Henry Saw: MacGruber

I knew I would hate this movie...


I don't know why I bothered to watch this. I was lured in by the fact that I've read a lot of positive reviews of MacGruber and allowed myself to believe it might not be that bad.

It's that bad.

MacGruber is...or it believes it is...a spoof of 80's action films. It opens with a scene that is apparently, though I can't think of one, ripped out of multiple action films: a top military guy tracks down a retired hero and convinces him to take on one last mission. Here's a big problem: Hot Shots Part Deux did it first. The opening sequences of Hot Shots 2 and MacGruber are the exact same except that Hot Shots Part Deux is funnier.

The rest of MacGruber follows the titular character, created for SNL by Will Forte, trying to take down Dieter Von Cunth (fat Val Kilmer). Reread the last name of the villain...get it?...that's the level of humor in this film.

Co-staring in the film is Kristin Wiig as MacGruber's main assistant/ main squeeze. If you see this movie, which you really should not do, look out for a sex scene between Forte and Wiig. I've read multiple reviews that found it hilarious...it's not. Ryan Phillippe plays the straight man Lt. Dixon Piper, he seems to have had zero fun making the film, and I sort of felt bad for Phillippe by the end.



The jokes mostly evoke dead silence. There are a few clever moments, I enjoyed MacGruber's notepad that Dixon finds, but most of the film is made up of crass nonsense. Will Forte, a comic with zero charisma, seems to find throwing the "F" word into every sentence an easy shortcut to comedy. Wiig, who often overdoes things, is given nothing funny to do. Kilmer, who to his credit plays the role straight, is just kind of dull.

Skip MacGruber. Seriously, it's terrible. I laughed twice, smirked thrice, and that's it. This is a movie that should never have been made. It's just a weak parody, an awkward comedy, and a crap film.

Grade: D+

Best Scene: The throat-ripping theme at the end...