Line #108 Film/AMillionWaysToDieInTheWest


1	[[quoteright:250:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/image_772.jpeg]]
2	[[caption-width-right:250:''[[{{Tagline}} Bring protection.]]'']]
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4	''A Million Ways to Die in the West'' is the second full-length theatrical comedy film from ''WesternAnimation/FamilyGuy'' creator Creator/SethMacFarlane, after ''{{Film/Ted}}''.
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6	The film takes place in Arizona, 1882, where literally AnyoneCanDie from anything (even by a splinter). This tale of the west is about Albert (played by [=MacFarlane=] himself), a sheep herder whose girlfriend (Creator/AmandaSeyfried) left him after he chickens out of a duel, but when notorious outlaw (Creator/LiamNeeson) arrives in town looking for trouble, the outlaw's runaway wife (Creator/CharlizeTheron) teaches Albert how to shoot and prove he's got what it takes. The film also stars Creator/SarahSilverman, Creator/GiovanniRibisi, and Creator/NeilPatrickHarris.
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8	The film was produced by Media Rights Capital, Fuzzy Door Productions (the same production company behind [=MacFarlane=]'s animated shows), and Bluegrass Films, and released by [[{{Creator/Universal}} Universal Pictures]] on May 30, 2014. A tie-in novel written by [=MacFarlane=] is now available.
9	----
10	!!"A Million Ways to Trope in the West":
11	* AbusiveParents: Albert's parents. [[spoiler:They didn't even care when he was born.]]
12	* TheAce: Foy has money, status, and is a great shot, which are things in which Albert is extremely lacking. He also has a glorious, glorious mustache. Again, Albert lacks this.
13	* ActionGirl: Anna is the one who teachers Albert how to fire a gun.
14	* ActorAllusion:
15	** [[Creator/NeilPatrickHarris Foy]] exclaims [[Series/HowIMetYourMother "Challenge accepted!"]]
16	** Creator/GilbertGottfried [[WesternAnimation/{{MAD}} once again]] plays President Lincoln. Except this time he's not also Film/KingKong.
17	** OohMeAccentsSlipping averted by Creator/LiamNeeson, he only accepted the part if he could do it with his native accent, on account of [[Creator/SethMacFarlane Seth]]'s previous ribbing on his American Cowboy accent.
18	* AmusementParkOfDoom: "People die at the fair."
19	* AmusinglyAwfulAim: Stark is so bad at shooting that he is unable to hit a beer bottle even when standing close enough to just swat it off the fence in frustration after wasting all of his ammo. He eventually becomes just good enough at the climax to hit [[BigBad Clinch]] [[KnightOfCerebus Leatherwood]] (or being more specific, [[JustAFleshWound just nick him in the arm]]), but knowing that he'll never be any good he decided [[CombatPragmatist to lace his bullets with rattlesnake venom]].
20	* AnachronismStew: Basically, what we have here are stereotypically feckless Gen-X [[ManChild Man Children]] [[{{Wangst}} whining about their everyday problems]]...[[RecycledInSpace in the]] ''[[RecycledInSpace Old West]]''!
21	** And in a lesser example, the shooting gallery at the fair has runaway slaves as targets, in a movie that takes place after the UsefulNotes/AmericanCivilWar.
22	* ATeamFiring: Albert has trouble shooting a bottle an inch away from his gun.
23	* AuthorTract: The entire movie is basically Creator/SethMacFarlane going on one extended spiel about how much the Wild West actually sucks.
24	* AsLongAsItSoundsForeign: The Native American language is made up of nonsense, such as "Fine" being said as ''Creator/MilaKunis'' and "Shit" being said as ''[[TakeThat Zsa Zsa]]''.
25	* AssShove: Anna puts a flower in Clinch's ass after knocking him out.
26	* BadassPreacher and DarkShepherd: Mentioned, the priest killed a man and then killed that man's son so he couldn't get revenge later. He then did a sermon about it, extolling the virtues of "seeing things through."
27	* BarBrawl: There's one just before Albert meets Anna, caused by Lewis when he shot a man for making him spill his drink. Albert and Edward stay out of the worst of it by pretending to fight amongst themselves, with Edward accidentally hitting him in the face for real.
28	* BettyAndVeronica: Louise is a kind of girl next door to Albert and Anna is more world-wise.
29	** From Louise's perspective, hard working but poor farmer Albert is a Betty to the dapper, moneyed Foy's Veronica. Though this could be seen as a classic RichSuitorPoorSuitor situation too.
30	* BigBad: Clinch
31	* BirdsOfAFeather: Part of what makes Albert and Anna so attracted to each other is their strong hatred of the West.
32	* BlackComedy: As if the title didn't clue you in, it's a comedy about how much living in the Wild West ''sucked''. People dying horribly and suddenly happens incredibly often, and it's PlayedForLaughs almost every time.
33	* BlastingItOutOfTheirHands: Clinch does it to Albert.
34	* BloodyHilarious: People dying in all kinds of horrible ways is the staple of this movie's comedy.
35	* BornInTheWrongCentury: Albert. He'd probably feel a little bit more comfortable living in the Twentieth or Twenty-First Centuries (or at least he'd have less lethal things to whine about).
36	* BoyfriendBluff: Variation. Albert and his new friend try to get the woman that left him jealous, leading up to:
37	--> [[HaveIMentionedIAmSexuallyActiveToday "I live inside her, so if you wanna send me a letter you have to send it co. her vagina."]]
38	* BrickJoke: While listing off his complaints about the West, Albert hypothesizes that doctors will treat the wound on his face by having a blue jay peck it. During a montage significantly later in the film, Albert's hypothesis is proven to be true (to pick the glass out).
39	** When Albert shows Edward and Ruth the corpse of the mayor on the street, wolves drag him off. The next day, when Anna and Albert meet and she plays fetch with Plugger, he retrieves the chewed off leg of the Mayor.
40	** Even in the Wild West, [[Franchise/BackToTheFuture Doc Brown claims the Delorean is a weather experiment...]]
41	** While at the fair, Albert remark that "People die at the fair." The shooting gallery Albert and Anna go to has a very offensive theme (directed towards blacks). At the end of that fair scene, a drink salesman gets gored by a bull, causing Albert and Anna to bleakly remark once again that "People die at the fair." The very last scene of the movie has Jamie Foxx reprising his role as Django shooting the proprietor running the shooting gallery, remarking "People die at the fair." before cutting to the credits.
42	* ButtMonkey: Albert is the only one completely aware of just how dangerous living in the West actually is and is met with nothing but derision and abuse in return.
43	* TheCameo: [[Franchise/BackToTheFuture Doc Brown]] is found in a barn where he hides the [=DeLorean=] from Albert. Also keep a look out for Bill Maher, Creator/EwanMcGregor, Creator/RyanReynolds, Creator/PatrickStewart ([[ItMakesSenseInContext as the voice of a sheep]]), Creator/GilbertGottfried as an UsefulNotes/AbrahamLincoln impersonator, and Jamie Foxx as [[Film/DjangoUnchained Django]]. Wes Studi appears as a Native American because of course he does. Alex Borstein also shows up as the extremely confused madame of the local whorehouse, but most won't recognize her because she isn't speaking like [[WesternAnimation/FamilyGuy Lois Griffin]].
44	* CanineCompanion: After Clinch offs its owner, Anna adopts Plugger, [[HeroesLoveDogs which drives the point further home that she's a cool gal]].
45	* CharacterFilibuster: Albert, shockingly, has quite a few of these.
46	* ChekhovsGun: The Diamondback Rattlesnake.
47	* CombatPragmatist: Despite having a good teacher, a week is not nearly long enough to make Albert Stark a good enough shot to beat anyone in a duel, especially [[BigBad Clinch Leatherwood]]. [[spoiler:However, he doesn't really need to be, as he is smart enough to dose his bullets with snake venom, and stall long enough in the final duel to poison Clinch to death.]]
48	* CrapsackWorld: Albert views the west as this. He's not unjustified in thinking so, either.
49	* DarkIsEvil: Clinch dresses entirely in black and even has a black horse.
50	* DastardlyWhiplash: Downplayed with Foy, who has the attire and the attitude but is TheRival.
51	* DeadpanSnarker: Albert.
52	* DeathByAdaptation: Albert's mother, who is killed early on in the novel by a random cougar attack. As one passing mention is made of her grave, she's also implied to have been killed in the film, but this is never elaborated upon. However, [[spoiler:in the unrated version, it's revealed that she died from a splinter, and her funeral is shown.]]
53	* DeathWorld: Well, it's not like the title of the film comes from nowhere...
54	* DeconstructiveParody: The movie seeks to tear down the over-romanticized view people have of the wild West, mainly by showing how dangerous and unsanitary it could be.
55	* DeliberateValuesDissonance: Native Americans are still broadly referred to as "Indians", and the white settlers, including [[BornInTheWrongCentury Albert]], don't see anything wrong with blatantly encroaching upon and occupying their land.
56	* DirtyCoward: Whenever Clinch gets into a gunfight, he tells his opponent "We shoot on three," then proceeds to shoot on two.
57	* DiscOneFinalBoss: Foy. Only after he's dealt with does it become obvious that Clinch is the real BigBad.
58	* DistressBall: Anna is a crack shot, but for some reason seems to completely lose her ability to use firearms when Clinch comes to town looking for her.
59	* DoggedNiceGuy: Albert at first. Also, Edward.
60	* DontExplainTheJoke: At the end of his duel with Foy, Albert makes a joke to Louise about her having a hairy vagina before marching off. Then he comes back and awkwardly explains his joke (Foy giving Louise cunnilingus) in case the people around didn't get it. A spectator says [[LateToThePunchline he gets it]].
61	* TheDragon: Lewis to Clinch.
62	* TheDreaded: Everybody fears Clinch Leatherwood as he's the most vicious gunfighter in the territory.
63	* EpicFail: Albert tries shooting at a row of bottles to practice shooting, but he can't seem to knock them down even at point-blank range.
64	** Albert is such a terrible shepherd that one of the sheep somehow keeps getting on the roof. He later claims that one of them [[BestialityIsDepraved got into the brothel and earned $20.]]
65	* EstablishingCharacterMoment: In Clinch's first scene, he decides to rob a prospector, then ''kills him'' because the man didn't hand over his gold nugget ''fast enough''. In the same scene, Anna decides to [[PetTheDog adopt the prospector's dog]], showing that although she's traveling with a band of criminals, she's not one of them.
66	* EvenEvilHasStandards: Lewis may be evil, but he won't kill a man on his [[PetTheDog sex night]].
67	* EverythingTryingToKillYou: Pretty much stated word for word regarding the era of the Old West.
68	-->'''Albert:''' Everything out here that's not you wants to kill you.
69	* {{Expy}}: Clinch Leatherwood is basically an evil version of Creator/ClintEastwood.
70	* FairWeatherEx: Louise breaks up with Albert at the start of the film over Albert not wanting to duel a man (considered the best shot in town) and wanting to resolve the dispute peacefully. [[spoiler:After Albert kills the feared and deadliest outlaw Clinch Leatherwood, Louise tries to get back with Albert but is promptly rejected]].
71	* FakeAFight: Parodied. During a barfight, the main character and his friend stand aside and just roll their hands toward each other while loudly proclaiming that they're already fighting each other in order to avoid being actually hit during the barfight. Their plan goes wrong when one of them does hit the other by accident.
72	* FamilyValuesVillain: Clinch justifies his cold-blooded murder of the prospector near the beginning because he lied about having gold.
73	* GoldDigger: Louise. It says so ''on the freakin' poster.''
74	* GoodBadGirl: Ruth. Also Anna.
75	* GuileHero: Albert Stark may be a lousy shot, but he is clever enough to reason with people to try and settle any disagreements as well. When it's clear that Clinch can't be reasoned with, he [[spoiler:fills a hollow bullet with rattlesnake venom, knowing that while he may not be able to fatally shoot Clinch Leatherwood in a duel, he can get close enough to wound him and stall for time long enough for the poison to take effect.]]
76	* GrowlingGut: Anna tricks Foy [[LaxativePrank into drinking a glass of scotch with laxatives]]. When he invites Louise to stay at his place, his stomach grumbles and goes to the bathroom. The next day, when he's about to face-off with Albert, Foy's stomach grumbles again, and uses a guy's hat to crap in it.
77	* HeroOfAnotherStory: [[Franchise/BackToTheFuture Doc Brown]].
78	** [[Film/DjangoUnchained Django Freeman]].
79	* HilariouslyAbusiveChildhood: Albert, if the Tooth Fairy "lesson" is any indication.
80	* HistoricalDomainCharacter: [[{{UsefulNotes/Abraham Lincoln}} Abraham Lincoln]] pops up for a cameo in the film, played by Creator/GilbertGottfried [[{{RuleOfFunny}} of all people]] (although Albert surmises that he's really an imposter, due to his unpleasant demeanour).
81	* HookerWithAHeartOfGold: Ruth truly loves Edward and is a good friend to Albert and Anna.
82	* HypocrisyNod: In one scene, Edward pressures Ruth to sleep with him, but she refuses, saying they're both Christians and should wait until marriage. Then:
83	--> '''Cowboy''': Ruth, let's ''fuck''!\
84	'''Ruth''': Coming!
85	* ImprobableAimingSkills: Anna regularly pulls off insane shooting feats with weapons that weren't exactly known for their accuracy. Too bad she loses these skills whenever the RuleOfDrama calls for it.
86	* IndecisiveParody: [[http://www.flickrev.com/a-million-ways-to-die-in-the-west This review]] paints the film as such--there are moments that seem more appropriate for a legitimately dramatic Western, and others (especially the VulgarHumor) that scream "parody". At times, the two elements seem a ''bit'' incompatible.
87	* InsaneTrollLogic: The chief decides to trust Albert simply because he speaks their language, though the fact he mentions this aloud [[LampshadeHanging lampshades this.]]
88	* IntercontinuityCrossover: [[Franchise/BackToTheFuture Doc Brown]] travels back to the time of this story at one point and [[Film/DjangoUnchained Django]] appears in the stinger.
89	* {{Irony}}: Albert gives Anna a photograph of a man smiling; they then remark that it takes 30 seconds for a picture to be taken and that he had to smile for 30 sustained seconds. They say that they have never been happy for 30 seconds ever; they are laughing and smiling the entire 2+ minutes of the scene.
90	* ItsNotYouItsMe: Louise invokes this during her breakup with Albert, telling him she's not looking to date anyone at the moment, and that she has to "go home and work on myself." Her relationship with Foy soon after shows this was BlatantLies.
91	* JerkAss: Foy never misses an opportunity to insult and belittle Albert. He even performs an impromptu musical number at the town dance for the sole purpose of mocking Albert.
92	* KnightOfCerebus: Clinch Leatherwood. He's never played for laughs sans one quick sight gag, and even then, that just enrages him beyond his already normal rage.
93	* LaxativePrank: Anna does this to Foy, causing him to borrow a guy's hat to take a shit in right in the middle of a gunfight. Twice.
94	* {{Leitmotif}}: [[spoiler:Alan Silvestri's ''Back to the Future'' theme briefly plays during Doc Brown's cameo.]]
95	* ListSong: "A Million Ways To Die" by Alan Jackson lists ''a few'' ways to die in the West.
96	* LoserProtagonist: Albert. He's considered a coward, has parents who barely notice him, can't shoot, and has a job considered shitty by everyone (and he can't even do it right).
97	* ManOnFire: While taking the portraits of a family, the flash powder explodes, setting the photographer and the parents of the family on fire.
98	* MeaningfulEcho: [[spoiler:When Louise tries to get back together with Albert after he kills Clinch, he throws her earlier "I need to go home and work on myself" line right back at her.]]
99	* NewMediaAreEvil: Parodied. Albert and Edward see a child playing with a [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hoop_rolling stick and a hoop]], and claim it's destructive to their developing attention spans.
100	* NoOSHACompliance: Actually justified by the time frame.
101	* NumberOfObjectsTitle
102	* OldManMarryingAChild: Anna says she was 9 when she married Clinch ''and'' had sex with him within a year. It's not stated how much older Clinch is than her, but the fact that he was already an accomplished murderer at the time, plus Albert's {{Squick}}ed reaction at the whole thing, implies he was already an adult.
103	** Considering the actors' ages (Theron is 39, Neeson is 62), this is almost definitely the case.
104	* OnlySaneMan: Albert tries to come off as this.
105	* PetTheDog: Louise proves that, while she may be somewhat smug and prefer money to integrity, she's not exactly bad when she tries her best to talk Foy out of killing Albert in the duel even though Albert himself was the challenger.
106	** Also a more literal 'pet the dog' moment when Anna adopts the dead prospector's dog in the beginning.
107	* PoisonedWeapons: [[spoiler:Albert laced his bullets with rattlesnake venom.]]
108	* PoliticallyCorrectHistory: Inverted. [=MacFarlane=] cooks up Politically ''In''correct History by taking everything that was bad about the West and making it worse!
109	* QuirkyTown: The town itself is filled with people who are so apathetic that they barely bat an eye at their fellow citizens dying right in front of them (which happens ''a lot''), to the point where no-one shows concern over their mayor lying dead in the street for days, and the multiple deaths at the yearly fair are treated as an inevitable occurence.
110	* ReactionShot: The closest you'll get to a GoryDiscretionShot in this show. Seth [=MacFarlane's=] JawDrop is an art form in itself.
111	* RescueIntroduction: Albert meets Anna when he saves her from a falling rail in the BarBrawl scene. Since the romance takes a while to kick in, it's not really an example of RescueRomance.
112	* RidiculousFutureInflation: Inverted: When Foy wages a dollar on the shooting match, townspeople don't believe he even has that much money, until he takes it out and shows them.
113	--> "Take your hat off, boy, that's a dollar bill!"
114	* RuleOfCool: Doc Brown's presence with the [=DeLorean=]. He did travel back to the Old West in ''Film/BackToTheFuturePartIII'', but it was to California in 1885.
115	* RunningGag: The sheep on the roof.
116	* SceneryPorn: Absolutely ''gorgeous'' vistas of the American southwest, notably Monument Valley, enhanced by the thrilling classic-movie-Western-style soundtrack.
117	* SharedUniverse: With ''Franchise/BackToTheFuture'' and ''Film/DjangoUnchained'', though purely through RuleOfFunny.
118	* ShoutOut:
119	** The theme to ''Film/BlazingSaddles'' is teased during the credits.
120	** The Pastor's says that after killing someone in a duel, he killed his son because because he was afriad [[VideoGame/RedDeadRedemption that the son would grow up and kill him out of revenge]].
121	** The aforementioned Cameo by [[Franchise/BackToTheFuture Doctor Brown and his time travelling De Lorean.]]
122	** The "Muslim Death Chant" is the vocalization from Baltimora's ''Tarzan Boy", specifically the drawn-out "whoa!".
123	** [[Film/DjangoUnchained Django]] shows up in TheStinger.
124	* SleepsWithEveryoneButYou: Ruth is a prostitute who [[ReallyGetsAround has sex with 10 guys on a slow day]], but won't sleep with her boyfriend Edward [[HypocriticalHumor because she's a Christian and wants to wait for marriage]]. She does eventually change her mind when it seems like they might soon get killed by Clinch.
125	* SmugSnake: Foy really loves rubbing it in Albert's face how he has everything Albert has ever wanted.
126	* SnakeOilSalesman: One tries to sell Albert and Anna a bottle of patent medicine at the Fair, only to have the two of them tear his claims to shreds by reading the ingredients. Then he gets gored by a runaway bull.
127	* SpiritualSuccessor: To ''Film/BlazingSaddles'', and possibly ''Film/TheHallelujahTrail''.
128	* TakeThat: Quite a few, mostly at the Old West itself and its ways, like hardcore Christianity and the like.
129	* TalkingIsAFreeAction: Averted and parodied; [[spoiler:Albert manages to poison Clinch without him realizing, then keeps talking to distract Clinch long enough for the poison to take effect. Once Clinch collapses, Albert explains what he did, only to be informed that Clinch died from the venom before he had a chance to hear the explanation. Albert is clearly disappointed.]]
130	* TechnicallyASmile: [[ItMakesSenseInContext Albert and Anna think the Texan must be insane.]]
131	* ThirdActStupidity: Anna knocks Clinch out with a rock, but then just leaves him there to wake up and pursue her again instead of killing him or tying him up and leading the town Sheriff back to arrest him.
132	* TitleDrop: Done by Albert to Clinch during his BadassBoast speech after [[spoiler:he clips him with a bullet laced with rattlesnake venom]].
133	* ToiletHumour: The whole laxative incident where Foy gets a serious case of diarrhea, and right before facing Albert in a duel, he steals two cowboy's hats (who don't really seem to care, even if one resists a little) and proceeds to do his business in them in front of the whole town. And then the film actually cuts to [[{{Squick}} the hat ITSELF, showing us how it's filled with...]]
134	** Later, as Albert is hiding from Clinch, a sheep pees on him. The sheep's wiener is shown in all its "glory".
135	* TomboyAndGirlyGirl: Albert's rivaling love interests - Anna and Louise.
136	* TrainingMontage: Albert does one in preparation for his duel with Foy.
137	* UnusuallyUninterestingSight: Albert points out that the Mayor has been lying dead in the middle of the town for several days and no one is doing anything about it, be it investigate the cause of death, bury him, or appoint a replacement. This also applies, much less pointedly, to the many deaths that occur throughout the film, with people staring in horror/interest for a few seconds and then carrying on like any other day.
138	--> ''(Wolves come in and drag Mayor off)''
139	--> '''Albert:''' ''(being overly sarcastic)'' Oh! Look at that! Look at that! Wolves are dragging the body away as if to illustrate my point! Bye! Bye, Mr. Mayor! Bye! Have fun becoming wolf shit! Bye! God!
140	* VileVillainSaccharineShow: "Saccharine" isn't the best word, but the film ''is'' a comedy. Any comedy comes to a halt whenever Clinch Leatherwood is around. He is likely the darkest villain in a Seth Macfarlane work.
141	* VulgarHumor: Oh yes. It has sex jokes, prostitute jokes, potty humor, anatomy humor, religious jokes, sudden violent deaths, racial humor, and hypocritical humor. Justified as vulgar humor is a Creator/SethMacFarlane hallmark.
142	* WhatHappenedToTheMouse: The guy Albert owes money to in the first scene who gives him two days to come up with the cash. He's never seen again, although in a later scene where Edwards says that Albert hasn't left his house in over a week, Albert does mention that he did leave to pay the rancher off.
143	* WhereDaWhiteWomenAt: [[spoiler:Django drops this joke after the credits.]]
144	* WimpFight: Albert and Edward invoke this trope during a BarBrawl, to avoid actually fighting anyone. Though Edward messes up and actually hits him. Albert complains that it was not in rehearsal.
145	* WhyDontYouJustShootHim: Obviously, after Anna bashed Clinch's head with a rock to knock him out, she could have easily taken it further and killed him while he was unconscious, thereby avoiding the whole climax (although it's implied earlier that Anna just doesn't have it in her to kill).
146	* YourHeadASplode: In the scene where a big block of ice is being unloaded, the ropes tear and a worker gets his head smashed.

Context Film / AMillionWaysToDieInTheWest