MacGruber

Welcome to another episode of The "D" List.

Today's review is MacGruber. Directed by Jorma Taccone. Written by Will Forte, John Solomon & Jorma Taccone. Based on the Saturday Night Live skits with the same character.

MPAA Rating: Rated R for strong crude and sexual content, violence, language and some nudity.


Cast

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


For all of you Saturday Night Live fans, MacGruber is someone you all know. For those of you who don't here's a quick tutorial. MacGruber is quite simply a well executed parody of the MacGyver character played by Richard Dean Anderson. We all remember MacGyver and how he could biuld a bomb with some string, a paper clip and some bubble gum. Well MacGruber spoofs that part of the character by being one of the dumbest heroes on the planet. In every skit he's in the same situation. A bomb is about to go off and instead of disarming it he waits until the very last second then BOOM!!!!!!!!! It's actually a very well done parody and with it's popularity it was only a matter of time that a full length feature was going to be made.

This isn't the 1st time that SNL has made the leap from the small screen to the silver screen. Several of their popular characters and skits have been turned into films. The Coneheads, Wayne’s World, A Night at the Roxbury, Superstar, Ladies Man, It’s Pat and The Blues Brothers make up the roster of SNL films. So does MacGruber hold up with it's predecessor's?

The answer is NO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! And that's the good news.

Ex-special operative MacGruber is called back into action to take down his archenemy, Dieter Von Cunth, who's in possession of a nuclear warhead and bent on destroying Washington, D.C.

There you go people. That's the plot but that's not why you go to see this movie. You go because MacGruber is a funny moron. This is by far with possible exception of Wayne's World 1 the best SNL film made to date. That's because of MacGruber the character. In my last review I went on a rant about how Robin Hood failed because a backstory was created regarding his origin and that it was unnecessary. Well in MacGruber's case the backstory was needed and it helped the film immensely. You don't know anything about him from the skits so they had to start from scratch and it pays off well.

The jokes are pretty good overall. There were a few lame 1 liners that didn't land but for the most part the comedy was solid. That's in part to the cast around Forte. Kristen Wiig is a genius. You may remember her in Knocked Up. She played Allison's boss, the one who hated Allison's success and had the snide under her breath comments about her look or performance. Brilliant comedic timing from her in that film. She continues that here with just 1 difference. In MacGruber, she's playing her character straight even though it's a over the top performance. That's what was required of her since her role in the skits is exactly the same way. She still manages to pick and choose the right time to land her comic jabs and it connects with deadly accuracy.

The other highlight here is Val Kilmer and Von Cunth. He like Wiig plays his dastardly villain straight and over the top but it's a spot on performance that parodies 80's action movie villains hell bent on world domination. That's what made MacGruber good. Just like Stallone plans to homage 80's action movies with his upcoming Expendables, MacGruber parodies the same genre and doesn't pretend to be otherwise.

On The 5 Star Scale. MacGruber gets 2.5 stars and a split "Go See It/Give It A Shot" recommendation.

Is MacGruber a perfect comedy? Not by any means but if you are a fan of the skits then give this one a shot. You may enjoy yourself if you're in the mood for a chuckle.

That's all for today. Up Next is Shrek Forever After.

On a completely off the beaten path note. I would like to take this opportunity to say farewell to 2 of TV's most groundbreaking and entertaining shows in recent memory. Lost and 24 are signing off forever over the next 2 days.

Goodbye Lost. You have provided 6 years of incredible, engaging and yes at times VERY frustrating storytelling but you told a STORY. That is something that most TV shows don't do anymore.

And to 24....What can I say. Jack.......you are one tough son of a bitch. By far one of the greatest action heroes to ever grace primetime TV. Just like Lost, the show wasn't perfect but you changed the rules with the realtime format. It was bold, daring, a gamble and I bought in.

I will miss you both. I look forward to the upcoming 24 feature film and immersing myself the passengers of Oceanic flight 815 on Blu Ray when the Lost mega set eventually comes out. Until that day I still have the cinema.

Until Next Episode......."I'll Save You A Seat!"

"D"