It seems naturally fitting that having attempted everything else in Hollywood, Seth MacFarlane would fancy being the leading man in his own movie.
Having already been a cartoonist, voiceover artist, director, writer, producer and voice actor in his own animated movie, it appears the live-action star in his own movie - his acting debut, no less - was his next step to attempting some kind of beserk cultural domination. He even released a novel version of this movie two months ago.
Reportedly, he may not have engaged in this move, with Paul Rudd apparently approached over the role before MacFarlane decided to step into the breach himself.
Nevertheless, you would be forgiven for hoping for something special - MacFarlane has created some hilarious comedy moments with his previous TV and film work, there's an impressive looking cast - both on the bill and with cameos - and it looked good in the trailers.
This, however, does have the hallmark of a vanity project. Despite the impressive looking roster, the insane hands-on approach MacFarlane takes to this is absurd, and its safe to say he's found his own inspiration for this in his obsession for Western movies and in his own personal life.
MacFarlane has said in interviews he has been dumped by girls for being too nice. Naturally, inside the opening five minutes, his cowardly sheep farmer character Albert Stark is dumped by his girlfriend Louise (Amanda Seyfried) after skedaddling on the standard Western showdown.
Albert essentially opens as a function to slag off the Western Frontier of America as a place to live, citing dozens upon dozens of reasons to his only friends Edward (Giovanni Ribisi) and his prostitute fiancee Ruth (Sarah Silverman).
Edward and Ruth are Christians withholding sex from one another until marriage, despite Ruth doing everything with everyone around town. Its a mildly amusing gag at first, but despite one or two other moments, it gets old staggeringly quickly.
Repetition becomes a problem - its not enough to have one joke, as it has to be repeated, and given its use in the trailer, its stale quickly.
A lot of the jokes are, naturally, so worn out from the trailer that they fail to resonate so well. There is some withheld stuff that, mercifully, adds something to the table. Particularly amusing is Albert's father George (Christopher Hagen), who is gloriously profane in the classic crochety old man role.
Also working well with a magnificent amount of scenery-chewing, if a little underused, is Louise's new lover Foy (Neil Patrick Harris), and his fabulously ornate moustache. He and Albert do not get on well, with Foy being a particularly devious man - like Patrick Harris' How I Met Your Mother show-stealer Barney Stinson, only somehow even more of an ass.
Considering both Patrick Harris and MacFarlane are renowned for their singing abilities, it feels odd neither gets a change to show off their vocals, with the - admittedly impressive - solo song performed by country singer Amick Byram.
The song in MacFarlane's character's heart is certainly minute, as he struggles to blend in amidst the fights. Bizarrely, though, heart-tugging rom-coms seem to be the aim for his character's arc when Anna (Charlize Theron) strolls into town.
She is married to infamous outlaw Clinch Leatherwood (Liam Neeson), but naturally keeps it a secret long enough for Albert to fall in love with her.
In truth, the rom-com aspect is extremely basic, although MacFarlane does seem like he has the potential for such work. His acting beyond classic voice work does need work, but there is some promise lurking there.
He does, however, at time reminds you of Brian Griffin in a bolo tie and Stetson. In truth, its kind of a curse MacFarlane and his co-writers in Family Guy have been involved, as it reminds a lot of one of the recent lackluster recent works put out by the Fox animated staple.
That's not to say everything fails to hit the mark. There are amusing lines dotted hither and thither, some provoke a smirk and there are one or two guffaws. Some amusing lines drop in and out, and there is an amusing cameo from American talk show host Bill Maher. But there is also a heavy reliance of sex, race and scatological jokes, and while some are amusing, and there is one jaw-droppingly offensive joke later somehow made even more weird with a late cameo for Django (Jamie Foxx)
There's also a bizarre on-drugs sequence near the end when Albert is taken in by some friendly Indians.
While its been trailed as mocking the Old West for being a truly detestable place to live, this is in many ways its own love letter to the genre of Western films. The piece as a whole looks beautiful, and has cinematography very well in keeping with the world of a Western movie. A Western-aping soundtrack is also very nicely set to the piece.
But at almost 2 hours, it is at least half an hour too long, and feels like it stretches things a bit thin at times. MacFarlane's previous comedy project Ted may only have been 15 minutes shorter, but was a leaner piece with evolution in the style and strategy.
This, by contrast, has a fairly basic plot on which hangs a range of hit-and-miss jokes, while some characters impress more than others.
In short, it is like watching a live-action Family Guy set in 1882 Arizona. There's even a cameo role for Alex Borstein - better known as Lois Griffin - and the odd pop culture reference too.
The frustrating element is that there was much promise, ranging from its cast and pedigree to its beautiful setting. But while the films look was certainly up to scratch, it would've been better if the jokes were consistently up to scratch.
2.75/5
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