Tweet
Released by: Universal
Released on: 9/7/2010
Director: Jorma Taccone
Cast: Will Forte, Val Kilmer, Powers Booth, Ryan Philippe, Maya Rudolph, Kristin Wiig
Year: 2010
Purchase From Amazon
The Movie:
It's amazing that Saturday Night Live continues to be able to spin off different characters into feature length movies. This has been pretty much a constant occurrence since The Blues Brothers graced the screen decades ago and it doesn't really show any signs of letting up. For every flop, like It's Pat, there's a blockbuster like Wayne's World, so evidently that's enough to keep them coming. It was pretty surprising when a MacGruber movie was announced, however. This was one of those instances where it didn't seem possible to take something that was funny, particularly to those of us who grew up in the eighties, in five minute installments and stretch it out to feature length, and to a certain extent that's true. That said, there's enough about MacGruber that works, so long as you've got a penchant for the crass and the stupid, that it's actually worth watching.
The movie follows the titular MacGruber (Will Forte reprising his SNL role) who, when the film begins, is living a quiet life away from his military past somewhere in Asia. His former superior, Colonel James Faith (Powers Boothe) lures him back to the fold when he tells him that the man who killed his wife, Casey (Maya Rudolph), during their wedding, Dieter Vun Cunth (Val Kilmer), may have acquired military technology capable of putting the country in great danger. He quickly gets the old team back together (made up of a bunch of wrestlers like Big Show and Chris Jericho) but they prove to be not long for this world and eventually he has only his loyal friend Vicki St. Elmo (Kristin Wiig) and an eager new guy named Lt. Dixon Piper (Ryan Phillippe) to depend on.
Those of us who were raised on the televised exploits of The A-Team and MacGuyver will appreciate all of the nods to the decade that inspired this parody. From the soundtrack to the 'period detail' like the car MacGruber drives or the Walkman he wears to the mullet that he sports and the wardrobe that he wears, this movie definitely owes a debt to bad eighties action shows. While the film is obviously poking fun at this material, it does so with its heart on its sleeve and despite the fact that it ups the sex and violence and language factor to decidedly adult levels, Forte and company have obviously got an affinity for what came before.
Performance wise, Forte and Kilmer own this one. Rudolph doesn't have much to do (though her sex scene in the graveyard with Forte is amazing) and Phillippe is pretty much relegated to playing the straight guy, though he does so well. Wiig is fine as the true female lead, but she too plays things a bit more seriously (and also gets an amazing sex scene). Forte and Kilmer do all the heavy lifting here, their characters existing at the opposite ends of the good guy/bad guy spectrum and really playing off of the clichés that this entails. Powers Boothe is also pretty amusing in his supporting part, but again, he's underused.
The film goes at a good clip, spending just enough time on the set up and the back story that once the main plot kicks in, we're in a good spot. The movie is absolutely predictable but you probably wouldn't want it any other way. What happens isn't surprising, though how it happens frequently is. Ultimately, this isn't Hot Fuzz, but as a send up of eighties action material, MacGruber works far better and is far funnier than it ever had a right to be.
Note: Universal has included both the theatrical version, which runs 90 minutes, and the unrated version, which runs 94 minutes, on this Blu-ray. The longer version has a bit more nudity and language than the R-rated cut, and as such, it's a bit funnier and a bit more surprising.
Video/Audio/Extras:
Universal presents MacGruber in a nice 1080p 2.35.1 anamorphic widescreen presentation that for the most part looks very nice. Colors are nice and bold and black levels are fairly strong and show good shadow detail, close ups in particular. Texture is strong as is tone, and there's really not much here to complain about at all. Skin tones look lifelike and natural and there's plenty of detail throughout the presentation. There aren't any problems with mpeg compression artifacts, edge enhancement or print damage and really, the movie looks very good here.
The primary track is a DTS-HD 5.1 Master Audio mix in English, though standard definition French and Spanish dubs are supplied in DTS 5.l Surround Sound. The sound is quite good throughout the film, there's a lot more ambient and background noise coming at you from the rear channels, probably more than you'd expect, and the few action scenes in the film pack some nice punch. Listen for the some nice gunshot effects whizzing past you in a few spots, there's some very crisp and distinct surround activity there to enjoy. Dialogue stays clean and clear throughout and there are no problems with hiss or distortion to complain about. Optional subtitles are supplied in English SDH, French and Spanish.
The only extra of any substance, outside of the alternate version of the movie, is a commentary track featuring star/co-writer Will Forte, Jorma Taccone and co-writer John Solomon which is amusing enough in that it takes the movie about as seriously as it should. There's a lot of joking around here and poking fun at the ridiculousness of it all but also some interesting information about bringing an SNL skit to the big screen and the challenges that always entails, casting, effects and stunts, and script revisions and ideas.
Aside from that, look for a single deleted scene that runs just under a minute, an eight minute gag reel (which is actually pretty funny), Universal's standard animated menus, and chapter selection. The disc is Blu-ray Live enabled if you want to go online and access more content, and features Pocket Blu connectivity allowing you to mess around with the disc using your smart phone if that's your bag.
The Final Word:
Make no bones about it, MacGruber is a stupid movie, but just try not to laugh while you watch it. Sure, it's got its problems, but the interesting cast and ridiculous over the top aspects of the picture make it easy to enjoy regardless. Universal's Blu-ray release is light on extras but it looks great and it sounds great and contains both the theatrical and unrated cuts of the picture. It's no Hot Fuzz, but it's still a whole lot of fun.