All of the promotional efforts for A Million Ways to Die in the West alert us to the fact that the movie is “from the guy who brought you Ted,” which means Seth MacFarlane has certainly been able to capitalize on that huge branding opportunity. We should respect him though because he’s proving to have enough guts to tackle tougher comedic challenges. This time out, he plays a farmer in the wild west crushing hard on a newcomer (Charlize Theron) with a bit of a past, in the form of a gun slinging husband (Liam Neeson) who follows her to the town and sets his murderous sights on the hapless folks. Looks like MacFarlane’s firing up what he hopes will be a blazing good time. Now in theaters. (R) Not screened in time for review
This article appears in May 28 – Jun 3, 2014.