The Hype: Walking license-to-print-money Seth MacFarlane, fresh off the success of his hilarious comedy Ted, opts for a Wild West spoof starring an immensely talented cast, including Charlize Theron, Amanda Seyfried, Liam Neeson, Neil Patrick Harris, Giovanni Ribisi, Sarah Silverman and...himself. The Reality: For starters, casting himself in the lead role was a huge mistake: sure, MacFarlane does his best Brian Griffin impression throughout just so you know who he is, but he sticks out like a sore thumb next to veritable Hollywood A-listers like Theron and Neeson. Even so, the movie has the usual obnoxiously smug tone that characterises a lot of MacFarlane's work, opting for the easy, protracted gags over actual humour, and with a run-time dangerously close to two hours, it's sorely in need of a trim down. Sure, the Doc Brown cameo was a great surprise, and the supporting cast tries hard, but this is pretty much the definition of a hit-and-miss comedy. Thankfully, audiences didn't exactly respond to it in hordes: the movie made $85 million, but that's pretty far from the $549 million that Ted raked in.
Stay at home dad who spends as much time teaching his kids the merits of Martin Scorsese as possible (against the missus' wishes).
General video game, TV and film nut. Occasional sports fan. Full time loon.
