A Million Ways To Die In The West(2014) Film Review

4/4 Stars, Thumbs Up

Rated R For Strong Crude And Sexual Content, Language Throughout, Some Violence And Drug Material.

1hr 56min/116min.

50 Uses Of The F-word.

Albert: "I'm not the hero. I'm the guy in the crowd making fun of the hero's shirt; that's who I am."

A Million Ways To Die In The West is certainly no the funniest film ever created, but for what it gives you, it is pretty funny. Really funny, actually. Seth MacFarlane has given us a 116 minute epic western comedy that is the funniest western comedy since Blazing Saddles, and while they don't list exactly 1,000,000 ways to die in the old western frontier, there is a body count. With a wonderful ensemble and a great amount of gags, A Million Ways To Die In The West is well worth the price of admission. 

Albert Stark(Seth MacFarlane) isn't the toughest man out in the old west and that goes to show when his girlfriend Louise(Amanda Seyfried) dumps him for mustache equipped Foy(Neil Patrick Harris). When Albert challenges Foy to a gunfight, he instantly realizes that he has no idea how to shoot. With the help of newcomer Anna(Charlize Theron) whose husband Clinch Leatherwood(Liam Neeson) is the deadliest fighter in the west, Albert realizes along the way that he might not only gain more confidence in himself, but also have feelings for Anna as well.

All of the performers are game. Seth MacFarlane(2012's Ted) is likeable and funny as the helpless protagonist Albert whom you see through his plight throughout the course of the film. Charlize Theron(2011's Young Adult) is having a lot of fun with herself as the caring Anna, and it's nice to see Theron in a role that's not a dramatic one. Giovanni Ribisi(2000's Boiler Room) as Albert's best friend Ed is fun and so is Sarah Silverman(2012's Wreck-It-Ralph) as his girlfriend Ruth a woman who has no problem with having sexual contact with 10-15 guys a day due to her job as a prostitute but wants to wait to have sex with Ed until marriage due to her religion. 

The two stand-out performers are Liam Neeson(2014's Non-Stop) as growling-scowling villain Clinch Leatherwood, who would do anything for his wife Anna, and Neil Patrick Harris(2013's The Smurfs 2) as the mustachioed Foy. I delighted in watching Harris onscreen. He embraces this persona like it's no other role. And he's quite funny as a mustachioed villain. The highlight is when he's singing a song about mustaches.

I wish there could be a million things to say about A Million Ways To Die In The West. Even though I loved the film there's not a lot to talk about. It is funny, incredibly funny and the ensemble all work marvelously together. When comparing MacFarlane's two directing efforts next to each other, I would go with Ted, only because there were a couple of more jokes I found funnier in that than in A Million Ways To Die In The West. Although the cameo at the very end, which not dare be revealed by me, is my pick for the best cameo of the year.