MacGruber began life as a series of sketches on Saturday Night Live, itself a parody of '80s action-adventure series MacGyver. In some ways that would appear to be a tough sell for most audiences outside of the US, but certainly in the UK. SNL is one of those shows that's never enjoyed much success whenever British channels give it an airing -– although admittedly they tend to schedule it around 12-2am. Similarly, MacGuyver is perhaps most famous for being the show Patti and Selma obsess over in The Simpsons here, so I daresay most people think it's not even real. Or, if you're lucky, there'll be the odd Stargate SG1 fan aware of Richard Dean Anderson's earlier work. And this movie stars Will Forte? Who's he?
However, let's not be too hasty. It's certainly not ideal that so much of MacGruber's genetics hasn't crossed over into non-US pop-culture, but that didn't stop Wayne's World from being a success. If the characters and idea are strong enough, and the humour's there, it stands a chance. It helps that MacGruber is essentially poking fun at a wider genre than just one TV series, as it's ultimately a pastiche of cheesy '80s action in all its guises. The overconfident macho hero, the silly one-liners, the Euro baddies, the scene where you need to disarm a bomb by cutting the right wire, etc, etc.
The trailer for MacGruber is embedded above, and it looks quite fun. It's clearly low budget, but that's perhaps a good sign because it means the jokes and performances have to compensate. It's why Austin Powers International Man Of Mystery is a far, far better movie than either of its big-budget sequels. And I'm personally growing very bored of seeing Steve Carrell, Will Ferrell, Jack Black, Paul Rudd and Michael Cera in every comedy these days –- so the fact Will Forte's a new face to me has its appeal, too. I just hope he's a funny guy. It's hit-and-miss with those SNL performers. This movie also stars Val Kilmer (as the villain Dieter Von Cunth), Kristen Wiig (it's such fun spelling her name), Bill Hader, Ryan Phillippe, Maya Rudolph and Powers Boothe.
Anyway, I chuckled at a few moments in the trailer -– mainly the scene where MacGruber's confronted by a bomb containing hundreds of wires, and not just three of separate colour – but I detected a vibe that it'll perhaps only play best to fans of the SNL sketches, and everyone else may feel like it's a fairly generic lampoon starring a bunch of "nobodies".
Released: 23 April 2010 (US)
