Parents' Guide to MacGruber

TV Peacock Comedy 2021
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Common Sense Media Review

Marty Brown By Marty Brown , based on child development research. How do we rate?

age 15+

Action spoof reboot features over-the-top sex, violence.

Parents Need to Know

Why Age 15+?

Any Positive Content?

Parent and Kid Reviews

What's the Story?

When we last saw MacGruber (Will Forte), he had vanquished his arch-enemy and married his soul-mate. Now, ten years later, a lot has gone wrong for the renegade military assassin. He's hit rock bottom. Again. But when the President of the United States wants to trade MacGruber for his kidnapped daughter, MacGruber jumps at the chance to put the team back together.

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say : Not yet rated
Kids say : Not yet rated

It's hard to get excited for a sequel to a film that wasn't very good to begin with, especially when the sequel is three times as long. Any widespread fondness for MacGruber probably comes from the likeability of lead actor and SNL alum Will Forte, rather than from the relentless shock value. MacGruber the series feels like a bunch of outtakes. There are times when the direction isn't strong enough to tell the story clearly and the actors can't even make the jokes work as written. In a lot of ways, the series is asking its audience to be more committed to the bit than Forte himself.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about action. What is the central joke in MacGruber? What is it satirizing? Why is the action genre a worthy target? Does the series work if you're not familiar with the types of movies it's spoofing?

  • In addition to action, what other things does the series make fun of? What are some of the recurring jokes? What makes them funny or not funny? How much of the humor comes from simply trying to shock the audience?

TV Details

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