"Fifteen seconds, MacGruber..."
Who ever thought Saturday Night Live would be a fertile source for movie ideas? The Blues Brothers and Wayne’s World have been the only decent films based off SNL characters. You can go on and on about the show’s failures, such as Night at the Roxbury, The Ladies Man, and Superstar, just to name a few. Despite numerous failures, they try again with MacGruber, a parody of the 80’s television series MacGyver. Like MacGyver, MacGruber (who was revealed to be his illegitimate son) attempts to defuse a bomb using common household items, but is always done in by his own incompetence and insecurities.
The film opens in Rambo III fashion with MacGruber (Will Forte) living a life of peace in a monastery in Ecuador. He is approached by his former commander Col. Faith (Powers Boothe) after the villainous Dieter von Cunth (Val Kilmer) has stolen a nuclear missile. Cunth is also responsible for murdering MacGruber’s wife (Maya Rudolph) on their wedding day.
Returning to action MacGruber recruits an elite team of WWE wrestlers to combat the terrorists. Only MacGruber accidentally blows them up with some homemade explosives. Instead, he’s stuck with Vicki St. Elmo (Kristen Wiig), an old friend now working as a songwriter who holds a torch for our hero, and the straight-laced Lt. Dixon Piper (Ryan Phillipe). Together, they must overcome their differences and stop Cunth from destroying Washington, D.C.
MacGruber was basically a one-note joke played over a series of three 90-second skits on his native show. The script for the film was penned by Will Forte, SNL staff writer John Solomon, and director Jorma Taccone who also helmed the digital shorts, Lazy Sunday and Dick in a Box. The creative team doesn’t try to stretch out the thin concept of the character. They pad it out by turning the picture into a parody of 80’s action films and 80’s culture in general.
MacGruber seems to be stuck two decades ago. He’s perennially clad in a checkered work shirt, khaki vest, mullet, and big aviator sunglasses. There’s a running joke with him carrying around an old school tape deck from his car. MacGruber makes love to Vicki in a Top Gun-esque montage set to Mr. Mister’s “Broken Wings.” The soundtrack also includes Toto’s “Rosanna” and Eddie Money’s “Take Me Home Tonight” for all the one-hit wonder fans. Unfortunately, the minds behind the movie don’t have the wit to maintain a continuous tone.
One moment MacGruber is portrayed as an utter stumblebum who is completely delusional about his prowess. The next moment, he’s ripping people’s throats out. Other jokes give lowbrow a whole new meaning. One gag involves MacGruber distracting his enemies by prancing around nude with a celery stick jammed up his ass. No, seriously. To their credit, the writers keep the obvious Cunth jokes to a minimum.
Kristen Wiig brings her usual nonplussed brand of humor to the film and Powers Boothe is always dependable as a character actor, but there’s not much either actor can add to the moronic proceedings. Poor Maya Rudolph is completely wasted. At least, Val Kilmer seems to have some fun.
Rating: *
No comments:
Post a Comment