Year One

What do you get when you put one of the all-time great writer/directors of comedy, Harold Ramis, with producer of the moment Judd Apatow? The answer, unfortunately, is Year One.

Zed (Jack Black) and Oh (Michael Cera) are two primeval hunter-gatherers, one a loveable slacker, one a loveable dweeb. When Zed samples the forbidden fruit, they are forced to leave their tribe behind. A series of episodes follow, mostly with no apparent narrative or thematic purpose and almost universally with little comedic value.

Year One has two obvious parallels that make it appear more self-conscious than it probably is: Mel Brooks’ History of the World Part One, and Life of Brian. In comparison to both, Year One is a pitiful piece of drivel, hammering away idiotically at the comedy goldmine of religious dogma but missing with every strike.

Perhaps as a result of America’s sizeable population of bonkers Christian fascists, Year One lacks the courage to make any truly subversive point, sticking to crudity, grossness and self-deprecatory and well-worn digs at Jews, by Jews. A gay priest is funny – because he’s gay and hairy. Sodom is funny, because you can make jokes about bumming. Circumcision is funny… You get the idea.

That’s not to say the film doesn’t aspire to anything more profound. Its core message is essentially the same as Brian’s – don’t follow leaders, watch the parking meters. But this is buried in such a churning barrel of bullshit that it’s hard to know how this relates to the rest of the film’s ham-fisted duncery. “Find your own destiny,” says Black at the end, pleading for some credibility. Blessed are the cheesemakers, indeed.

Ultimately, Year One just isn’t funny. Undoubtedly its poor script – and budget of $75m – is accounted for by it being an unashamed vehicle for Cera and Black, who ‘play’ themselves throughout. But this gambit is a catastrophic failure. Cera’s loveable puppy-dog schtick is already tired, and Black can no longer carry a dud with likeability and energy alone. As for Ramis, well, perhaps he’s not the Messiah after all.

James Bramble

Anticipation:

Ramis/Apatow, Cera/Black – comedy gold?

Enjoyment:

A pitiful, confused, unfunny mess.

In Retrospect:

Career lows for everybody involved.