A Million Ways to Die in the West

"A Million Ways to Die in the West" has its fair share of laughs, but overall, it's a fairly disappointing sophomore effort by writer/director Seth MacFarlane.

I went into “A Million Ways” with high expectations after I was blown away by MacFarlane’s 2012 live-action directorial debut, “Ted.” This movie review won’t be a comparison of the two films; however, going into a movie ready to erupt with laughter (like I did during “Ted”) and only winding up chuckling sporadically is an “epic fail” in my book.

MacFarlane stars as a sheepherder who is cognizant that life in the late 1800s sucks; half-a-million of the jokes stem from the fact that MacFarlane’s character is stuck in a time period where disease, famine and “a million other things” can eventually kill you. The gags would have been able to hold my attention if the script had been better-written, but the movie is unevenly paced for its nearly two-hour run time.

MacFarlane has a penchant for one-liners and scatological humor, which works fine in “Family Guy” and had me laughing out loud during “Ted,” However, it seems a little bit forced during this movie. Perhaps if MacFarlane had gotten someone else to play the leading role, he could have spent more time in the director’s chair and strung together a better movie.

MacFarlane gets strong performances from his supporting cast, including Charlize Theron, Amanda Seyfried, Liam Neeson, Sarah Silverman and the scene-stealing Neil Patrick Harris. Rated R for its vulgarity, “A Million Ways” falls short of a comedic gem by several hundred thousand.

2.5 Yaps

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4ORtLAxueLU&hd=1