Year One

Starring: Jack Black, Michael Cera, Oliver Platt, David Cross, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, Vinnie Jones, Hank Azaria, Juno Temple, Olivia Wilde, Horatio Sanz, Harold Ramis, Kyle Gass, Bill Hader, Paul Rudd
Directed by: Harold Ramis
Rating: PG-13
Genre: Comedy, Adventure
2009

Times Seen:
Tim: 1

Summary: Two cavemen (Jack Black, Michael Cera) are banished from their village, so they begin a trek across the world, getting into various dangerous situations as they try to survive and thrive in a strange new world.

Review:

Tim: Year One is an ambitious, sprawling comedy adventure movie that ultimately doesn't work nearly as well as it expected, because it simply isn't funny enough. The entire premise of the film is a bit of a stretch, as our protagonists travel through a completely ridiculous timeline, hitting up some of the major events of ancient times. Overlooking that aspect (and really, that is the least of the issues here), this film still is a bit of a mess. Some characters speak in modern language, others throw in a few "thous" and "thys," which just makes the dialogue pretty confusing.

I like the idea of Jack Black and Michael Cera as two stupid cavemen. This idea is appealing to me, and I don't even mind that they are pretty much "modern" people in their dialogue. This presents some pretty hilarious moments. I admit I laughed a few times. The problem is that there are simply not enough laughs throughout this uneven movie. Still, Black and Cera work well together, and it is pretty humorous to watch them as two cavemen. I did enjoy both of their performances.

The supporting cast is pretty large, and they give various levels of performances. I thought Oliver Platt was very funny, but a bit over-the-top as well. Christopher Mintz-Plasse was a nice addition, but he adds very little. Vinnie Jones was inspired, terrific casting, and I really liked seeing him here. Hank Azaria was forgetful- why do people think he is so funny? Juno Temple and Olivia Wilde were both quite good. I liked seeing director Harold Ramis in a small role, as well as Bill Hader and Paul Rudd. The various cameos are definitely one of this film's strongest aspects.

This film is certainly flawed, but the good comedies offer up enough laughs so that it's easy to overlook those flaws. That is not the case here. Year One does have a few very good laughs, but much of the jokes are simply not funny. The movie's script is a mess, and it is a confusing hodgepodge of various historical and mythological events. This makes the movie a bit sillier than it needed to be. The script is held together by the very thinnest of threads, and appears ready to break at any moment. It is not difficult to sit back and enjoy the ride, but it is nearly impossible to care about anything or anyone on screen.

Year One was an ambitious effort, and I generally like to reward movies for that. However, this film just doesn't do nearly enough right. It isn't even close to being as funny as it needed to be. The gags and jokes get old very quickly, and there is very little else to really hold our attention. This movie is helped by the energetic, game performances of Black and Cera, but this is too little to save this movie from itself. Harold Ramis is a very good director, but this is a forgettable effort all around.

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating: 5.5



If You Enjoyed This Movie, We Recommend: Land of the Lost, Superbad, Life of Brian, 10,000 B.C., School of Rock