If you are a fan of Seth MacFarlane you will definitely enjoy A Million Ways to Die in the West. I was not a fan but I now have some admiration and respect for the creator of “Family Guy” who directed, produced and co-wrote the film. Any comedy western will be compared to the classic Blazing Saddles however there weren’t many similarities between the two films except for a great deal of flatulence humor. For me the movie began a little slowly and I had to get used to MacFarlane’s sense of humor. Eventually I caught on and found myself laughing here and there and following the entertaining storyline. However overall I found the film to be a bit too violent for a comedy and there were some tasteless racist jokes throughout that I found offensive. The movie is R rated containing explicit sexual content not appropriate for younger viewers.
The movie does have some amazing cinematography and awesome sound effects accompanied by a love story between MacFarlane’s sheep herder character and that of Charlize Theron’s character who is married to a notorious villain played nicely by Liam Neeson. My favorite scenes included any shots of Theron who’s beauty always captivates. Another scene stealing actor in the film is the incomparable Neil Patrick Harris who had some really hilarious scenes.
The ensemble cast also includes Amanda Seyfried, Giovanni Ribisi, and Sarah Silverman. There are also some surprise cameos from actors you’ll remember and enjoy seeing on the big screen again. I enjoyed the film but wished I would have laughed a bit more frequently. On a scale of 1 to 10 with 10 being fantastic I would give A Million Ways to Die in the West a 6 mainly because dying of laughter was not one of the million ways to die in this mediocre comedy western.
