I'm kind of looking forward to this one, despite it being one of the dumbest SNL skits. I love Kristen Wiig though. How is she in it?

I'm still in awe they managed to turn such a quick unfunny sketch into a full length feature film.

Sign me up for Team MacGruber!

(...and he didn't even need to suck my dick...)

This movie is filthy! I mean it - - dirty. And freakin' violent too!!!

Off-the-wall script full of humor that is true to the characters and a full-on spoof of every action scene of 80's TV & movies with a soundtrack to match.

...and the casts' verve and commitment is what drives this baby home.

MacGruber's a winner! (...but you already knew that.)


63 out of 5.


{Note: The first movie I've been to this year where the audience were literally slapping their knees in convulsions of aghast laughter.}

To the point: MacGruber is the best SNL adaptation since The Blues Brothers. The transition from Lorne Michaels' iconic television series to the silver screen can be smooth, with The Blues Brothers and Wayne's World representing the gold standard, but has also produced several notorious duds, such as The Ladies Man, the dire Tim Meadows vehicle.

After the violent death of his wife (Maya Rudolph) at the hands of sinister international criminal Dieter Von Cunth (Val Kilmer), American hero MacGruber (Will Forte) has retired to Ecuador to lead a peaceful life. However, after Von Cunth steals a nuclear weapon, MacGruber is forced to end his self-imposed exile and return to action. "The game has changed," an authoritative colonel/father figure (Powers Boothe) warns. "But the players are the same," replies MacGruber.

MacGruber is a clever deconstruction of Reagan-era action films and a memorable feature-length showcase for Will Forte. Imagine an '80s Stallone film, but one where the camp and homoerotic tension is multiplied by a thousand and the protagonist's confident exterior disguises a deep well of emotional turmoil and sexual quirks. This is MacGruber and it is driven by Forte's (who also serves as a co-writer) energetic screen presence and distinct, unpredictable sense of humor. It is a blast.

A-

MacGruber is a hilarious movie from start to finish and while it doesn't break any comedy barriers or have any really side-splitting moments, its a film that will keep you laughing every minute it is on. Will Forte, Kristen Wigg, and Ryan Philippe all do a great job and hopefully the film will find a cult following on DVD. ***

See the movie for yourself than judge BKB. Noises Off is arguably one of the funniest films ever made and it made only 2 million.

Sometimes great comedies just dont do well. SNL's track record for the last 17 years certainly hurt this films chances.

When are you going to understand that the quality of the movie doesn't really effect how it opens? MacGruber didn't LOOK that funny, so people didn't see it. That doesn't mean the actual movie was not indeed hilarious. I've heard from several people that it's hilarious, so I'll trust that over its Box Office numbers. How much a movie makes does not mean it's good or bad.

Dude, how much did THE DESCENT 2 do? What's that? $0 I hear?

It wasn't even deemed worthy of a theatrical release. And that being the sequel of one of the best reviewed horror films lately. An even bigger EPIC FAIL if you ask me.

Back to the kangaroos.

I agree, I'm also thinking A-

Wow, I need to see this A.S.A.P. Everyone here loving it has gotten me very excited.

I caught MacGruber for 3rd time tonite and upon thoughtful reflection I can now safely say that it is a newborn comedy masterpiece.

I'm not joking.

Better yet - - it is only the set-up. It is the first in a series of films. Ladies and gentlemen, this is the dawn of the MacGruber franchise. Our children will look back on this weekend decades from now and wish they could have been blessed to see it in first-run with a lively audience.

Perhaps to better understand it from the perspective of this early stage in it's gestation, one might see it as an honest (though filthier) descendant of it's genre ancestor Austin Powers.

A spoof of old spy genre pics set in the "60's" by an SNL alumnus.

A spoof of old action genre pics set in the "80's" by an SNL alumnus.

Do you hear an echo?

The first Austin Powers movie received a similarly chilly reception at the BO way back in 1997 with an opening weekend of only $9,548,111, and ending it's run at $53,883,989. (Though the multiplier shows the strong WOM among it's devoted early adopters with small drops as it rode through it's Spring run.)

MacGruber will follow that same pattern. Unremarkable theatrical run followed by boffo DVD sales leading to a sequel that grosses 4X as much as the original, and a third even more successful entry.

The modern masses require time to digest comedy. They will have to listen to the lines many times to grasp the idiotic brilliance of MacGruber - - but once they do, they will demand more MacGruber and more MacGruber. Sequels are easy to sell when you've been pre-MacGruber-ized.

If you haven't seen it yet, I highly recommend setting aside time this coming Friday or Saturday night to go see MacGruber with some crude comedy loving friends - - be sure to pick a busy showtime and experience the thrill of enjoying a belly laugh comedy film with a convulsing audience. Don't believe me? Read the reviews of your fellow KJer's above.

This is a glorious moment in film history - - All hail MacGruber (and Vicki St. Elmo)!

the budget was less than 10m, we have yet to see how legs are, and this is exactly the type of film to be far more attractive on dvd sales. If it winds up with strong legs and makes 15m+ it's already very close to making it's money back, and then huge dvd sales could very well spawn a sequel.

****/**** A+

It's doubtful there will be a sequel. I suppose it could happen if this becomes a huge cult hit, which is very possible from the sound of it. Still, I wouldn't bet on one.

So ridiculously retarded but so freaking hilarious. I haven't laughed this hard at a movie in a long time.

Solid 8/10

I couldn't stop laughing. I just couldn't help myself. Like many have said, it's an extremely dumb movie and a good chunk of the jokes fall flat, but how can a film in which the hero imagines himself fucking his dead bride on top of her grave, while moaning and groaning like an absolute ass against air, not be funny?

***

Yep, that's why I gave it a good review BK Broiler; I felt sorry for it.

Because it opened to shitty numbers (it didn't really look hilarious and those who don't watch SNL might have thought it was just another crappy film churned out by them) and was then taken out of every theater (and rightfully so; it didn't do any business).

But, as it has been explained to you countless times, a film's box office success doesn't have anything to do with how good the film actually is, ESPECIALLY on it's opening weekend. If people think something looks like shit, they won't go. It doesn't automatcially mean they were correct or that I was correct for going to see it.

BK Value Meal, do yourself a favor and don't waste what little brain power you've got left. It's not worth anyone's time when you try too hard.

That comment reeked of desperation as an easy way out and you know it, not to mention the fact that YES, I am pretty fucking smart kid and the way I see this: The movie bombed cause it sucked and it wasn't funny.. People here such as yourself praising it citing how over the top funny it is are doing so out of pity for it's worst run at the theatres and massive drop since GIGLI..

I hit a nerve.