Sidewalks On The Corner

Will Forte brings his SNL skit to the big screen. Does it work as a feature film? Ryan Phillippe, Kristen Wiig, Val Kilmer, Powers Boothe and Maya Rudolph join in on the fun with Rogue Pictures' "MacGruber."

Follow up:

MACGRUBER
Rogue Pictures.
Rated: R for strong crude and sexual content, violence, language and some nudity
Starring: Will Forte, Ryan Phillippe, Kristen Wiig, Val Kilmer, Powers Boothe and Maya Rudolph
Directed by: Jorma Taccone
www.iamrogue.com/macgruber
http://twitter.com/Grubes69

Studio Synopsis:
Only one American hero has earned the rank of Green Beret, Navy SEAL and Army Ranger. Just one operative has been awarded 16 purple hearts, 3 Congressional Medals of Honor and 7 presidential medals of bravery. And only one guy is man enough to still sport a mullet. In 2010, Will Forte brings Saturday Night Live’s clueless soldier of fortune to the big screen in the action comedy MacGruber.

In the 10 years since his fiancée was killed, special op MacGruber has sworn off a life of fighting crime with his bare hands. But when he learns that his country needs him to find a nuclear warhead that’s been stolen by his sworn enemy, Dieter Von Cunth (Val Kilmer), MacGruber figures he’s the only one tough enough for the job.

Assembling an elite team of experts—Lt. Dixon Piper (Ryan Phillippe) and Vicki St. Elmo (Kristen Wiig)—MacGruber will navigate an army of assassins to hunt down Cunth and bring him to justice. His methods may be unorthodox. His crime scenes may get messy. But if you want the world saved right, you call in MacGruber.

(L to R) An elite team of experts--Lt. Dixon Piper (RYAN PHILLIPPE), MacGruber (WILL FORTE) and Vicki St. Elmo (KRISTEN WIIG)--report for duty in the action-comedy that brings Saturday Night Live's clueless soldier of fortune to the big screen: "MacGruber."
Photo Credit: Greg Peters/Rogue Pictures

J.P.'s Take:
“MacGruber” has come a long way from a simple silly Saturday Night Live (SNL) skit. Now extended for the big screen, Will Forte, who helms the title character, takes the film version to dizzying heights. “Sidewalks Entertainment’s” executive producer Richard R. Lee and I are no strangers to the sketch comedy routine; we knew just how stupid this film was going to be.

Remembering the many box office flops, which had spun off from the long-running NBC late-night comedy show, with the exception of “The Blues Brothers,” “MacGruber” is no different than its fore bearers. What we didn't expect was the R rating, for which the director Jorma Toccone makes full use of. The obvious MacGyver spoof is stocked piled with irreverent humor both of a sexual and violent nature. You mix in an 80's theme, with action scenes that rival those of “Tropic Thunder” and what you have is an action/comedy primed for On Demand.

To the movie's credit, the story is coherent enough to sit through without being weighed down by plots and subplots. It's actually quite simple in its execution. MacGruber is in pursuit of the villain Dieter Von Cunth (Val Kilmer), who murdered his wife Casey (Maya Rudolph) and who has in his possession a Russian missile. It doesn't sound like a comedy at first, until you find out MacGruber really doesn't have a solid plan for completing the mission. In fact he spends most of his time flying by the seat of his pants, which lands him in further into trouble. This means he has to devise something to catch the bad guys … even if this means performing some pretty ridiculous, uncomfortable gags to get the job done. A couple of moments that stick out are where MacGruber needs to create a distraction to make his way into Von Cunth's compound. I commend both Forte and Ryan Phillippe (playing Lt. Dixon Piper) in their brave efforts at gaining gut busting laughs. They utilize a stick of celery in the most uncomfortable of ways, where the gag involves them sticking it where the sun don't shine. I guess you can say it all worked out "in the end," pun intended. I found myself once again barreling over with laughter, especially at the sex scenes involving MacGruber and Viki St Elmo (SNL’s Kristen Wiig) and another scene with his deceased wife. The way he grunts and groans like an animal in heat, evokes gut busting laughter.

The players worked well together and were dedicated enough to their characters to make this crude comedy work. Kilmer can play a decent criminal master had this been an actual action flick; however here, he plays a character which requires him to keep a straight face while saying his character’s name. I felt Kilmer’s portrayal was too simplistic and average. There's really isn't much to say about Powers Boothe (Col. James Faith), who basically sounds like he's barking his line rather than playing a character. Beefing up the remainder of the cast would be some well known WWE wrestlers, Kane, The Big Show, MVP, just to name a few. They're only in it for a short time though.

You start to realize in the end that, the TV skits worked well because they were short simple and sweet. There weren't many elaborate schemes to get in the way of the pure comedy of the moment. That's not to say that the full length doesn't work. As a matter of fact, the movie allowed the writers and director to stretch their legs in the action/comedy’s big screen version. I'd say it's a very slight step up from the slough of films that spawned from SNL. They were able to throw in the stuff they couldn't with the TV sketch. On top of that, the story was a little more balanced than its counterparts. The gags worked to an extent and the characters are well known.

What hurts this film: it's just your average lowbrow flick. There's nothing really special about it. Is it worth seeing in theaters? Not when it's up against blockbusters like “Iron Man 2,” no. Most fans of the beloved character would race to the theaters to see this movie. Personally, I can wait to watch it on DVD instead.

Richard's Take:
As a major fan of the old MacGyver series (yes, I admit it), I was looking forward to seeing how stupid this big screen attempt could be. Well, Will Forte (star and co-writer) and SNL writers Jorma Taccone (who also directed) and John Solomon did just that.

The trio was able to expand on their SNL skit, but with a plot that was simplistic. Villain has a nuclear warhead missile, missile being sent to kill an important US figure, enemy turns out to be the man who killed your wife, get revenge, and don’t forget to pack celery.

On the spoof of my favorite action series from 1985-1992, Forte does don the mullet, he doesn’t like guns, and he carries some needed supplies to make possible grenades. But after that, MacGruber is no longer our beloved Richard Dean Anderson’s MacGyver (By the way, there is no cameo from RDA nor a special thanks to MacGyver in the credits from what I could see). This MacGruber, who loves 80s music, carrying around his car radio and working with a team, needs his mother and teachers to send him to the corner and give him “time-outs.”

One of the surprising aspects I have with the film is that it is very raunchy, nasty and filled with potty humor. Not a little, but a lot. It is kind of sad that this is the only way to get an easy laugh nowadays. I learned new words and statements to say after watching “MacGruber.” I have to admit, I was laughing at parts; most likely, because how stupid the situations were.

I did enjoy the very short cameos from the WWE superstars, especially The Big Show who stole his scene. I think it would have been nice for the wrestlers to have a larger part in the story. It could have been The A-Team and MacGruber working together.

A heavier Val Kilmer (Dieter Von Cunth) even admits that the film is bad as he stated in an interview. “In fact, I can’t believe I just called it a film,” says the former “Top Gun” / "Batman" star.” It’s a two-hour skit. Will Forte and Kristen Wiig are both in their own class, when it comes to subtle comedy, and in terms of classlessness, `MacGruber` is truly one of the dumbest characters ever.”

As I write my part in the Sidewalks review, I’m trying to decide whether I like the film or not. I would say it was funny in areas, but it’s no masterpiece. It’s no “Wayne’s World.” No “The Blues Brothers.” Should there be a big screen sequel? No, thanks. Unless a good plot is there, I think I like it better in short skits with the occasional cameos from Betty White and Richard Dean Anderson.

Now, I wonder how a proposed “MacGyver” feature film will turn out? Hopefully, there’s no inspiration from this film.

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J.P. Langston is a member of "Sidewalks Entertainment" team primarily as a videographer. He loves movies, especially sci-fi horror and action comedies. Some of his favorite films include "Blade Runner" "The Matrix Trilogy," The (original) "Star Wars," "Equilibrium," "Serenity," "Kill Bill Vols 1 and 2," "Appleseed," "Unbreakable" and "Sin City." He has a large DVD collection, which is still growing. Since reviewing films for "Sidewalks," he has been expanding his palette for all types of films.

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Richard R. Lee is the creator, executive producer and occasional on-air personality for the "Sidewalks Entertainment" project. His primary interest is in television programming and TV news. Although he views a variety of programs, he enjoys primarily sci-fi, comedy and adventure series, such as "Star Trek," "Firefly," "Battlestar Galactica," "Jericho," "Alien Nation," "Bosom Buddies," and "MacGyver." Additionally, he samples many of the entertainment talk shows and has seen many of the biggest shows hosted by Johnny Carson, David Letterman, Arsenio Hall, and Jay Leno.