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When trying to write a review for a movie based on a Saturday Night Live skit, there’s only so much you can say without being the critic that is clearly over-analyzing what’s there.  Through the years we’ve had a string of SNL-based movies, some of which were fun little diversions, and a few of which were forgettable and fast to leave theaters.  The highlights include THE BLUES BROTHERS, WAYNE’S WORLD, A NIGHT AT THE ROXBURY (well, it’s one of my guilty pleasure favorites), and OFFICE SPACE (loosely an SNL film, as it was based on Mike Judge’s “Milton” animations featured on SNL).  But others like THE CONEHEADS, IT’S PAT, and SUPERSTAR are considered by many to be fairly unwatchable.  The latest entry is MACGRUBER, based on the “MacGuyver” parody skit, which on Saturday Night Live typically runs under 60 seconds, and consists of the mullet-wearing hero failing to diffuse a bomb in the little amount of time he’s given.  It’s a snicker-inducing skit, already border-lining on being tired and overused, but it’s become just popular enough for the SNL folks to push it into the theatrical realm.  Besides, what other skit that’s currently running could they use anyway?

MACGRUBER opens with the nefarious and cold-blooded Dieter Von Cunth (Val Kilmer) stealing a Russian nuclear warhead in a rather violent fashion.  Colonel James Faith (Powers Boothe), aided by Lt. Dixon Piper (Ryan Phillippe), tracks down MacGruber (Will Forte) – an ex-special forces expert who has been out of the game for 10 years.  The Colonel wants the former hero to help recover the warhead, but MacGruber is hesitant to return to duty.  Eventually he comes around, and brings in old friend Vicki St. Elmo (Kristen Wiig) to help.  With the assistance of Lt. Piper, they attempt to get to the bottom of Cunth’s evil plans, doing everything about as wrong as you possibly can.

The film was a huge hit at this year’s South By Southwest Film Festival, reportedly “bringing down the house” during its only screening.  I was more than a little bitter about not getting in to that screening, but I knew I’d see it eventually.  I like Will Forte on SNL, and in many ways think he’s one of the more brilliant actors currently gracing that cast.  But to be brutally honest, I never thought the MacGruber skits were all that great, at least not past the first few.  Every now and then one will come along and make me chuckle, but like many SNL bits, it’s a gag that appears to be stretched pretty thin already.  Like many, I was curious how in the world they could expand a 60-second skit to a 90-minute film.  Well one thing that is interesting about this incarnation is that almost everything we know (outside of the name and personality) about the skit is absent.  MacGruber doesn’t diffuse any bombs, and there’s no countdown clock until the very end of the film.  But outside of that, going into a movie like this knowing what to expect, I did find myself laughing pretty heartily for a majority of that 90 minutes.  Does that mean MACGRUBER is a great film?  Did it bring down the house I was in?  Not hardly.

Let’s start with Forte.  He’s very funny to watch and very good with his comedic timing.  He should be, right?  But you’re not going to identify with MacGruber in this film, nor are you really going to root for him.  In fact, he’s kind of a jerk throughout the movie.  The character’s naiveté and cockiness keeps him from being very likable, though in a movie like this I suppose that doesn’t matter too much.  The reason I bring this up is because in other similar movies, like THE NAKED GUN films for example, Leslie Nielsen’s character was at its core a likable fella.  Even in slapstick comedies, there’s something to be said for having a hero you care about and want to see win.  Kristen Wiig was meant for roles like this, playing the innocent and smitten girl who follows the hero foolishly into danger.  Like most of the characters in this film, she’s sadly underwritten, but overall effective in her purpose.  Wiig is definitely an audience favorite, and while it’s always nice to see her in a film, she’s not much more than set dressing here I’m afraid.  But perhaps the most annoyingly underdeveloped character in this story is Ryan Phillippe’s role of Lt. Piper.  I was a little surprised to see someone like Phillippe in this film to begin with, but I imagine he was either a fan of the material, or just thought this would be an opportunity to show his funnier side… despite the fact he’s playing the straight man.  Now the biggest piece of satisfaction in MACGRUBER, for me at least, was seeing Val Kilmer ham it up as the bad guy.  It’s safe to say Kilmer’s career as of late has been less than stellar, filled mostly with direct-to-DVD low-budget thrillers.  It’s nice to see him back on the big screen, and having fun with a role that could have been horribly miscast.  There’s a few brief moments with Val that are genuinely very pleasing for the crowd.  And of course there’s Powers Boothe, who is always fun to watch.  Here he’s playing the exposition-spouting authoritative figure, but still so perfectly at home.  Wrestling fans will enjoy some peppered cameos by well-known WWE superstars.  Also look for a brief cameo by Derek Mears (Jason in the new FRIDAY THE 13th) as one of Kilmer’s goons.

I know, I know, you’re wondering, “Yes, but is it funny???”  Yes, it is funny, and in some spots very funny.  But I fear that the South By Southwest crowd may have been overly pumped up when they saw their screening.  After all, the cast was attending, it was a long line to wait in, and easily one of the most anticipated films to be shown for that festival.  Had I seen that particular screening, I might have been a little more excited.  But as it is, I enjoyed MACGRUBER, I just didn’t love it.  Is it one of the better SNL movies?  Yes.  Is it a perfect comedy?  Hardly.  The first half (particularly the earliest scenes) is very well done, but the second half is fairly uneven.  Jorma Taccone directs the action, and does a nice job making fun of some of the most memorable action films of the 1980’s and 90’s, and everyone appears to be having fun with what they’re doing, so I suppose that’s the key.  Ultimately MACGRUBER is a fun comedic diversion, albeit tacky and violent to many extremes.  As a summer movie, it may end up feeling misplaced.  Had it been released in the Spring or Fall, it might have fared a lot better.  Then again, it may end up being a sleeper hit, which would be great for Will Forte.  Maybe I’m a little upset because I wanted to like the film more than I did, but it’s not a total wash.  The rather hilarious sex scene (two of them actually), and certain memorable gags make this an easy film to laugh along with.  Check it out and let us know what you think.

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