A Million Ways to Die in the West (2014)

As a cowardly farmer begins to fall for the mysterious new woman in town, he must put his newly found courage to the test when her husband, a notorious gun-slinger, announces his arrival.

Director:

Seth MacFarlane

Writers:

Seth MacFarlane, Alec Sulkin

Stars:

Seth MacFarlane, Charlize Theron, Liam Neeson

6 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Seth MacFarlane	...	Albert
Charlize Theron	...	Anna
Amanda Seyfried	...	Louise
Liam Neeson	...	Clinch
Giovanni Ribisi	...	Edward
Neil Patrick Harris	...	Foy
Sarah Silverman	...	Ruth
Christopher Hagen	...	George Stark
Wes Studi	...	Cochise
Matt Clark	...	Old Prospector
Evan Jones	...	Lewis
Aaron McPherson	...	Ben
Rex Linn	...	Sheriff / Narrator
Brett Rickaby	...	Charlie Blanche
Alex Borstein	...	Millie

Storyline

Set in 1882 in the American west, Albert is a lowly farmer with a nice girlfriend. But when she leaves him for the more successful and handsome owner of a moustachery store, Albert returns to his lonely daily life of trying to avoid death. Then the mysterious Anna rides into town and captures Albert's interest and heart, but with her deadly husband in town, Albert is going to have to become the western gun-slinging hero he never was. It won't be easy because there are a million ways to die in the west.

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Plot Keywords:

western spoof | 1880s | abraham lincoln impersonator | loud sex | poison | 

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Taglines:

From the guy who brought you Ted

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Genres:

Comedy | Western

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for strong crude and sexual content, language throughout, some violence and drug material

Did You Know?

Trivia

Bill Maher: Comic at the barn dance.

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Goofs

The opening credits set the movie in Arizona. Several scenes show Monument Valley, which is in Utah.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Narrator: Some people are born into the wrong time and place. This was the American frontier in 1882, a hard land for hard folk. Food was scarce, disease was rampant, and life was a daily struggle for survival. Hell, this was Miss America in 1880.
[picture of a leathery middle-aged woman]
Narrator: Holy shit. To build a home and a life in this harsh, unforgiving country required that a man be bold, fearless, and tough as iron. The men who were courageous and resilient were the men who prospered. But ...
[...]

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Crazy Credits

There is a post-credits sequence involving the gunman at the fair from the final scene.

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Connections

Referenced in Late Night with Seth Meyers: Amanda Seyfried/Judd Apatow/Katie Lee/Chad Smith (2015)

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Soundtracks

If You've Only Got a Moustache
Written by Stephen Foster
Performed by Amick Byram
Additional Lyrics by Seth MacFarlane, Alec Sulkin and Wellesley Wild

User Reviews

Wanted to like it but didn't. An interesting inconsistent misfire

This review comes from someone who likes Famnily Guy and really enjoyed TED... but this new one... was... ouch... I went in expecting a few laughs but there were fewer than even my low expectations predicted. Other than the script everything is top notch. Actors are great. Charlize and Liam and Sarah Silverman etc are terrific. It's too bad they didn't have something better to work with.

Liam in fact seems like he's in a different movie. He's 100 percent serious. That might be Seth's point in making a guy (himself) who is caught in the middle of a serious horrible deadly world that the west really was.

It looks very good visually. Great score. But very inconsistent. Not hit and miss. More like hit and miss miss miss groan miss semi-hit miss. And the joke style kept changing. Silly to sweet to over the top and serious at times. and some of the jokes were so disgusting I don't know what they were thinking. (and i like disgusting)

Plus the anachronistic style gets tired fast.

And Seth as predicted should not have made himself the lead. He's not awful but would have benefited greatly with a pro. His persona is not fit for leading man status. And his voice and style is so in step with Brian's on family guy its a bit distracting.

Basically the tone of this film keeps changing. The joke styles keep changing. it doesn't know what it is. Is is a sweet western romcom? Is it a satire? Is it a serious comedy?

With all the success from Ted I'm guessing Seth had carte blanche with this one and probably needed someone to question him more.

Might be more fun if your stoned. Really really stoned. And/or maybe just see Blazing Saddles instead.

Details

Official Sites:

Official Facebook Official Facebook [Netherlands]

Country:

USA

Language:

English Navajo Mandarin

Release Date:

30 May 2014 (USA)

Also Known As:

A Million Ways to Die in the West

Filming Locations:

Monument Valley, Utah, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$40,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$16,797,385, 1 June 2014

Gross USA:

$43,139,300

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$87,189,756

Company Credits

Production Co:

Bluegrass Films, Fuzzy Door Productions, Media Rights Capital (MRC)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

116 min 136 min (Unrated)

Sound Mix:

SDDS Datasat Dolby Digital

Color:

Color (ACES)

Aspect Ratio:

2.39 : 1