Year One

Review By: Gene McCarthy
GeneMcCarthy@TheCinemaSource.com

Movie Grade: C
DVD Features Grade: C
Overall Grade: C

If you’re a Jack Black fan, then you are not going to be disappointed with Year One, because he delivers his usual robust zany performance. He’s a very competent actor/comedian, but this script doesn’t give him much to work with. Michael Cera plays his usual adorable, soft spoken, awkward character and in the end, the pair is perfectly matched and complement each other really well. That’s the good news… the bad news is this had the potential to be a much funnier movie, but it wasn’t.

Jack Black (Zed) and Michael Cera (Oh) are two cavemen that don’t quite live up to the expectations of their tribe, or cavemen for that matter. Zed is an inept hunter, and Oh is the gentle sensitive gatherer who doesn’t fit in with the other Paleolithic brutes.

After Zed breaks a sacred law and eats from the tree of knowledge, he is thrown out of the village and Oh unwittingly follows him in hopes to start their own “muscle tribe of danger and excellence.” It turns into one disaster after another. Their paths cross with Cain (David Cross), and his brother Abel played by Paul Rudd. They witness Cain murder Abel, then flee with Cain only to find their crushes from their old village have been sold into slavery. The second half of the movie, which is also the weakest half, consists of the pair trying to save their girlfriends.

When I was watching this movie, Mel Brooks’ History of The World Part I came to mind, but it was more the comedy style than the story itself. History of The World started in the stone age then progressed to the Roman Empire and finally winded down with the French Revolution. In this film, stone aged man walks alongside Roman soldiers, as well as characters from the Old Testament. Director Harold Ramis was obviously heavily influenced by Mel Brooks and I think he was trying to achieve that kind of result with Year One. Harold Ramis, who directed Caddyshack, Vacation, and Groundhog Day, is obviously capable of writing and directing some classic comedy films, but this was not one of his stronger efforts. There are some definite laughable moments, but they come few and far between as the story becomes more ridiculous and absurd.

Had I paid $12.50 to see this movie in a theater, I would not have been too happy. But as a rental, you could do a lot worse. The bottom line is it’s worth watching for a few laughs, and I wouldn’t mind seeing Jack Black and Michael Cera paired up again, but hopefully with a much better script next time.

Movie Grade: C
DVD Features Grade: C
Overall Grade: C