Macgruber is the latest in a line of SNL sketches that have been successfully (or not so successfully) turned into films. It follows the comedic explots of clueless bad-ass wannabe Macgruber (Will Forte) who makes "Life-saving inventions out of household materials" as he follows the trail of madman Dieter Von Cunth (Val Kilmer) who has recently come into possession of a nuclear warhead and has some very big, bad plans for it. Realizing that this is one job he can't do alone, Macgruber assembles a team consisting of the best of the best. When that plan falls through he's forced to create a smaller team consisting of old friend Vicki St. Elmo (Kristen Wiig) and army hot-shot Lt. Dixon Piper (Ryan Phillippe) whom Macgruber detests for reasons that are never very clear (The early material between these two is just CLASSIC).
If the main villains' naughty name hasn't already made it clear, Macgruber is a hard-core R and is obviously inappropiate for anyone under the age of 18. Normally, I wouldn't put that last part in there, but due to the content I viewed in this hilarious laugh-fest I felt I had to include this valuable piece of info in this review somewhere. Yes, Macgruber more than earns it's Hard R rating, and it is a badge the film wears with honor and pride.
Part of me hated this film, but another equally large part loved the hell out of it. The plot is really nothing more than an excuse to create some of the funniest, well-placed, sophmoric, and well executed jokes ever slapped onto the big screen , and the film itself acts as a witty satire on the big-budget spy/action-hero films we've become so accustomed to. It's obvious that the writers (Will Forte, John Solomon, Jorma Taccone) had alot of fun writing the script to the film and wanted to show movie-goers a good time.
Probably the only complaint I have about this film is that the characters aren't particularly likeable. Macgruber is more-or-less a bumbling asshole that willingly puts others in danger so he won't get hurt (SPOILER some of the funniest parts of the film is when he uses Dixon Pipers as a human shield from a sniper and when he successfully convinces vicki to dress like him so he won't be put in the way of danger. Her reactions to this situation she's found herself thrust into and the conversation that goes on between the 2 during this scene is hilarious: "NO, Macguber wouldn't order that"...."No, Macgruber wouldn't leave a tip, take it back!") and the other characters aren't developed much beyond what the script calls for them to do. This surprisingly doesn't stop the audience from staying firmly behind the characters, rooting for them till the very end. The reason why is probably because it's so much fun to see these characters get in and out of trouble (One of the best examples SPOILER is when Vicki finds herself tied to a chair and attempts to saw the rope off, resulting in the chair collapsing beneath her)
Don't get me wrong, The actors in this film have fun with the material and give it all they've got. The 2 main characters from the original sketch (Macgruber and Vicki St. Elmo) are the same in the movie as they were on TV, they just have a teeny bit more backstory, and the new character of Dixon Peters is hilarious as well what with all the arguments him and Macgruber get into over the course of the film. Think of him as the strait man of the film. Will Forte, Kristen Wiig, and Ryan Phillippe are all excellent in this film and are one of the main reasons the film is such a joy to watch.
Macgruber is a film that isn't concerned with the serious stuff, and is more-so concerned with how to get audiences to laugh till soda squirts out their noses. While it may fail as a film, Macgruber works perfectly as an SNL sketch turned INTO a film, quite possibly being the funniest one of these to date. While some may be dissapointed with the lack of a compelling plot or likeable characters, Macgruber will keep most laughing from beginning to its satisfyingly hilarious conclusion, and in the end, isn't that all that matters?
5/5
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