A Million Ways To Die In The West

(MA15+) ★★

Director: Seth MacFarlane.

Cast: Seth MacFarlane, Charlize Theron, Amanda Seyfried, Neil Patrick Harris, Giovanni Ribisi, Sarah Silverman, Liam Neeson.

"But, my good sir, you don't own a moustache!"

IN his directorial debut Ted, Seth MacFarlane showed a fair amount of promise.

Despite it being an often puerile comedy about a bong-smoking anthropomorphic teddy bear, Ted managed to mix some solid gags with a good dose of heart and even a decent amount of tension and drama.

Less successful is this attempt at a comedy western, in which MacFarlane's biggest shortcoming is his abilities as a leading man.

There are still plenty of good laughs - if you're a fan of Family Guy, American Dad, or Ted, the humour will be right up your alley - but a lot of film misses the mark, whether it be thanks to annoying characters, frustrating segues, or the plot struggling to find direction amid the comedy.

MacFarlane stars as Albert, a sheep farmer born in the wrong place at the wrong time - his nerdish pacifism and sense of self-preservation doesn't fit in with life in the Wild West circa 1882.

His thoroughly modern attitude to life has also worn down his girlfriend Louise (Seyfried), who dumps Albert for the town's moustache shop manager Foy (Harris).

But during a chance meeting amid a saloon brawl, Albert meets the equally anachronistic Anna (Theron), who decides to help Albert win back Louise's affections.

Unfortunately for Albert, Anna is the wife of Clinch Leatherwood (Neeson) - the meanest, nastiest gunslinger in the west and the type of guy who doesn't take too kindly to strange men spending time with his woman.

There's ample opportunity for humour and MacFarlane and co's script starts strong, diving into bits about diplomatic attempts to resolve gunfights, the troubles with dating a saloon prostitute, and a lengthy rant on the titular mortality rate of those on the frontier.

But the gags run out of steam, dwindling to a barrage of poo, fart and wee jokes as the film wears out its welcome and struggles to pull together a satisfying third act.

It's a good thing the comedy is so strong at the start because it helps compensate for MacFarlane's so-so performance. The audience will warm to him as he goes on but he struggles to maintain a chemistry with Theron, and given much of the film finds the pair firmly in rom-com territory, it's a definite downside to A Million Ways. The strong supporting cast - Ribisi, Theron, Neeson and Harris in particular - helps prop MacFarlane up, but also inadvertently highlights his wobbly turn.

As co-writer, co-producer, director and star, there's no doubt this is MacFarlane's baby, but some guidance and outside influence wouldn't have gone astray. A lengthy CG-heavy drug hallucination scene towards the film's end is distractingly redundant and there are more than a few jokes that could have made way for a more streamlined film.

On the plus side, there are some cool cameos from Christopher Lloyd, Gilbert Gottfried, Bill Maher, Ryan Reynolds and Jamie Foxx, and some genuinely funny and clever moments.

If MacFarlane had hoped to join the short list of classic comedy-westerns (which contains the likes of Blazing Saddles and Back To The Future III), he's fallen short, but if you like the idea of Brian Griffin from Family Guy as a sheep farmer in the wild west, then this film is for you.