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MacGruber... The Movie?
Written by Matt Medlock
Tuesday, 21 July 2009   

macgruberI rarely watch SNL these days, but even I haven’t been oblivious to the recurring sketch called “MacGruber.” It’s a mildly amusing spoof of MacGyver, everyone’s favorite brainy, mullet-sporting action hero. If you are unfamiliar with the premise, it’s absurdly simple—MacGruber (played by Will Forte) has about twenty seconds to defuse a bomb. He starts by assembling various household objects (paperclips, pipe cleaners, etc.) the same way MacGyver did, gets sidetracked in some sort of argument, personal issue or conversational tangent, and the bomb blows up, the end. Each one lasts about half-a-minute, and many of the broadcasts feature several “episodes” scattered across the entire 90-minute show.

Usually good for a smile, there’s very little variety (though Richard Dean Anderson appeared in one I didn’t see), but absurdity seems to be the venerable sketch series’ best friend now since all other attempts at recurring characters are often embarrassing. So to any MacGruber fans out there, I’ve got some great news—Universal/Relativity Media is fast-tracking a feature-length movie based on the character. No, seriously.

Saturday Night Live is certainly no stranger to full-length spin-offs. Once upon a time, they even did it right (Blues Brothers, Wayne’s World), but the years since have been mostly dreadful. Can it even be labeled as a spin-off? The character is a cipher, just a simple spoof of an iconic TV character, with the same punchline every time. Is MacGruber going to get incinerated a hundred times in the movie? Is he just going to squabble with Kristen Wiig’s character for an hour-and-a-half? Anything else, and it might as well be a different character altogether. Hell, why not just adapt MacGyver for the big screen? What’s that? Oh, it is slated for pre-production soon? Assuming that Anderson is too old for it now, I can only say: yikes.

fortemacgruberTo be fair, SNL movies have a long history of taking minimum inspiration and transforming them into “full-fledged” characters and stories (note the quotes, please). The closest approximation would be Night at the Roxbury, which saw a pair of mostly mute club-hoppers in one-to-two-minute skits now forced to carry an entire movie. Remember how that turned out? Even the ones with slightly more personality usually got short shrift when forced to keep us amused for an extended period of time. Then there were the sketches that were painfully unfunny to begin with getting greenlit in some sort of deal I can only assume involved shaking hands with the devil (I’m looking at you, Superstar).

Will Forte and Kristen Wiig have already signed on, with Ryan Phillippe and Val Kilmer currently attached and in negotiations. Phillippe would play an Army officer that teams up with MacGruber against his will (already padding the thing out) and Kilmer would portray the villain, Cunth, who killed MacGruber’s wife. So…this time it’s personal, eh?

The movie will be directed by Jorma Taccone, the character’s creator and co-screenwriter.

 

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