August 13, 2009

MacGruber the Movie



Over the years, Saturday Night Live has produced some great films such as The Blues Brothers and Wayne's World. But, more often than not, SNL has turned some funny recurring sketches into really bad movies such as It's Pat, Stuart Saves His Family, Superstar, and A Night at The Roxbury. Oh and Blues Brothers 2000 and Wayne's World 2. I'll let you decide on Coneheads, Waterboy, and Ladies Man.

So, considering all of the funny sketches SNL has brought to us over the past few years, it is interesting to say the least that the next film to spawn from SNL is none other than Will Forte's MacGruber.

MacGruber is the series of short sketches in which Will Forte plays a MacGyver wannabe who always blows up the building at the end of the sketch. So, how do you make that into a movie?

SNL's Bill Hader talks about it in NY Mag where he reminds us that the characters don't die at the end of each sketch, "They just blow up." When asked how a series of sketches that run in length from thirty seconds to three minutes can become a full length movie, he says, "It's a really funny character. I don't think that's a stretch."

The cast will include Val Kilmer, Ryan Phillipe, and Kristen Wiig. No word yet on whether or not Richard Dean Anderson will appear in the film. We found out on SNL (and on the Super Bowl Pepsi commercial) that MacGyver is MacGruber's dad. Then again, MacGyver died in a MacGruber sketch. Or maybe he just blew up and died later in life.

We'll have to wait to find out. MacGruber the movie is set to release April 16, 2010.