A Million Ways To Die In The West

A MILLION WAYS TO DIE IN THE WEST

Director : Seth MacFarlane
Year : 2014
Genre : Comedy Western
Rating : *

Co - starring big names such as Charlize Theron, Liam Neeson, Neil Patrick Harris, Amanda Seyfried, Giovanni Ribisi and Sarah Silverman as well as a host of fleeting cameos from the world of TV and film, 'A Million Ways To Die In The West' is the second directorial effort from writer/director Seth MacFarlane. Set appropriately enough in the Wild West of 1882, the film is a beautiful looking but emotionally and comedically empty mess that disastrously fails to exhibit the trademark idiosyncratic humour and abrasive satirical edge that has made 'Family Guy', 'American Dad' and 'Ted' the huge cultural icons they are today.

To it's credit, the landscapes and sets look genuinely authentic while Joel McNeely's brass-led score is reminiscent of the classic Westerns of the 1940's, 50's and 60's so 'A Million Ways To Die In The West' certainly looks and sounds the part. However, the realistic settings are overwhelmingly undermined as soon as the lazy scatological humour and not so overt sexual innuendos explode onto the screen in a deafening and eye burning barrage. I am no fan of Seth MacFarlane's pop culture heavy and controversial comedic style but I do realise that behind the endless television references and unbelievably mean spirited AIDS skits, there is an incredibly talented and very gifted writer.

Sadly, there is a lot less wit and a lot more sh*t in 'A Million Ways To Die In The West'; literally. With an insurmountable amount of toilet jokes, sex jokes, juvenile obscenities and other such gross-out humour contained within it's bloated two hour long running time, the movie plays as a prototypical Sandler picture with just as much depth, character, heart and comedic value to match. We already have one Adam Sandler, we sure as hell don't need another one.