MacGruber

Impressions before seeing it
SNL is hit and miss, but the MacGruber sketches were generally on the "hit" side, and the trailer for the movie looked funny as well.

How was it?
The odd thing I found about this movie is that the first 30 minutes spend so much time setting up the characters, plots, and conflicts that the whole half hour isn't funny. I mean there are some mild joke attempts, but they're half-hearted. Not only is that a huge chunk of running time for a comedy to go without laughs, but it's a big risk to start out that way; some people probably walked out early thinking it was a piece of crap.

That being said, everything after that point is, thankfully, hilarious. Will Forte's sense of humour has always been weird with a touch of creepiness (see The Brothers Solomon for the best example of that), but at least he's funny. On SNL, we only get a few seconds with the character before a bomb usually detonates the sketch, but the gist has been translated: this guy has the appearance of knowing what he's doing, but he's really just an idiot, and kind of a dick, too. It's not really a new concept, as there are tons of "cocky, bumbling idiot somehow saves the day" movies out there, but MacGruber was never actually the hero of this movie. He mostly just messes things up, leaving his sidekick, Lt. Piper (Ryan Phillipe), to correct all his mistakes. Piper is pretty much the one who gets things done. Interestingly enough, the villain of the movie is also a grey area; technically it's Kunth (Val Kilmer) because he plays antagonist to our protagonists, but his actions are later justified when it is revealed what MacGruber did to him first. I don't think the film is trying to make any statements about morality here, it's just for comedic effect, because douchebags are funny. ...Sometimes.

Recommendation
You'll enjoy it if you like Forte's brand of humour, and for fans of the SNL sketches, it does contain the imperative bomb disabling scene at its climax, so it doesn't disappoint in staying true to its roots. Just be patient for the first half hour.