It’s never clear why Jack Black, arguably one of the greatest musical and comic geniuses of our time, decides to do the movies he does. Remember that one called Envy that he did with Ben Stiller that looked set to be pure comedy magic? Nah, neither do I – I just remember being astounded at its crapness. But somehow he remains awesome, and I keep trooping off to watch his movies, just like I did this weekend to Year One.
The pairing of Black with youngster, Michael Cera (George Michael from Arrested Development) seemed like it could be the new dream team of young and old (or rather, older) comedy, and the two actors are fairly funny to watch, but only because they are quality in their own right – together they create little on-screen chemistry.
The story focuses on Zed (Black), a terrible hunter, and Oh (Cera), who fails as a gatherer. They get banished from their primitive village and “set off on an epic journey through the ancient world.” The film then turns into a no-brain comedy, but for smart people, because you have to keep your wits about you to keep track of the different civilizations that the two characters are moving through. This does bring about some classic laughs though, like when Cera says that he thinks he has sand in his ass, and Black replies with “I’ll take a look when we get to Sodom.” Good times.
Judd Apatow is one of the producers, so the usual Apatow cast pops up in cameo roles throughout the film. Once you realize that the film isn’t outwardly entertaining, you’ll have more fun waiting for the likes of Paul Rudd, Christopher Mintz-Plasse (aka McLovin) and Vinnie Jones to come back on screen.
Black plays his usual social-outcast-gets-a-crazy-idea-to-succeed-in-life character, while Cera’s comedy is the cynical, understated kind that we’ve seen from him many a time before. If you’re really set on seeing Year One, you will find a laugh or two in it, but otherwise I recommend you wait until it comes to DVD or TV.
Image via Wikipedia
