According to Seth MacFarlane, there are a million ways to die in the west. Too bad not a one of them could have come to put me out of my misery while watching his dreadful new film. It doesn’t just miss the mark of Western comedic great “Blazing Saddles;” MacFarlane pretty much misfires on laughs altogether.
“A Million Ways to Die in the West” amounts to little more a bloated reel of MacFarlane kvetching about everything in his life. At first, it just seems like a long-winded way of setting up the perilousness of the primitive civilization he intends to mock. Yet after about 10 minutes, it becomes clear that MacFarlane is never going to shut up. The experience becomes akin to being locked in a room with your annoying friend that can only speak in the form of complaints – for nearly two hours.
MacFarlane’s relentless pessimism is so pervasive that it overpowers the rest of the cast. Only Neil Patrick Harris, cleverly employed here as a cocky cuckold with a finely-kept mustache, manages to entertain in the slightest with any wit. Charlize Theron, as MacFarlane’s pseudo-love interest, coasts through the film on autopilot and never really sparks. Amanda Seyfried and Liam Neeson are mentally checked out as well, but they’re playing such familiar roles that it really doesn’t seem quite as egregious.
Marshall and the Movies 
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