A Million Ways To Die In The West (2014, dir. Seth MacFarlane)

In Seth MacFarlane’s new, comedic Western “A Million Ways To Die In The West”, the director stars as Albert Stark, a pessimistic, poor sheep farmer.  Albert doesn’t have much going for him:  his girlfriend, Louise (Amanda Seyfried) leaves him near the beginning and the West, where he lives, basically sucks.  He rambles on to his friend Edward (Giovanni Ribisi) about his plight and the fact that death, here in the West, is constantly waiting in the wings in a variety of potential circumstances.

Enter Anna (Charlize Theron), the wife of the fearsome bandit Clinch (Liam Neeson) who comes to Albert’s town to wait for her husband arrival.  She strikes up a friendship with Albert and teaches him to have more courage and self-esteem and to shoot a little more accurately.

This movie has some hilarious moments and situations thanks mostly to a device used previously in “Shanghai Noon”.  In that movie, Owen Wilson’s cowboy had a dry, ironic outlook that didn’t seem at home in the setting and time but was more a contemporary, twenty-first century outlook.  This strategy is used, effectively again in “A Million Ways To Die In The West” where Albert’s condescendingly bleak outlook and manner of speaking is more of a product of modern day vernacular than what you would expect from the late 19th century.

At one point Albert and Edward are walking down a street in town and see a young boy running down the street with a hoop and stick.  The comment which Albert makes is something to the effect that today’s children are losing the power of concentration and attention because of their preoccupation with this new toy.  This, obviously an allusion to present-day children’s love of video games and other electronic devices, is an ironic, hilarious example of this film’s sense of humour in looking at the old, wild West through contemporary eyes.

There is a lot of really crass, juvenile, bodily-function jokes having to do with farting, shitting, and sex.  This is what you would expect from the creator of Family Guy and Ted but is also relevant to the time and setting of the film.  Sarah Silverman has a funny role as Ruth, a prostitute who is in a relationship with Edward, a bible-thumping Christian.  Despite having close to twenty customers a day, Ruth and Edward haven’t consummated their relationship yet and are waiting to be married.

Also be on the lookout for brief cameos by big Hollywood names.  Ewan MacGregor turns up at one point so briefly and unexpectedly that you would miss him if you blinked.

This film has a fun time playing with the conventions of a genre that has become one the most familiar in all of cinema.  The genre has surpassed the revisionist model and the only thing left to do is a send-up in the style of this film.  There are hilarious and gross-out moments that will entertain you.  Unfortunately, it’s all pretty predictable and you know from the start who’s going to end up in the arms of who in the end.  But, its funny and a good time.