MacGruber (2010)
12-month trend
12-month trend
Monthly article views
2025-09 to 2026-08
A narcissistic and flawed hero must assemble a team to stop a nuclear threat while navigating a world of deadpan action tropes.
The story
In eastern Siberia, Dieter Von Cunth takes control of a nuclear X-5 warhead. In Ecuador, Col. Jim Faith and Lt. Dixon Piper search for the former special forces operative MacGruber. After being asked to retrieve the warhead, MacGruber initially refuses but eventually accepts the mission following a flashback of his fiancée's death. He travels to the U.S. to form a team to pursue Cunth. However, his first attempt at recruitment ends in disaster when his homemade explosives kill his entire team, leading him to convince Piper and Vicki St. Elmo to join him on a new mission.
Full plot (contains spoilers)
After his initial team is destroyed by his own explosives, MacGruber recruits Vicki St. Elmo and Dixon Piper. The group travels to Las Vegas, where MacGruber creates a public spectacle to announce his intentions. During a sting operation, Vicki poses as MacGruber while the team attempts to infiltrate a warehouse to stop Cunth from obtaining rocket passwords. After several failed attempts and confrontations, MacGruber learns the history of his rivalry with Cunth, who killed his fiancée, Casey, during their college years. During an ambush, MacGruber uses Piper as a human shield and later discovers Vicki is pregnant. After a brief romantic encounter with Vicki, MacGruber learns Cunth plans to blow up Congress. He eventually tracks Cunth to his compound, where the team captures him. They successfully remove the warhead and escape as the missile explodes, though Cunth survives by chopping off his own hand. Six months later, at MacGruber and Vicki's wedding, MacGruber faces Cunth one last time. He saves Vicki and incinerates Cunth's corpse after throwing him off a cliff.
- First release year
- 2010
- Runtime (minutes)
- 91
- Production countries
- United States
- Original languages
- English
- Directors
- Jorma Taccone
- Writers
- Will Forte · screenplay; John Solomon · screenplay; Jorma Taccone · screenplay
- Cast and characters
- Will Forte · MacGruber; Kristen Wiig · Vicki St. Elmo; Ryan Phillippe · Dixon Piper; Maya Rudolph · Casey; Val Kilmer · Dieter von Cunth
- Genres
- action; comedy
- Themes
- Parody; Absurdism; Action Tropes
- Tone and mood
- Deadpan; Vulgar; Unpredictable; Sincere
- Setting
- Various locations including Siberia, Ecuador, the United States (Pentagon, Las Vegas, and a compound), and a wedding altar.
- Premise and plot tags
- Action-Adventure Parody; SNL Sketch Film; Anti-Comedy
- Source material / true-story basis
- Saturday Night Live sketch
- Franchise connections
- MacGruber
- Content notes
- Shock humor; Vulgarity
- Reception
- The film was initially considered a box-office failure and received mixed reviews, but it has since developed a substantial cult following and was praised for its bold comedic style.
- Production trivia
- The film was shot in Albuquerque, New Mexico, on a modest budget.; The creative team intended to make the characters outside of MacGruber as serious as possible.; The film was produced while the writers were still working weekly on SNL.
Film metadata comes from the open sources listed in Credits & Contact. Catalogue details may be incomplete.
Your lists
Loading your lists…