Though the past few years have seen quite a progression in the quality of mainstream film with flicks like The Dark Knight and Wall-E, there seems to be a lack of diversity in the comedy scene. With practically the same Judd Apatow movie being released over and over again, Year One showed promise as a funny – and yet, different – summer comedy, making it one of the most anticipated comedies so far this year, along with The Hangover. The difference between the two, however, is that The Hangover seemed to achieve what it set out to do, while Year One undoubtedly falls short.
The movie tells the tale of Zed (Jack Black), an underachieving caveman whose desire for success pushes him to eat the forbidden fruit, and in turn suffer exile from his village with the company of his friend, Oh (Michael Cera). Their departure from the village sends them on a remarkable journey, where they meet many interesting faces, and are forced to face peril in order to eventually rise above and become heroes. Year One features a remarkable cast, with Christopher Mintz-Plasse as Isaac, Hank Ariza as Abraham, Paul Rudd as Abel, among others. However, few of these actors are used to their full potential, such as Paul Rudd, who was in the movie for a total of five minutes.
Even though the movie overflows with biblical and historical references, they just make it look simple because of the way in which they’re used. For example, Zed and Oh’s village seemed to resemble a Garden of Eden-like setting, with the presence of the forbidden tree of knowledge, and the serpent, Satan, strangling Oh. But the use of the familiar biblical tale in the context of this movie serves no purpose, and like several of the other references, only seems like it was casually thrown in to perhaps make the movie seem more sophisticated.
It is difficult to make a good comedy, let alone a smart comedy, but with movies such as Analyze This, Groundhog Day (not to mention his impressive writing in Ghostbusters), director Harold Ramis is certainly qualified for such an achievement. While Year One isn’t a complete abomination, it certainly had the potential to be much better, especially with all the talent it had at hand. Perhaps it was just an off-movie for Ramis, but either way, one would be better off staying home and reading Milton’s Paradise Lost than paying to see a worse interpretation.
(6.1/10)
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