B- | A commando who prefers tape and banana peels to firearms goes after his old nemesis. Directed by Jorma Taccone Starring Will Forte, Kristen Wiig, and Val Kilmer Review by Jon Kissel |
The mileage one gets out of MacGruber is going to be directly proportional to how much the viewer appreciates Will Forte’s facial gymnastics. I personally love it every time his weird face scrunches up in agony or fury, so this is a movie that works on me. Jorma Taccone, away from his Lonely Island roots, essentially makes a straight action flick and staffs it with a character who not only is a ripoff of an absurd 80’s primetime detective but is also the direct antithesis of every bad-ass testosterone-fest from the same decade. A solid premise plus whatever Forte is doing with his eyes in any given moment makes MaGruber into one of the decade’s better comedies, and one more unjustified commercial flop on the Lonely Island’s collective resumes.
The movies on the parody deck, specifically any Schwarzenegger or Stallone movie from the 80’s, are so ripe for puncturing because of their extremes. They present their protagonists as these perfect specimens of masculinity, complete with minimal body fat, absurd musculature, and a nonchalance to all the lives they take in pursuit of their goals. It’s such an over-the-top picture that it wills its opposite into the world, namely a know-nothing, petty, narcissistic clown who can be reduced to a male prostitute the first time things don’t go his way. So many of these action staples have a gay subtext, whether purposeful or not, and MacGruber is there to make it explicit, ogling the bodies of his mutant team but being repulsed by two men kissing each other. At the same time, Taccone knows his way around these kinds of action films, and he creates several scenes that are essentially indistinguishable from a second-tier Bruckenheimer. Whether or not Nic Cage or Patrick Swayze ever strutted around with a piece of celery in their ass (wide end first, counter-intuitively) is an open question, but the sets look like they might have spent some time in the vicinity.
Parodying a specific brand of action movie is one thing. Going after the know-it-all, self-mythologizing pseudo-alpha doesn’t require guns and explosions, as Will Ferrell’s made a career out of this. MacGruber has the high body count and the throat rips, and it’s also got the masculine depuffing. MacGruber is a coward who uses human shields, a clown who doesn’t realize the kids in his adopted Latino refuge are not impressed by him, a perceived sexual dynamo who drapes himself over his conquests and hilariously makes donkey sounds, and a cad who stole his best friend’s fiancée and convinced to get an abortion. His consistent incompetence doesn’t impact his ability to barge into rooms and demand people pay attention to him. MacGruber’s a person who sucks, full stop, and Forte leans all the way into his unlikable characteristics.
On top of the solid parody and the fleshed-out lead, MacGruber thrives on dollops of weirdness and comedic grace notes, both of which fuel the rewatchability of the film. Sound effects are juiced with a jaguar noise. He drops a one-liner and is immediately undercut by a phone ringing in the background. The hilarious side plot about the jerk whose license plate MacGruber grinds into the fiber of his being. That Val Kilmer’s villain role is the best thing he’s done in the last fifteen years, based solely on his petulant complaining as MacGruber takes apart his nuclear missile. That Kilmer’s Kunth is clearly the wronged party in his past relationship with MacGruber. I don’t understand how a comedy as fun as this failed to find an audience in theaters, and even now could barely be classified as a cult hit or a critical favorite, especially compared to something like the beloved (amongst the smart people) Popstar. Will Forte mimes fucking the ghost of his dead wife on her grave, complete with harmonious sex noises. What more do people want? B+
Parodying a specific brand of action movie is one thing. Going after the know-it-all, self-mythologizing pseudo-alpha doesn’t require guns and explosions, as Will Ferrell’s made a career out of this. MacGruber has the high body count and the throat rips, and it’s also got the masculine depuffing. MacGruber is a coward who uses human shields, a clown who doesn’t realize the kids in his adopted Latino refuge are not impressed by him, a perceived sexual dynamo who drapes himself over his conquests and hilariously makes donkey sounds, and a cad who stole his best friend’s fiancée and convinced to get an abortion. His consistent incompetence doesn’t impact his ability to barge into rooms and demand people pay attention to him. MacGruber’s a person who sucks, full stop, and Forte leans all the way into his unlikable characteristics.
On top of the solid parody and the fleshed-out lead, MacGruber thrives on dollops of weirdness and comedic grace notes, both of which fuel the rewatchability of the film. Sound effects are juiced with a jaguar noise. He drops a one-liner and is immediately undercut by a phone ringing in the background. The hilarious side plot about the jerk whose license plate MacGruber grinds into the fiber of his being. That Val Kilmer’s villain role is the best thing he’s done in the last fifteen years, based solely on his petulant complaining as MacGruber takes apart his nuclear missile. That Kilmer’s Kunth is clearly the wronged party in his past relationship with MacGruber. I don’t understand how a comedy as fun as this failed to find an audience in theaters, and even now could barely be classified as a cult hit or a critical favorite, especially compared to something like the beloved (amongst the smart people) Popstar. Will Forte mimes fucking the ghost of his dead wife on her grave, complete with harmonious sex noises. What more do people want? B+
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