MacGruber: Exactly what you might have expected.
Movie Reviews May 28th. 2010, 8:32pmLorne Michaels has made millions from SNL and has launched the big screen careers of a number of cast members. Some are rather successful like Dan Ackroyd, Bill Murray, Chevy Chase, Eddie Murphy, Adam Sandler, and some not as in: Joe Piscopo, Tim Meadows, Rob Schnieder, Chris Farley, Seth Myers and Molly Shannon. Where will Will Forte fall? Probably not in the success category, but let’s not be too judgemental. MacGruber is an extended parody of a sketch parody of Macgyver that recurs on SNL. It is really just a reinterpretation of Inspector Clouseau from the Pink Panther movies. This movie is so over the top with it’s bits and SNL cast cameos that you wonder if anyone in the production ever made a movie before. Now there are some off the wall funny scenes, if you like crude sophomoric humor. Everyone, but Forte, is the straight man and that is the only way to play it in this type of film. Val Kilmer is the villain, Powers Booth the general and Ryan Phillipe the competent side kick. How they got these guys together for this film must be a case study in Hollywood deal making and studio greenlighting. Will Forte has some comedy chops and displays them, but the final product isn’t up to the caliber of some of those mentioned earlier.