The average MacGruber sketch on Saturday Night Live only lasts a couple of minutes, while the big-screen adaptation is over 40 times longer than that -- all the more time to fill with well-chosen music. MacGruber’s soundtrack stays mostly faithful to the sketch’s lovingly absurd send-up of the ‘80s favorite resourceful secret agent MacGyver, serving up a platter of some of the decade’s finest cheese.
Gerry Rafferty’s slippery smooth “Baker Street,”
Mr. Mister’s painfully earnest “Broken Wings,” and
Robbie Dupree’s irrepressible “Steal Away” are some of the standouts, along with
Eddie Money’s “Take Me Home Tonight” and
Toto’s “Rosanna.” The songs that aren’t from the ‘80s work nearly as well, particularly
the Hives’ “Tick Tick Boom,” which is, surprisingly enough, the only bomb-themed track here. And of course, Will Forte and Kristen Wiig contribute songs as well, with Forte’s Cornbread Compton providing “MacGruber’s Theme” and Wiig, who plays MacGruber’s puffy-haired assistant Vicki St. Elmo, sings three songs, including “Rock My Body,” which features Forte as MacGruber, and “Champion,” a power ballad that channels ‘80s ladies such as
Pat Benatar and Laura Brannigan. Though the concept behind MacGruber is slight -- or simple, depending on your point of view -- the way it’s carried out in its soundtrack is enjoyable both on its own and as a part of the movie. ~ Heather Phares