Tom Baker got away with this in some of the weaker episodes of Doctor Who because he was charismatic and appealing enough to make us believe that the Doctor was really that clever. Instead, we get everything that crossed their minds. A Million Ways to Die in the West: Official Clip - He Drank the Whole Bowl! And then, for a good reason, Albert gets dumped by his charming girlfriend, Louise, only to fall head over heels in love with the intriguingly mysterious, horse-riding and pistol-packing stranger, Anna. Tap "Sign me up" below to receive our weekly newsletter While Albert frets about Louises new romance with fancy-pants shopkeeper Foy (Neil Patrick Harris, whose vain moustache-tonic merchant is a reliable laugh-getter), Anna takes an inexplicable interest in helping him stand up for himself. There's a scene in Seth MacFarlane's animated sitcom Family Guy in which the precocious baby Stewie attempts to get his mom's attention through a solid 30 seconds of just repeating her name or variations on the word "mom." His central performance is flat and weak, with no real character development and a cocky, chauvinistic quality which makes him unappealing. Set in 1882 in the American west, Albert is a lowly farmer with a nice girlfriend. Albert Stark, a mild mannered sheep farmer living outside of Old Stump, Arizona, hates everything about living in this time and place, especially the literally million ways he and others can easily die every day without a care, from shoot-outs, to bar brawls, to bites by rattlesnakes hiding in outhouses, to affliction by any one of numerous untreatable plagues and pestilences. The comparison does not do A Million Ways to Die in the West much good, but it also reminds us that it's been 20 years between drinks in a genre that is anything but crowded. After losing his girlfriend who is in love with the mustache owner, a sheep herder befriends the wife of an infamous bounty hunter in 1882 Arizona Constantly terrified, the meek and lily-livered sheep farmer, Albert Stark, mainly struggles to stay out of trouble in dusty and dangerous 1880s Arizona, utterly convinced that everything out there can and will kill him. Anna vows to help Albert with many issues in his life, most specifically in getting Louise back largely by pretending to be his girlfriend to make Louise jealous, and learning how to shoot in what ends up being a challenge to a shoot-out with Foy for Louise's hand. Clinch Hunts Albert (24:45 - 28:36)13. MacFarlane may have a facility for playing voice characters, but when he's on screen himself, he just seems like a version of the same smirking presence that hosted the Oscars, in a cowboy hat instead of a tux. Seth MacFarlane, who wrote and directed A Million Ways to Die in the West, stars as Albert, a cowardly sheep farmer who inadvertently falls in love with the wife (Charlize Theron) of a dangerous outlaw (Liam Neeson). Get the freshest reviews, news, and more delivered right to your inbox! Amercian dad! In a visit to TODAY Wednesday to talk about the film, Harris wore a phony handlebar 'stache (poorly) glued beneath his nose, with anchor Matt Lauer gamely sporting a matching fake.What. While it offers a few laughs and boasts a talented cast, Seth MacFarlane's overlong, aimless A Million Ways to Die in the West is a disappointingly scattershot affair. PREVIEW. The MCUs tiniest heroes are kicking off its biggest phase yet, setting up the next several years of storytelling. Ive shaved; Im shorn, Harris told Lauer, gesturing at his arms. But when his character shows blithe insensitivity, by accepting the government's propaganda about Native American relations, it's a funnier way of poking at 19th century racial attitudes than the moments when Albert just comes out and tells us what we're supposed to be getting out of a scene. Old Stump (7:15 - 8:05) 5. A million ways 2 die in the west is one of the best western comedy's I ever seen. It wasnt just Harris up-for-anything sense of humor that made him a natural fit for writer/director/co-star Seth MacFarlanes bawdy ensemble comedy. . We wont be able to verify your ticket today, but its great to know for the future. The American West, 1880s. Most of the biggest gags in A Million Ways - in other words, the ones that made the trailer - are lowest common denominator fare designed to get a quick shock and a shameful laugh. Family guy! DVD. Seth Macfarlane has rapidly become of the most divisive comedians of the modern era. and the When a sheep herder who hates the West saves a young lady during a bar fight they strike up a friendship that helps him gain some self-confidence. (Amanda Seyfried) dumps him for Foy, the dandy . 12 offers from $5.20. Western, Makes Ted look like a masterpiece, its jokes are mostly miss and the vulgarity is boring and good actors including McFarlane waste their talents. the Terms and Policies, and to receive email from Rotten Tomatoes. We want to hear what you have to say but need to verify your account. Its central premise and its cast both have undoubted potential, but every good idea it has is quickly ground down into third-rate physical or scatalogical jokes which are poorly directed, have no staying power, and are offensive for all the wrong reasons. Monty Pythons Every Sperm is Sacred is sort of the best example I can think of, he said. Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for A Million Ways to Die in the West, MacFarlane, Seth, 9780553391671 at the best online prices at eBay! MacFarlane's obvious touchstone here is another Western comedy that was both crass and smartly provocative, Mel Brooks' 1974 Blazing Saddles. Wherever you stand on Macfarlane's televisual endeavours, translating from one medium to another is notoriously difficult. with updates on movies, TV shows, Rotten Tomatoes podcast and more. Western In Seth MacFarlane's A Million Ways to Die in the West, Neil Patrick Harris takes center stage for one of the film's best sequences the highly choreographed and riotously funny. A Million Ways to Die -- Alan Jackson (0:00 - 2:31) 2. MacFarlane's take on the Western is considerably tamer than that of earlier smart-aleck postmodernists. Theron carries almost all the weight here, given her partners unexpected blandness, which makes it vaguely insulting when the third act turns her into a helpless damsel in need of his rescue. A Million Ways to Die in the West: Official Clip - That's a Dollar Bill! But when his girlfriend dumps him for the most insufferable guy in town, Albert decides to fight back--even though he can't shoot, ride, or throw a punch. For some, he is a witty, ingenious writer and performer with a gift for puncturing egos; for others, he is nasty, derivative, mean-spirited and crass, whose work lacks the narrative coherency of his betters. The perfect tummy control bodysuit, a popcorn gadget, more bestsellers starting at $8. All A Million Ways to Die in the West Videos A Million Ways to Die in the West: Trailer 1 2:30 Added: January 19, 2017 A Million Ways to Die in the West: Official Clip - Ways to Die 2:24 Added . Directed by Seth MacFarlane. There's no sign of a filter here, no indication that MacFarlane and his co-writers Alec Sulkin and Wellesley Wild ever looked at a gag and thought, "You know, this one isn't good enough." A MILLION WAYS TO DIE IN THE WEST SET OF 3 ORIG QUAD & ONE SHEET CINEMA POSTERS | Films & TV, Film Memorabilia, Posters | eBay! Then the mysterious Anna rides into town and captures Albert's interest and heart, but with her deadly husband in town, Albert is going to have to become the western gun-slinging hero he never was. All these awesome productions that has gotten me through life and now we have the producer as the actor! Coming Soon, Regal Its justits a song about sperm, and yet they treat it with such legitimacy in their orchestration and their vocal performance and their choreography, and its this huge number with what looks to be over 100 dancers on screen. Is this funny? It's just Bandaid over the cancer." - Original Motion Picture Soundtrack. Vulgar, crude, self-referential, and irreverent, A Million Ways to Die in the West is a typical Seth MacFarlane comedy. Albert calls it common sense. Stream songs including "A Million Ways To Die", "Main Title" and more. But, just how many ways to die are there in the west? A Million Ways to Die in the West is a disappointingly scattershot affair which will entertain Macfarlane fans but leave the rest of us with half-remembered frustration. Copyright 2023 Perhaps thats because shes secretly betrothed to the meanest cuss in these parts, a bandit called Clinch (Liam Neeson), who has sent her here to hide out while he dodges the law for a spell. 14. The great comedy westerns of old, like Blazing Saddles, soared because their stories and characters worked on their own merits without them having to constantly try and be funny. There's nothing inherently wrong with jokes about poo, vomiting, farting or sexual intercourse, but you have to package them in a certain way to stop the comedy becoming about shock value for shock value's sake. Just when the movie seems like it should be about to end, we get an extended sequence with Indians and a mescaline-induced vision quest that just drags the already choppy pacing of the film off a hallucinogenic cliff. Heck, Marty Robbins probably has more people getting shot in his songs than N.W.A. IE 11 is not supported. In a visit to TODAY Wednesday to talk about the film, Harris wore a phony handlebar 'stache (poorly) glued beneath his nose, with anchor Matt Lauer gamely sporting a matching fake. Seth McFarlane! Get the freshest reviews, news, and more delivered right to your inbox! A Million Ways to Die in the West: Official Clip - That's a Dollar Bill! Starring Seth MacFarlane, Charlize Theron, Liam Neeson, Neil Patrick Harris, Amanda Seyfried, Sarah Silverman and Giovanni Ribisi. He is also not adept at shooting guns, which makes the death by shoot-outs even more likely, and is the reason why he cowers out of a shoot-out with someone to whom he owes money. And by producing it, alongside good friends Scott Stuber and Jason Clark, there is no-one to rein him in when he starts being narratively flatulent as well as comedically so. Presented by FXM more Starring: Seth MacFarlaneCharlize TheronAmanda Seyfried Director: Seth MacFarlane Throat slashed (1) 6. Seth MacFarlane stars in and directs the Western comedy. A Million Ways to Die in the West is a 2014 American western-comedy movie, starring Seth MacFarlane, Charlize Theron, Amanda Seyfried, Neil Patrick Harris, Giovanni Ribisi, Sarah Silverman and Liam Neeson.. Synopisis. There are too many ways to die out here, he laments though most of the shock-violence gags the movie employs demonstrate the risks not of living in an age before modern medicine but of inhabiting a world whose authors arent terribly gifted at slapstick. Please click the link below to receive your verification email. In A Million Ways, Macfarlane has set his sights far lower than Brooks did even at his low point in the 1990s. Costume designer: Cindy Evans 3:06. Albert, in turn, has to decide when he will become a real man in doing what he needs for what, or who, he truly wants in life. 1:31. Amick Byram. That's the whole joke: A kid just keeps repeating essentially the same word for 30 seconds until he wears her down, and then he doesn't have anything more to say than "hi" once he finally gets her attention. Terms and Policies The Hollywood Reporter is a part of Penske Media Corporation. Stabbed in throat with a broken bottle (1) 5. His writing is mediocre, always low-balling it when a person in his position should be taking risks. A Million Ways to Die in the West Photos View All Photos Movie Info Mild-mannered sheep farmer Albert Stark (Seth MacFarlane) feels certain that the Western frontier is trying to kill him, then. Being a huge fan of westerns & Seth MacFarlane's work (Family guy, American Dad) I can honestly say that this was one of my favourite movies of the year and I really hope that there will be a sequel in the future or something similar. with updates on movies, TV shows, Rotten Tomatoes podcast and more. People Die at the Fair (11:36 - 13:55)8. It's odd to point to Brooks as a model of restraint, but Blazing Saddles is a model of Bergmanesque austerity in comparison to A Million Ways to Die. It's very tempting to treat any film project as merely an excuse to get in more of the same material, or to allow the jokes to run on for longer than a 20-minute episode would usually permit. Still, there's always Ted 2 to look forward to. 11. Captured by Cochise (31:07 - 33:49) 15. Mild-mannered sheep farmer Albert Stark (Seth MacFarlane) feels certain that the Western frontier is trying to kill him, then he loses his girlfriend, Louise (Amanda Seyfried), to the town's most successful businessman. But Albert isn't clever: he's as stupid as his creator believes his audience to be. There is no better example of this than the all-too lengthy scene involving Neil Patrick Harris getting the runs during the gunfight. Tinker Bell and the Legend of the NeverBeast, Psycho (The Complete Original Motion Picture Score), Bernard Herrmann: The Twilight Zone Conducted By Joel McNeely (Music From Television Series), Star Wars: Shadows of the Empire (Original Soundtrack), 007: Casino Royale (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) [Deluxe Version], The Magnificent Seven (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack), Hercules (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack), Cosmos: A SpaceTime Odyssey (Music from the Original TV Series), Vol. She is now with a dapper, successful, extroverted store owner, Foy, a fact Foy keeps reminding him of. A Million Ways To Die In The West Full Soundtrack - Original Theme (HQ)Here's the album track list:1. Read critic reviews. Updated at 22nd July 2015 by rearranging the order of some entries: What is the Japanese language plot outline for A Million Ways to Die in the West (2014). Comedy Western As a cowardly farmer begins to fall for the mysterious new woman in town, he must put his newly found courage to the test when her husband, a notorious gun-slinger, announces his arrival. Amick Byram. After Albert (MacFarlane) backs out of a gunfight, his fickle girlfriend (Amanda Seyfried) leaves him for another man (Neil Patrick Harris). Apparently, some . What about this? When Albert (MacFarlane) loses his girlfriend (Amanda Seyfried) to his moustached nemesis (Neil Patrick Harris), a mysterious and beautiful woman . The point of this comparison is that Macfarlane has clearly gone to town thinking of as many throwaway gags with a Western aspect as he can. By Erin Quinlan. Unfortunately, A Million Ways to Die in the West is a poorly made film that's more concerned with setting up gags than telling a fun story. 1, Independence Day: Resurgence (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack), Hail, Caesar! Copyright Fandango. Marvel Movies Ranked Worst to Best by Tomatometer, Jurassic Park Movies Ranked By Tomatometer, The Most Anticipated TV & Streaming Shows of March 2023, Pokmon Detective Pikachu Sequel Finds Its Writer and Director, and More Movie News. Even if Macfarlane's ambitions didn't extend to a full-on reworking of Thomas Hobbes, he could have taken this central idea further. Pam Grier reflects on her most iconic roles, from. Mustache maneuvers are not to be found in Harris current role on Broadway, where he stars as a transgender punk performer in Hedwig and the Angry Inch. In fact, the role requires near-total hairlessness from the actor. By creating an account, you agree to the His comedy might be irreverent, but the key to success in a musical number, MacFarlane says, is treating your material with the utmost seriousness. 04-26-2015. Old Stump Bluegrass. Why? Please reference Error Code 2121 when contacting customer service. As a cowardly farmer begins to fall for the mysterious new woman in town, he must put his newly found courage to the test when her husband, a notorious gun-slinger, announces his arrival. In hindsight, it was a very bad idea to allow Macfarlane to direct, produce, write and star in this film. So even though the . He could have done any number of things - but as usual he settles for the cheap gag and the fast buck over anything involving either thought or genuine creativity. Missing Louise (5:05 - 7:15) 4. and the Western ballads are no stranger to death and bloodshed. A Million Ways To Die In The West Soundtrack Music by Joel McNeely In the hands of a director who understood that suggestion is often more effective than being explicit, the joke could have worked reasonably well. Albert sitting at a table self-consciously telling a couple of friends a bunch of terrible ways the West can kill you, like a second-rate stand-up comic? Doug Naylor, who co-created the original series, recalled being in a room of writers from The Simpsons and Cheers, and being berated for wanting to work on character construction rather than coming up with gags. The Showdown (37:38 - 40:05)17. Albert is befriended by Anna, along with her "brother" Lewis who are new to Old Stump, and she who is self-admittedly "smokin' hot". Her "it's not you, it's me" reason rings false as she quickly starts up with mustachioed Foy, the wealthy owner of a mustache grooming products store, he who Albert knows he cannot compete in not being wealthy enough to be able to grow a groomed mustache. Also starring Giovanni Ribisi and Sarah Silverman, the hilarious all-star cast delivers an offbeat mix of outrageous humor and quick wit. With MacFarlane on screen as a minor variation of his real-life persona, it's that much harder to get away from the feeling that he's playing the role of Stewie here, spending two hours tapping us on the shoulder, constantly asking, "Is this funny? Rattlesnake Ridge (10:07 - 11:36)7. While both filmmakers brought modern dialogue to an historic setting, Macfarlane doesn't do anything constructive with this conceit. Main Title (2:31 - 5:05)3. Tap "Sign me up" below to receive our weekly newsletter this link is to an external site that may or may not meet accessibility guidelines. I THOUGHT IT WAS FAST FUNNY. After Albert (MacFarlane) backs out of a gunfight, his fickle girlfriend (Amanda Seyfried) leaves him for another man (Neil Patrick Harris). Mel Brooks understood that comedy is often borne out of human misery, and used even its silliest moments to poke fun at Western stereotypes. As Albert and Anna start to fall for each other in the process, Anna has to decide if and when she will tell him the truth: that she is already married, albeit unhappily, to Clinch Leatherwood, a vicious outlaw who, along with his gang, she and Lewis are waiting for in Old Stump. The movie is set in Arizona, 1882, a hostile realm of. If You've Only Got a Moustache (18:54 - 20:25)11. . . A Million Ways to Die in the West: Official Clip - Great Scott! Equally, he could have taken Liam Neeson's ruthless, lugubrious villain and subverted the concept, making him a complete coward or someone who is misunderstood. Fails to mine a ripe genre. But when she leaves him for the more successful and handsome . Stream songs including "A Million Ways To Die", "Main Title" and more. DVD. Just confirm how you got your ticket. Just leave us a message here and we will work on getting you verified. Old Stump Bluegrass. This hilarious UNRATED comedy from Seth MacFarlane, the creator of Family Guy and Ted, is filled with witty one-liners and an all-star cast. A good way of illustrating the central problem with this film is to be found in Dwarfing USA, a DVD documentary about the ill-fated American version of Red Dwarf. Copyright Fandango. Bridesmaids did nearly the same thing, but MacFarlane is determined to up the ante on that scene in every respect except the humor. Seth MacFarlane stretches the boundaries of comedy and propriety as writer, producer, director, and actor in A Million Ways to Die in the West. An embarrassing mustache, Harris deadpanned. He could have used Charlize Theron's character to directly challenge the gender stereotypying of westerns; there hasn't been a cowboy film with a viable female lead for many years. The marketplace doesnt seem to be crying out for Westerns, after all be they earnest revivals, satires, or genre hybrids involving extra-terrestrials and the undeniably of-his-moment MacFarlane is, as the script indirectly admits, a strange fit for the genre. Amid the Western comedy hijinks of writer/director/producer Seth MacFarlane's A Million Ways to Die in the West, poor farmer Albert gets dumped by his girlfriend Louise (Amanda Seyfried) and a . Where Brooks made a funny point about bean-sparked frontier flatulence in one brief and memorable scene, MacFarlane can't let five minutes go by without a fart joke. Though MacFarlane eventually demonstrates a knack for low-key flirty humor, Alberts appeal at the start of their friendship is hard to see. 1882. Gored by runaway bull (1) 8. A winking mid-film cameo prompts viewers to wonder how MacFarlane might have fared playing a time-traveler from our era stranded in the Old West. In the new comedy "A Million Ways to Die in the West," Neil Patrick Harris plays Foy, the condescending proprietor of the town's fancy "moustachery.". Although she states otherwise, the shoot-out is arguably the last straw for Louise, Albert's vain girlfriend, who breaks up with him. A Million Ways To Die In The West Full Soundtrack - Original Theme (HQ)Here's the album track list:1. Verified reviews are considered more trustworthy by fellow moviegoers. It was lots of, like, steps and turns, Harris said vaguely, raising his lower legs and twisting his feet outward. I'LL HAVE TO WATCH IT AGAIN TO GET THE QUICK STUFF, BUT REAL FUNNY. Stream songs including "A Million Ways To Die", "Main Title" and more. A Million Ways to Die in the West: Official Clip - Sh**ty Showdown, A Million Ways to Die in the West: Official Clip - If You've Only Got a Moustache, A Million Ways to Die in the West: Official Clip - You Really Do Have a Death Wish. But no matter how many jokes he can produce, or how long he chooses to play these jokes out for, they cannot solve the underlying problems: the story and the characters.