendary" reputation. It's hysterical how even when Phillippe's Lt. Dixon realizes that MacGruber isn't the grand man of action he's been made out to be and calls him out on it MacGruber is unfazed by it. He doesn't know what he's doing most of the time but he never let's that stop him. Forte is also quite adept at ripping out a guy's throat, which is one of the movie's many soon to be classic gags. The "celery gag" is also likely to live on forever. Wiig is quite good as Vicki St. Elmo, although she doesn't have enough to do. St. Elmo is the ultimate loyal sidekick, as she completely trusts MacGruber even when it's obvious he's an idiot and doesn't know what he's doing. I really wanted to see more of her in action with MacGruber as a team. Phillippe does a great job as Lt. Piper, as he has to play the straight man to Forte's moron MacGruber. He handles the flick's many gun fights with skill and authority, likely to make you wonder why Phillippe hasn't done more straight up action movies (I know that's what I wondered).

Powers Boothe is his usual awesome self as MacGruber's pseudo Sam Trautman, Col. James Faith. He also has to play the straight man to Forte's MacGruber, but he gets a funny moment every now and then (why the hell does he have such great confidence in MacGruber in the first place? It really makes you wonder). And then there's Val Kilmer as Cunth. Kilmer is an underrated comedic performer, and his willingness to do anything for a laugh is something he should pursue more (he could become a sort of big budget Bruce Campbell if he plays his cards right). Kilmer's final scene will definitely live on forever.



Now, the movie's overall weaknesses all stem from the director's unsteady hand when it comes to pacing and balancing the comedy bits and the action bits. The movie starts out strong (Kilmer's introduction is well staged, and Forte's introduction over the opening titles is weird but works anyway) but can't maintain that strength throughout. The various action scenes just don't mesh well with the straight up comedy bits (basically, every third action bit works, which isn't a very good average). The movie's overall hazy look also doesn't help (dark and moody sets like the ones seen in this movie really don't do anything for the comedy). The movie would have been better served if the color palette were lighter. The flick could also stand to lose about five to ten minutes just to tighten the movie up (faster is funnier with movies like this).

"MacGruber" isn't great, but it's a solid big screen bit of ridiculousness. It's got a slew of weaknesses, sure, but it tends to work more than not, and when it comes to "stupid" comedies that's the most important thing in the world. It'll make you laugh more often than not. Just don't be surprised if it takes a few years for the movie to be appreciated.

Go see "MacGruber." Overall, it's pretty funny.



So what do we have here? Gratuitous "Eastern Siberia," gratuitous flaming wreckage and dead bodies, grenade attack, gratuitous Val Kilmer, gratuitous Will Forte as MacGruber tanning, playing a saxophone in a tree, and practicing defusing a bomb, gratuitous Ecuador, gratuitous Powers Boothe, gratuitous Ryan Phillippe, a hilarious "Rambo III" parody, gratuitous Maya Rudolph, a funny grave digging bit, gratuitous blaupunkt, gratuitous Chris Jericho, dick jokes, gratuitous Mark Henry, gratuitous MVP, gratuitous the Great Khali, gratuitous Kane, gratuitous the Big Show, gratuitous Kristen Wiig, a big fucking accident, attempted anal sex, gratuitous Las Vegas club, gratuitous Val Kilmer painting an old nude woman, a funny disguise, a funny tip jar gag, dumpster hooey, more disguise goofiness, a disgusting celery gag, dead body inspecting, an "upper decker," a funny college flashback, a great "human shield" gag, a nasty bullet removal scene, a weird beard sex scene, toe sucking, ghost sex, chair bondage, multiple throat ripping gags, gratuitous Molson beer product placement, hair cutting, bomb defusing, and a hilarious ending that Val Kilmer will never be able to live down.

Best lines: "Wombat... where is the item?," "Sorry, I don't speak Russian," "Up yours, MacGruber!," "Your God can't help you, Jim. But I can," "Now, if you'll excuse me, it's time to go pound some Cunth," "You and your dick comments," "Have you ever been to DC? No, I haven't. I was talking to the missile," "Fuck the brass! Fuck the brass!," "Fuck you, dickhead!," "Come on, just tell me what you want to fuck!," "Turn off the fucking music or I'll kill her!," "That was great! That was fucking tits!," "MacGruber, your toilet is disgusting," "Hoss Bender, dead at the age of who the fuck cares?," "Fuck you, Cunth," "You're lying, and you're a piece of shit," "I will suck your fucking dick. I will let you fuck me," "Never ever say never ever," "I thought we were goners. How did you know I was wearing a bullet proof vest? You're wearing a bullet proof vest? Awesome!," "Sorry, I always get an erection when a beautiful woman uses a pair of pliers near my balls," "Time to go pound some Cunth," "Shut the fuck up, MacGruber!," "That's it, Vicki's in there, I can feel it in my balls," "Screw you Cunth! Is that an invitation? Eww, no," "Classic MacGruber," and "Hey, Cunth, suck your own dick!"

The 411: "MacGruber" is one of the better movies based on a "Saturday Night Live" sketch. The cast is brilliant, the premise is ridiculous enough to work, but the movie suffers from substandard direction. If the movie had a surer hand at the helm it no doubt would have been better. But, what we get is pretty dang decent. It's funny, and in the end, that's what matters most.

Final Score:  7.0   [ Good ]