Release Date 6/19/09
Year One, written and directed by Harold Ramis (Groundhog Day, Caddyshack) is a comedy set in biblical times. It stars Jack Black and Michael Cera who play cavemen Zed and Oh. This movie really missed the mark. Harold Ramis’ early work is some of my favorite comedies, but Year One shows that maybe his best work may be behind him. This movie had so much potential but just seems to end up being a lot of toilet humor and bad jokes that combine for a few funny moments and a lot of unfunny ones.
The film opens by introducing two cavemen: clumsy hunter Zed (Jack Black) and equally unskilled gatherer Oh (Michael Cera). Neither has much luck with women – Maya (June Diane Raphael), the object of Zed’s lust, views him as an unlikely provider, and Eema (Juno Temple), Oh’s would be bedmate, doesn’t know he exists. When Zed violates tribal law by eating of the Fruit of the Tree of Knowledge while a boa constrictor wraps up Oh, the pair is exiled from the village. They wander around a bit before coming upon quarreling brothers Cain (David Cross) and Abel (Paul Rudd). After killing his brother, Cain brings his new buddies home to meet Mom and Dad. The next day, it’s back on the road. A few misadventures later, Zed and Oh are headed for Sodom and Gomorrah, where Maya and Eema are being held as slaves. As they approach the city, Zed is certain he is ‘The Chosen One’, but Oh isn’t so sure.
Like many comedies this year that have you laughing throughout the entire film, Year One had me laughing about every 10 minutes. I didn’t have much fun in the theater either, and when you label a movie as comedy/adventure that seems like it could be a major problem. Jack Black and Michael Cera definitely work as a comedy team. They use Black’s goofiness and energy with Cera’s awkwardness well at some points, but by the end the act got old and I couldn’t stand either one of them. The high points of the film are cameos by Oliver Platt, Paul Rudd, Bill Hader, and Hank Azaria. They are the parts of the movie where I laughed the most and they were on screen for probably a total of 15 minutes. The cameos that just weren’t that great were that of Christopher Minz-Plasse (Mclovin) and David Cross. I usually think these two are hilarious but they just weren’t used right.
In a time where smart and adult humor, like that of, The Hangover or The Apatow directed films The 40-year Old Virgin and Knocked Up, is what people want to see. Hey I mean I’m always game for some poop, pee, and foreskin jokes but when it used in the right way. It’s like this movie is made for the young immature teenagers who would love these kinds of jokes and I just don’t think it worked well at all. And talk about a weak ending. This one just fizzles out at the end and it’s like they didn’t even know where they were going with it the entire time.
Maybe if I were one year old I would enjoy the toilet humor used in Year One. I plead for people to wait until DVD.
They really fucked the pooch on this one.
WHACKED!!!
Imdb: N/A
Rotten Tomtoes: 25%
Moviewiseguys: 5/10
