Liam Neeson is almost too convincing as Clinch Leatherwood in A Million Ways to Die in the West. While everyone else is playing inside Seth MacFarlane’s deliberately ridiculous version of the Old West, Neeson acts like he has wandered in from a much more serious movie.
That contrast does most of the work. In this sequence, Clinch rides into town looking for the man who kissed Anna, turns Albert’s problem into a genuine Western showdown, and later gets the truth out of Anna herself. Neeson barely changes gears while the jokes keep getting stranger around him, including a Ryan Reynolds cameo that lasts only a few seconds.
1. His arrival completely changes the mood
Before Clinch shows up, Albert is mostly worried about Anna missing their planned practice session while Edward manages to make the conversation increasingly awkward. Then a group of riders appears, Albert recognizes Clinch Leatherwood, and suddenly nobody seems particularly interested in joking anymore.
Neeson does not need much dialogue to take control of the scene. The posture, the voice and the way everyone reacts to Clinch make him feel like the villain from an old-school Western who somehow ended up in Seth MacFarlane’s version of one.
2. He never acts like Clinch is supposed to be funny
That is probably the smartest thing about Neeson’s performance. Clinch says ridiculous things and finds himself surrounded by ridiculous people, but Neeson delivers everything with complete conviction.
He never seems tempted to wink at the audience or remind us that the character is part of a comedy. Clinch genuinely believes he is the toughest man in the territory, and Neeson plays him with enough authority that, for a few minutes, you almost believe it too.
3. Ryan Reynolds becomes the world’s shortest celebrity cameo
Clinch wants to know who was seen kissing Anna, and when the town stays quiet, he decides to make his point. The unfortunate townsman he chooses happens to be Ryan Reynolds, who appears just long enough for viewers to recognize him before Clinch moves on.
It is a great use of a famous face because the movie does not stop to celebrate the cameo. Reynolds simply pops into the scene, Neeson treats him like any other random cowboy, and the joke is basically over before you have finished registering who you just saw.
4. He makes the noon showdown sound completely legitimate
Once Clinch has everyone’s attention, he lays down the rules. The mystery man is supposed to meet him on the main street at noon the following day, giving Albert exactly the sort of Western showdown he is spectacularly unprepared to handle.
There is something especially funny about hearing Neeson deliver such a familiar cowboy challenge without a trace of irony. A Million Ways to Die in the West spends much of its running time pointing out how absurd Western life could be, and Clinch arrives behaving like every dangerous frontier legend Albert wishes did not exist.
5. Anna’s terrible lies only make Neeson funnier
The scene gets even better once Clinch and Anna are alone. He asks who kissed her, and Anna starts improvising, eventually offering up Mark Twain as one of her increasingly hopeless answers.
Neeson barely budges. He knows she is lying, keeps pressing, and eventually gets Albert Stark’s name out of her. What really sells the sequence is how quickly Clinch can go from intimidating husband to oddly affectionate husband once he hears what he wants. Neeson treats both sides of the character with exactly the same seriousness, which is why the whole thing becomes funnier the longer it goes.
To Watch or Buy A Million Ways to Die in the West click here: https://www.amazon.com/Million-Ways-Die-West/dp/B00MQNLOK4