A Million Ways to Die in the West: 4/10

Seth MacFarlane is the equivalent of the college student that has all the potential of breezing through his years with straight As and honors in everything imaginable----but settles for the easier, calmer Bs and Cs. The man is notoriously smart, notoriously gifted, and it makes all the more frustrating when Family Guy dips itself to crass and gross-out humor when we know that MacFarlane has the ability to make a show to the creative geeky levels of a Community or a 30 Rock.

A Million Ways to Die in the West falls straight into the woulda, coulda, shoulda category.

This comedic western (extremely rare genre with very few success stories) is a jumbled mess that unveils the wasted talent (Neil Patrick Harris and Sarah Silverman being the best examples) and the infinite level of potential. The plot was forgettable, the jokes and one-liners are all throwaways, and there was nothing really outstanding about the production aside from the cinematography. It was even lacking the classic Western tension that makes the genre stand out on its own.

MacFarlane tried to throw everything at the movie, from shifts in tone to the shifts in humor. And you thought Lone Ranger had a clunky tone, wait until you get a kick out of this one. There's a clever monologue about how bad life really was in the West, but then we get tons of toilet humor mixed in. Adding to the mayhem is a sentimental story, random violent sequences, even more random musical sequences, and unexpected but unnecessary cameos. It all felt very random and although it may work in a short film format (Robot Chicken), this style flounders severely if it becomes a two-hour affair.

There will be laughs; there will be some jokes that hit. But similar to the latter seasons of Family Guy, the amount of missed jokes subtracts from the overall enjoyment. And it hits the gut harder since this is a very smart, sophisticated, and well-rounded individual with tons of writing and singing experience behind the wheel. This is Seth MacFarlane we are talking about, not Adam Sandler. And the cast is full of Oscar and Emmy talent, not a bunch of duds (Like most of Adam Sandler's friends).

Seth, I know you are capable of much better. Step up to the plate and actually deliver it.