Splice: Combustive Comedy
‘Macgruber’
Director: Jorma Taccone
Starring: Will Forte, Kristen Wiig, Ryan Phillippe, Val Kilmer
3.5/5 popcorns
A film that tries relentlessly to please its audience should not be confused with a film that tries relentlessly to win them over. Based on the very brief Saturday Night Live sketch, ‘MacGruber’ is never self-conscious about its ridiculousness, aspiring only to reward its viewers for their small investment. Boasting a heroic comedic performance from star Will Forte, the directorial debut of Lonely Island troupe member Jorma Taccone is as satisfying any slapstick comedy that has come in recent memory.
Holed up in a remote village for ten years after faking his own death, MacGruber (Forte), who claims 16 Purple Hearts, three Congressional Medals of Honor, and seven Presidential Medals, is reluctantly lured back into action by Col. James Faith (Powers Boothe). Faith informs MacGruber that master criminal the man that murdered his wife, Dieter Von Cunth (Val Kilmer), has acquired a nuclear weapon with the intention of using it against the United States. MacGruber immediately gets to work, assembling a crack team of juggernauts to counter Cunth’s band of ruthless evildoers.
When his team is tragically wiped out in an unfortunate accident, MacGruber turns to his old pal, Vicki St. Elmo (Kristen Wiig), and the younger Lt. Dixon Piper (Ryan Phillipe). Overconfident in his ability to build and wield explosives, MacGruber is forced to recognize that to take down Cunth, he will have to ditch his clay and wires for guns and ammo. Tracking down Cunth proves to be a relatively easy task, but when it comes to disarming a nuclear warhead – in a brilliant, extended homage to the Saturday Night Live sketch – MacGruber is truly tested, despite his pedigree as a Green Beret, Navy SEAL and Army Ranger.
Forte is so earnest in his attempt to win over his audience that he is nothing if not impassioned. One of the most unfortunately overlooked Saturday Night Live cast members, Forte is charming and incredibly likable, with the potential to win over even the staunchest critic. He immerses himself so deeply in the MacGruber character that the humor in every one of his antics is amplified, for the audience cannot help but admire how thoroughly Forte enjoys playing the fool. Yet the real accomplishment is the effectiveness with which Forte encourages the viewer to respect that fool as they would a more skilled and lethal action hero.
The best adaptation of a Saturday Night Live sketch since ‘Wayne’s World’ (1992), the film relies heavily on the execution of risky slapstick humor, which it aces in spades. Rarely is a comedy so intelligently written, rarely condescending, and aims for laughs with such reckless abandon. Written by Taccone, Forte, and Saturday Night Live writer John Solomon, ‘MacGruber’ is the rare action comedy that wears its ridiculousness on its sleeve with the pride of a much larger production.
While it is undeniably hilarious and exceedingly satisfying, ‘MacGruber’ is not as neatly composed as one would hope, even considering the absurdity of the story. The action is deplorable, and aggravatingly unrealistic, with Phillipe effortlessly disposing dozens of trained killers scene after scene.
It is hard to chastise any aspect of the film for being unrealistic when it is so deliberately preposterous, but many sequences are too poorly choreographed to ignore. Taccone’s relative inexperience is useful in that he has not yet been corrupted by the stricter measures placed on more expensive studio pictures, but he is not yet capable of refining every aspect of a production.
‘MacGruber’ might never be canonized with many of our greatest comedies, but the talent involved could not care less. They merely aim to delight, a goal that they accomplished with extraordinary ease.
Published on May 4, 2010 at 12:00 pm
