Film Review: Year one

Jack Black and Michael Cera take on prehistory
By Miles Greb

    Mel Brooks never made a sequel to History of the World: Part I. It’s easy to understand why; it might have ended up like Year one.  The film is directed by Harold Ramis (Yes, the Ghostbusters) and follows Zed (Jack Black) and Oh (Michael Cera).
Zed is apparently the decedent of every one of Jack Black’s other characters: Fat, Raunchy, enthusiastic, and hiding a little bit of heart. Oh is essentially George Michael.     
    The film isn’t a spinoff of an old TV show or movie, so even when it reverts to potty humor, it never gets too stale.  However, it has the same flaws as other recent comedies with strong talent that failed to deliver. Like the Night at the Museum franchise, Year One is full of great jesters acting like caricatures of themselves. Black makes ridiculous’s faces, messes things up, and then tries to fix his mistakes. Cera makes coy remarks then gives his patented clueless look. It’s a cut and paste performance.
    The plot does little to help the uninspiring acting. Zed and Oh are too can’t-get-right members of a primitive tribe. Zed, fed up with his lowly position in the tribe, eats the forbidden fruit and the two are exiled by the village shaman (played by SNL's Bill Hader).
    10 minutes, and a poop joke later the two find Abel (Paul Rudd) and Cain (Arrested Development’s David Cross).  After Cain does his thing with Abel, and a few sex jokes from Black, Zed and Oh get caught up in a low speed chase with Cain. The group flees to a port city to find two girls from there tribe being sold as slaves. Then the plot thickens from paper to a pancake.
   A few mishaps latter they find themselves saving Isaac (Christopher Mintz-Plasse of Mclovin fame) and Abraham (Hank Azaria). Isaac is saved, jokes are made about circumcision, and Zed and Oh run off to Sodom and Gomorrah.
   The films predictable from there, and the humor never changes. Year One was a promising film as a trailer, but actually watching it makes yours forehead start to grow, and your knuckles drag.
1 ½ stars.

Director: Harold Ramis

Rating: PG-13

Language: English

Length: 97min

1 ½ stars.