DVD Reviews

MacGruber – DVD Review

By June L. Sep 7, 2010, 12:25 GMT

Only one operative has been awarded 16 purple hearts and only one guy is man enough to still sport a mullet. In the 10 years since his fiancée was killed special op MacGruber has sworn off a life of fighting crime with his bare hands. But when he learns his country needs him to find a nuclear warhead that\'s been stolen by his sworn enemy Dieter VonCunth (Val Kilmer) MacGruber ...more

If silly spoofs of well-known genres are your taste, MacGruber is sure to please.  An over the top action adventure with a hero who wears a mullet and constructs his weapons from everyday items is entertaining especially when made up of a cast of very able actors.

Will Forte reprises his Saturday Night Life skit role as the arrogant and intrepid MacGruber who has given up his action hero days, but comes back to save the country once again.  His first team doesn’t materialize, well it does, but to tell anymore would be a spoiler. 

He is ably assisted in his pursuit of the evil villain Dieter VonCunth (Val Kilmer) by his long-time associate Vicky St. Elmo (Kristen Wiig, also of Saturday Night Live) and a by the book rookie lieutenant (Ryan Phillippe). 

Will Forte is funny as the 21st Century challenged action hero, clueless and arrogant, he is in a time warp…..forever.  Kristen Wiig as Vicky, had us giggling with her ability to call into play all the elements of the female sidekick and still manage to show she is way smarter than MacGruber.  Ryan Phillipe as the lieutenant was the perfect blend of astonishment and admiration as he grudgingly accepts the unorthodox behavior of MacGruber. 

Kilmer is astonishingly good as the enemy VonCundt, in fact he plays the role so seriously and convincingly, it is easy to forget this is supposed to be a send up of the genre.  This is a positive for the film and keeps the viewer’s interest.  Many references both audio and visual to the 1980’s and 1990’s will have fans chuckling as well as most likely feeling a bit nostalgic.

As with any skit that is turned into a full length feature, there are moments of forced comedy, and outrageous bits that will amuse some and seem senseless to others.  It all depends on how the viewer responds to this type of entertainment based on gender, age and sense of humor.

MacGruber DVD is presented on single disc with the choice of theatrical and unrated versions.  The theatrical version is 1 hour and 31 minutes and the unrated version is 1 hour and 35 minutes running time.  The bonus features include a commentary for the feature with cast members and crew. 

This is as funny as the film, more so at times as scene elements and acting choices are discussed.  The people making this film obviously enjoy each other’s company and play off the comedic abilities of each other.  There is a deleted scene, and a gag reel that not only illustrates flubs but how actual moments in the film a generated by working through mistakes.