A Million Ways to Die in the West (2014)

Directed by Seth MacFarlane. Starring Seth MacFarlane, Charlize Theron, Amanda Seyfried, Giovanni Ribisi, Sarah Silverman, Neil Patrick Harris, Liam Neeson, Christopher Hagen, Evan Jones, Wes Studi. [R]

Everything in the Wild West is practically designed to kill you—famine, disease, gunfights, snakes, wolves, doctors, fairs, giant blocks of ice—which lily-livered sheep farmer MacFarlane knows too well. With the help of foxy gunslinger Theron, will he be able to summon the courage to face his fears (including fashionably-moustachio’d romantic rival Harris and ruthless outlaw Neeson)…or is he destined to become yet another casualty in the horrible but reasonably-named town of Old Stump? As director, co-producer, co-writer, and first-time live-action star, it’s MacFarlane’s show through and through, which is a mixed blessing. His onscreen deadpan mockery is adequate, his direction is toneless despite a reasonable facsimile of studio Western conventions, and the hit-or-miss writing can come off as pretty lazy at times, despite delivering enough quality gags and quips to hold interest across the meandering narrative. Some offbeat surprises break from its sarcasm-heavy toilet humor bread-and-butter, including a curious musical reference to John Williams while the hero rides toward a train à la River Phoenix in the third Indiana Jones adventure. Alec Sulkin and Wellesley Wild also received screenplay credits, both of whom have worked extensively with MacFarlane on the TV show, “Family Guy.” Cameos include Jamie Foxx, Ewan McGregor, Ryan Reynolds, Patrick Stewart (voice only), and Gilbert Gottfried, but the funniest by far comes from Christopher Lloyd.

64/100