MacGruber - Review

MacGruber - **1/2

MacGruber is the latest in a long line of movies based upon sketches and skits from Saturday Night Live. In fact, we've had so many of these that it's unavoidable to compare them to those that came before. And as we all know, the majority of them have been crap. So that when I say that MacGruber is light on humour, but give it two and a half stars, you'll know that my expectations were low to begin with.

MacGruber stars Will Forte as the eponymous hero based from a series of 30-second Saturday Night Live sketches. Based on the name and the clothing, almost anyone can infer that it's a MacGyver parody. Well, it is and it isn't. The character is based on MacGyver--MacGruber also refuses to carry guns, and instead improvises sometimes really ridiculous items, but for a completely different reason--but the story is far from it.

MacGruber begins with the hijacking of a Russian nuclear missile, by the "untouchable" Dieter Von Cunth (Val Kilmer); the name, thankfully, is played straight. To stop Cunth, MacGruber--just "MacGruber"--is taken out of retirement from a monastery, and given the details. MacGruber rallies the best of the best (played by about six professional wrestlers), but MacGruber's ineptitude forces him to instead go with Lt. Piper (Ryan Philippe), who MacGruber instantly dislikes. Why? Who cares? It's funny. Eventually, Piper proves himself a valuable ally, especially when helping MacGruber convince their third teammate, Vicki St. Elmo (Kristen Wiig), to join.

Now, I should point out that a lot of humour comes from MacGruber's ineptitude, and if you've seen the skits, you'd know that. Still, MacGruber does have skills, despite the fact that things never go the best route; they just happen to work out.

MacGruber is a fun little movie, and the actors certainly give it their 110%, but the movie is certainly light on laughs. Considering it's a comedy, that's pretty scathing indeed. Still, it was fun, no joke really bombed for me, and it's entertaining as long as you assume it's a ridiculous movie with the occasional laugh. I credit first-time feature director Jorma Taccone who, along with fellow Lonely Islanders Akiva Schaffer and Andy Samberg are responsible for most of Saturday Night Live's current Digital Shorts, which are arguably the most consistent segments on the show. These guys are pretty funny, and did a wonderful little movie a few years back called Hot Rod.

But how does MacGruber stack up against other SNL movies? Reasonably well. The movie certainly isn't boring, and it's not brain-dead. It's not close to the league of Wayne's World and its sequel, but it's a far cry from the recent tripe like The Ladies Man or A Night at the Roxbury (which I will admit is a guilty pleasure of mine sometimes), let alone It's Pat! Fans of the MacGruber skits may very well enjoy this movie, but anyone expecting a lot of frequent laughs may be disappointed.

Still, it may be worth it just to see Val Kilmer act evil and taunt MacGruber.