MacGruber - Review
Review by Jack Foley
TAKEN at face value, MacGruber ought to have been a fun parody of violent ‘80s action movies and TV shows such as MacGyver. Sadly, it’s a crass and uninspired mess of a film that feels like a tedious experience.
Based on a Saturday Night Live sketch, Will Forte’s star vehicle is about 90-minutes too long given that it so frequently fails to hit its targets.
There are moments of potential, but they are all too fleeting… lost amid Forte’s self-indulgent macho posturing or tireless need to repeat and stretch jokes to breaking point and beyond.
The plot, such as it is, follows former army hard-man MacGruber (Forte) as he comes out of self-imposed exile to gain revenge on the arch-enemy (Val Kilmer) responsible for killing his wife and stave off a nuclear threat.
Helping him is a fresh-faced Special Forces grunt (Ryan Phillippe) and a potential new love interest (Kristen Wiig).
Admittedly, there is the odd guilty guffaw to be had amid the mayhem. Kilmer’s Dieter Von Cunth (the h is silent) seems to have the measure of proceedings, while a fun extended cameo from a bunch of WWF big hitters has a satisfyingly stupid pay-off. The odd sight gag works, too.
But every moment that works merely serves to highlight the numerous ones that don’t, while even the successful jokes are repeated for good measure… thereby diminishing their impact.
Forte, meanwhile, lacks any real charisma or screen presence to suggest he has the ability to prolong a movie career, while the likes of Phillippe, Wiig and Powers Boothe are given too little to do other than play to formula.
Rather, like its central hero, MacGruber quickly becomes a one-man show of growing ineptitude that doesn’t even have the good grace to maintain his likeability.
So, if the idea of seeing a naked man running around with a piece of celery shoved up his bum (by way of distracting villains), or offering to suck the c**k of anyone that lets him down appeals, then there is some mirth to be found.
If, like me, you require a little more sophistication and intelligence surrounding your parodies, then seek out a re-run of Team America instead. Or wait for Stallone’s The Expendables to see how a film can both pay homage to the stupidity of ‘80s action movies, while providing the requisite thrills and spills as well!
Certificate: 15
Running time: 98mins
UK Release Date: June 18, 2010