If you are like me, you probably watched the trailers for Year One and assumed that they included all of the humorous parts of the movie.
If you are like me, you probably watched the trailers for Year One and assumed that they included all of the humorous parts of the movie. After viewing the film, I can confirm these suspicions. Fortunately, the interludes between trailer scenes are not all bad. Certainly, they are not as entertaining as the big gags, but they move the story along and keep you somewhat entertained. You will be enjoying yourself enough that when the scenes from the trailer play in context, you will laugh again.
The film centers around the characters of Zed and Oh, played by Jack Black and Michael Cera, respectively. They live in a small forest community of hunter-gatherers. Zed is a failed hunter, and Oh would be a successful gatherer were he not constantly bullied by the accomplished hunters. In order to gain the respect and affection of the women they desire, Zed and Oh sample the forbidden fruit of knowledge and are subsequently banished from their community. They journey forth to settle a new village and to satisfy their curiosity of what lies over the far mountains.
Their journey allows Zed and Oh to see and experience many different events, and try as they might to remain impartial observers, they are typically pulled into the middle of everything they come across. Over the course of their travels, they witness the brutal killing of Abel by his brother Cain, they are captured by slave traders, narrowly escape circumcision at the hands of Abraham, and join the imperial guard in Sodom.
Unfortunately, throughout all of these adventures Jack Black and Michael Cera seem to be on autopilot for their performances. Jack Black dances around, speaks in a singing voice, and makes wild facial expressions. Meanwhile, Michael Cera awkwardly stutters and stumbles over his words as though he is talking to a pretty girl, even when he isn’t. I suppose it works for the actors to find their niche, but I would be surprised if I were to learn that the script was written with them in mind. Many of their lines just do not match the way these two deliver them.
With the lead actors phoning in their performances, it is a good thing the film is populated by enjoyable cameos and supporting players. David Cross, Paul Rudd, Oliver Platt, Ben Stiller, Hank Azaria, and even the director, Harold Ramis, pop in for a couple of minutes here and there to deliver comic gems. There are so many of them that it becomes enjoyable to simply sit back and wait to see who is going to show up next. Especially enjoyable was Jack Black’s Tenacious D partner, Kyle Gass, as a eunuch who likes to keep his detached testicles close by his side. It may sound disgusting, but this movie also features both of the main characters ingesting human waste, so it is actually kind of tame in comparison.
Year One offers plenty of enjoyable and funny moments. Even more if you count the ones you have already seen in the trailers. On the other side of the coin, though, there are also quite a few jokes that fall flat. If this looks like the kind of movie you would enjoy; if you are a fan of Jack Black, Michael Cera, or the director Harold Ramis; or if you have enjoyed the other films produced by Judd Apatow (40-Year-Old Virgin, Knocked Up, Superbad, etc.), then by all means, go see this movie. Just make sure you free up a day to see it at the matinee price.
