The best part of Seth MacFarlane’s various animated TV shows (Family Guy, American Dad, The Cleveland Show) and one film (Ted) might just be that you don’t actually have to see MacFarlane in them. You don’t have to see the shit-eating grin you knows he’s wearing when reading bigoted, mean-spirited, misogynistic dialog as Peter Griffin or Ted the bear. You know the grin – it’s the same one he had on his face the entire time he hosted the Academy Awards.
Not having to stare at that face actually makes his brand of abrasive comedy far easier to take. You can simply respond to the animated characters and not be distracted by how the voice behind the characters (Peter Griffin, Brian, Stewie, Stan Smith, Ted) is so exceedingly pleased with himself. Because for as lazy as MacFarlane’s writing is on Family Guy (South Park wasn’t wrong about that) damn that man can be incredibly funny, and his love for providing sinister lyrics for otherwise traditional song and dance numbers is often brilliant.
That’s what makes his next film, A Million Ways to Die in the West, so vexing. He hit big last year with Ted, which was his directorial debut. However, he’s not actually in that film but instead voices the animated teddy bear who interacts with Mark Wahlberg and Mila Kunis. For many, the first time they saw him was probably at the Academy Awards where he offended people with his “We Saw Your Boobs” song, looked like a somewhat unseasoned live performer, but still managed to pull off plenty of great jokes, injecting the typically stodgy show with an admirable energy.
A Million Ways to Die in the West is his second film as a director, but this time he’s also the star meaning there is no animated character acting as a filter for his comedy. The red-band (translation: unrated) trailer is out, and MacFarlane looks every bit the mediocre live-action actor you expect. Similarly, the humor is crude, sophomoric, kind of like a Family Guy episode if Brian and Stewie somehow ended up in a western….and it looks kind of funny though bawdy enough to certainly not be for everyone:
Here’s the Trailer
A Million Ways to Die in the West’s official plot synopsis:
“Set in Arizona 1882, Albert (Seth MacFarlane), a sheep farmer who lacks courage, loses his beloved girlfriend (Amanda Seyfried) as a result of his withdrawal from a duel. He soon meets another lady (Charlize Theron), discovering his bravery and confidence. The herder soon realizes his true potential when the lady’s spouse (Liam Neeson), an infamous criminal, demands payback.”
But your eyes didn’t deceive you – that was Neil Patrick Harris, Sarah Silverman, and Giovanni Ribisi in the trailer. There was also the hint of at least one song & dance number (that’s why you cast NPH and Seyfried), at least one Family Guy-esque fantasy sequence, and even a reference to Mila Kunis (with her name being used as if it was a phrase from Native American language). Ted struggled to know how to stretch a Family Guy-like plot and series of jokes across a feature film-length, and A Million Ways to Die in the West probably will as well. However, with NPH, Amanda Seyfried, and a very game Charlize Theron and Liam Neeson in the cast the major element that could hold this film back might be the unproven-as-an-actor MacFarlane.
A Million Ways to Die in the West is due to open wide in the US on May 30, 2014.
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