“IT’S THE BOMB”
Starring: Will Forte, Kristen Wiig, Ryan Phillippe, Powers Boothe, Maya Rudolph and Val Kilmer
Directed by: Jorma Taccone
MPAA Rating: R for strong crude and sexual content, violence, language and some nudity.
Genre: Action/Adventure, Comedy
Release date: May 21, 2010
Run Time: 1hr and 28min
Studio: Universal Pictures
By John Delia
Taking a small segment from “Saturday Night Live” and making it into a full-length feature takes a lot of ingenuity, imagination and money, all three of which are accomplished with the very funny MacGruber. The hilarious adult comedy hits the screen with a bang and provides a very funny hour and twenty-eight minutes of entertainment. The target audience for MacGruber is adult males and best viewed with a group of them.
If you have never seen a sketch of “MacGruber “ on SNL then you are missing out on some great tongue-in-cheek comedy. Reprising their roles from the late night variety show are Will Forte and Kristen Wiig, both veteran comedians.
In the television skit a bomb is set to go off in a prominent location and MacGruber is there with only 20 seconds to explosion. Known for his ability to make anything from household items, he sets out to disarm the bomb with interesting results. The ludicrous little plot is played out in 3 different ways each time with a parody on American social values.
The film story goes something like this; An honored military hero, MacGruber (Forte) gets called in to find
his sworn enemy, Dieter Von Cunth (Val Kilmer) who has stolen a nuclear warhead to blow up Washington D.C. When MacGruber’s squad gets eliminated he turns to Vicki St. Elmo (Wiig) and Lt. Dioxon Piper (Ryan Phillippe) to help him run down the dastardly Cunth and stop him from blowing up the US Government.
What is amazing about MacGruber however, comes from the writers, Jorma Taccone and Will Forte. Getting an hour and a half out of a 5 minute comedy routine, keeping me laughing throughout, coming up with some outlandish situations and bringing the film to a lofty close tops most of the comedy I’ve seen this year.
The direction by Taccone is snappy and the acting keeps with the SNL sketch, very whimsical. Forte as MacGruber bungles his way through tight spots while Wiig playing St. Elmo takes a beating due to MacGrubers tactical errors. I also liked Phillippe who kept a straight face in sequences that are down right sidesplitting.
The film is rated R for strong crude and sexual content, violence, language and some nudity.
FINAL ANALYSIS: A funny action spoof that adult males should enjoy. (4 of 5 Palm Trees)