MacGruber quick review

So...

I just saw the new movie MacGruber at a free screening tonight. My friend was kind enough to hook me up with tickets and another friend got me pretty good seats, not that it was very crowded at the screening... mostly just press with some "real folks" thrown in to ensure some laughs.

Well, MacGruber was stupid. That's not the issue. I bring that up because there were actually some people at the movie criticising it for being "silly and stupid." What do you expect (I mean, check out the ad photo above)? No, the real issue is if it was funny?

Sadly, no, not really. While it does have a couple funny lines and a few LOL scenes (usually centered around bathroom humor), most of the jokes just wiz by without much reaction. Thankfully, the story zips along, distracting you from the fact that a good chunk of the comedy feels like it was written as the writers were on their way to turn in the script. Though not the most original story (retired hero called back into service to stop some bad guy from detonating a nuclear bomb), good editing and directing keep it pretty lively. There's also a really great soundtrack if you are into '80s music that helps the movie along.

But comedy-wise, I was disappointed. Especially considering the basis for this thing is that MacGruber is a spoof of the TV show character MacGyver, who's show is so ripe for picking apart that the movie feels like a missed opportunity most of the time. The script tries to offer some decent set-ups that will later pay off, but 1/2 the time you see it coming, the other half it just fizzles out. Without giving too much away, the whole license plate subplot, for example.

I wanted more out of the movie and think with some better writing there could have been. For one, I hoped for a more clever parody, with less hit or miss random joke here or there. I'm all for low-brow humor, don't get me wrong, but you look at a movie like The Naked Gun and you can see that, yes, you can have your cake and eat it, too.

At least the actors threw themselves into the roles. Val Kilmer, specifically, offers a diabolical, yet deadpan turn as the villain, taking the part serious enough to be a threat to MacGruber, but never forgetting that he is in a movie based on a throw-away SNL skit that is itself a parody of a classic 1980's tv show. Ryan Phillipe also has some pretty great "is this guy for real?" reactions to MacGruber's special "moves" at the end of the film involving people's throats that help sell the joke.

Still, the comedy could have been stronger. There were a few scenes, in fact, where they were almost there.

Best viewed: on a slow Saturday afternoon on cable.