Welcome to a million ways to laugh yourself silly. Your host? Seth MacFarlane, the genius behind “Family Guy” and the hilarious “Ted”. “A Million Ways” is MacFarlane’s take on the Western genre, with plenty of sex jokes and gross out gags to inspire haters. Fair enough. But for all its ups and downs, the movie has some funny moments. Start with MacFarlane himself (in his first acting role), who plays a modest sheep farmer whose girlfriend (Amanda Seyfried) just dumped him for a douche (Neil Patrick Harris). Then our man falls for Anna (Charlize Theron), but she’s married to a ruthless killer Clinch Leatherwood, played by Liam Neeson. A lot of things happen in between, and it doesn’t always make sense. MacFarlane’s production team has provided beautiful sets, locations, and music as a backdrop for his Western spoof, and it’s all very impressive. But I wish the movie itself was more memorable. There are good moments here and there, and a strong cast including Giovanni Ribisi and Sarah Silverman. With all that talent involved, it’s a shame this isn’t a better film.

Rating: 2/4

“Blended” rolls unapologetically off the Adam Sandler assembly line. It’s another farce high on silliness, sentiment, sex jokes, toilet jokes and a love for grossout gags that is too sincere to be faked. Say what you will about him, and to most people, Sandler is the Ed Wood of comedy. He’s a 48 year old man who won’t let the idiot boy die inside of him. Fair enough. Director Paul Thomas Anderson showed a completely different side of him in “Punch Drunk Love” and I liked that a lot. But Sandler quickly returned to formula territory in “Anger Management”, “Grown Ups”, “That’s My Boy”, “Chuck and Larry” and the God-awful “Jack and Jill”. He’s a bit more adventurous in “Blended”, as he reunites with Drew Barrymore and his “Wedding Singer” director Frank Coraci in a movie that couldn’t be more formulaic. But against all odds, the movie works at times. For that, credit the teamwork of the two stars who haven’t lost the loopy magic they displayed in “The Wedding Singer” and “50 First Dates”. It’s a kick to see them work together again and they almost make “Blended” memorable enough. That’s because Barrymore brings out the tender side in Sandler. When he isn’t goofing around and making silly toilet jokes, Coraci concentrates on the chemistry between the two that gives the movie a tiny heartbeat. Each earns a star in my review. The movie would be literally nothing without them. Next up, Sandler will work with the gifted writer and director Jason Reitman on a movie called “Men, Women & Children”. I don’t know about you, but there’s still hope for the man.

Rating: 2/4

“Chef”, featuring all humans all the time, is the kind of comedy you root for even when you know it has nowhere else to go. It’s refreshing to see writer/director Jon Favreau go back to his indie roots, following a series of big Hollywood blockbusters like “Iron Man” and “Cowboys & Aliens”. He also plays the central character Carl Casper, a master chef at a chic L.A restaurant. When a famous food blogger (those bastards!) ruins his career, Carl finds himself without a job. The plot itself is so light a whisper could blow it away. But don’t let this bring you down. “Chef” is actually a delicious treat from start to finish. All the actors deliver the goods, with Favreau and the underrated John Leguizamo working the necessary magic. It’s the pleasure of their company that makes this a feel good movie. In his uniquely funny and unexpectedly tender ways, Favreau takes us on an unforgettable food journey. Don’t miss it.

Rating: 3/4

Toss this ugly-ass crap into the scum bucket, along with the other multiplex garbage (I’m talking to you “The Other Woman“), and see a film that gets it right (I’m talking “The Grand Budapest Hotel“). Elizabeth Banks adds a career crushing notch to her career by playing a news reporter who finds herself without a car, money, ID or phone, following a one night stand with a stranger (James Marsden). You don’t need to know more. Just stay away. It’s awful.

Fiasco!

What can I say about a movie that made me want to slap everyone in the face? “Bad Neighbors” is so shallow, self-satisfied and downright silly that I hesitate to discuss it. It has none of the qualities of director Nicholas Stoller’s debut feature, “Forgetting Sarah Marhall”, and it’s a long way from Seth Rogen’s “The Pineapple Express” with James Franco. The premise involves a couple, Kelly (Rose Byrne) and Mark (Rogen), who are trying to settle down in a quiet neighborhood with their newborn child. That is until a bunch of noisy douchebags (led by Zac Efron) move into the house next door. That’s cue for director Stoller to throw in one ridiculous gag after the other. I understand that the film’s “in your face” attitude is supposed to give it permission to be offensive, since none of this is meant to be taken seriously. But the repetitive jokes, along with Rogen’s crude sexual references, grow tiresome pretty fast. What’s worse, they’re not always funny. I don’t demand a lot from a silly Hollywood comedy, but it would be nice to find a smarter, more original piece of work than this in 2014. If you find yourself trying to choose between this and “The Amazing Spider-Man 2”, my advice is: stay home and read a book.

Rating: 2/4

You’ve seen it all before. Eight years ago actually, in “John Tucker Must Die”, in which a high school newbie  helped three popular girls exact revenge on the man who lied and cheated on them. In “The Other Woman”, directed by Nick Cassavetes, it’s more of the stupid same. I’ve always liked Cameron Diaz, who brings a spark to every part she plays, but she’s only as good as her material, and “The Other Woman” is bad news for her and her fans. When she discovers that her boyfriend (Nicolaj Coster-Waldau aka Jaime Lannister from  “Game of Thrones”) is actually a married man, she teams up with his wife (an awful Leslie Mann) and his other mistress (Kate Upton, clueless) to plot mutual revenge on the lying bastard. That’s the joke. There’s no sight gag, or surprising reveal. It’s about as obvious and lazy as you can get, and the same can be said for the rest of the picture. From the first scene to the last, we’re supposed to find it uproariously funny that a married man can’t keep it in his pants. Not a chance. I realize that wit is no longer valued in silly Hollywood comedies, but this film is witless, in every sense of that word. Despite a pair of good actresses in the lead (not you, Upton), “The Other Woman” can only be described as “embarrassingly bad”.

Fiasco!

Justin Long and Evan Rachel Wood would be assets to any romantic comedy, but they can’t make “A Case Of You” rise above the routine. He plays a writer who falls for a barista (Wood) at his local coffee shop in Brooklyn. Problem is: he’s too shy to approach her, so he checks her Facebook page instead, learns all her likes and preferences (from Darwin to cooking), and sets out to win her heart. This being a romantic comedy, the outcome of the story is probably obvious from the get go. So this little film is all about the journey, not the destination. And that journey is brightened by the two lead actors and an array of colorful supporting roles played by Peter Dinklage, Vince Vaughn, Sam Rockwell, Sienna Miller, Brendan Fraser, and Scott Adsit. This is the A team, all right, but I do wish all these talented people had produced a more original, or memorable film. Overall, “A Case of You” is just good enough to get by.

Rating: 2/4