Spring Break
"Year One" not number one
By: Clay Harley
Issue date: 6/23/09 Section: Features
Directed by Harold Ramis, and produced in part by Judd Apatow, this is a film anyone would expect to be a side splitter. However, "Year One" is a dud due to a lack of cohesion and an excess of unimaginative, lowbrow humor.
The lack of cohesion is most obvious in the performances of leading men Jack Black and Michael Cera. In the story, Zed (Black) and Oh (Cera) are banished from their small tribe in the woods, and set out through biblical times on a quest for knowledge, and to save their respective women, Maya and Eema. One would expect that the joining of two such hilarious and contrasting personalities as these would produce a wealth of witty interplay. Unfortunately, Black and Cera are not ever quite able to mesh, and they seem rather disconnected in their dialogue. Instead of enjoying a fresh collaboration of comic talent, we watch Black's usual energetic leading character, and Michael Cera's typical timid teenage character wander around as two very separate entities. They are also meant to be best friends, but there is little camaraderie conveyed between the two. The duo almost never shares the same goals, and their loyalty for one another seems to come more from chance than friendship. This, of course, is not entirely their fault - the work behind the camera is weak as well.
Throughout the film the actors are limited by bad jokes and uninspired themes. The idea of making a comedy about the biblical events we all know so well is very clever, and it is funny to see the characters act the story out using modern-day vocabulary and expressions. However, the humor is too often dim-witted, predictable or stale. This is the type of humor that is funny at first but only because it is new. We have all enjoyed Black's eccentric facial expressions, laughed at Cera's dry commentary and been baffled by David Cross's ridiculous characters. But, because aspects like these are not presented with innovation, they are ineffective.
Probably the thing I was most excited about heading into "Year One" was getting to see so many funny actors working together. Indeed it was fun to see each one in their respective role, and each managed to offer a funny moment or two: Hank Azaria as Abraham, David Cross as Cain, Paul Rudd as Abel, Kyle Gass playing a Eunuch and Christopher Mintz-Plasse as Isaac. And it was no surprise when Bill Hader, in his very small role as a shaman, managed to draw some of the bigger laughs from the audience. However, overall it was a disappointment to see such a conglomeration of talent go, for the most part, to waste. The lack of focus throughout the film causes the efforts of these various supporting actors to seem scatterbrained and out of place.
The lack of cohesion is most obvious in the performances of leading men Jack Black and Michael Cera. In the story, Zed (Black) and Oh (Cera) are banished from their small tribe in the woods, and set out through biblical times on a quest for knowledge, and to save their respective women, Maya and Eema. One would expect that the joining of two such hilarious and contrasting personalities as these would produce a wealth of witty interplay. Unfortunately, Black and Cera are not ever quite able to mesh, and they seem rather disconnected in their dialogue. Instead of enjoying a fresh collaboration of comic talent, we watch Black's usual energetic leading character, and Michael Cera's typical timid teenage character wander around as two very separate entities. They are also meant to be best friends, but there is little camaraderie conveyed between the two. The duo almost never shares the same goals, and their loyalty for one another seems to come more from chance than friendship. This, of course, is not entirely their fault - the work behind the camera is weak as well.
Throughout the film the actors are limited by bad jokes and uninspired themes. The idea of making a comedy about the biblical events we all know so well is very clever, and it is funny to see the characters act the story out using modern-day vocabulary and expressions. However, the humor is too often dim-witted, predictable or stale. This is the type of humor that is funny at first but only because it is new. We have all enjoyed Black's eccentric facial expressions, laughed at Cera's dry commentary and been baffled by David Cross's ridiculous characters. But, because aspects like these are not presented with innovation, they are ineffective.
Probably the thing I was most excited about heading into "Year One" was getting to see so many funny actors working together. Indeed it was fun to see each one in their respective role, and each managed to offer a funny moment or two: Hank Azaria as Abraham, David Cross as Cain, Paul Rudd as Abel, Kyle Gass playing a Eunuch and Christopher Mintz-Plasse as Isaac. And it was no surprise when Bill Hader, in his very small role as a shaman, managed to draw some of the bigger laughs from the audience. However, overall it was a disappointment to see such a conglomeration of talent go, for the most part, to waste. The lack of focus throughout the film causes the efforts of these various supporting actors to seem scatterbrained and out of place.
Be sure to include your name, major, and class year. Submissions without this information are subject to deletion.
By submitting a comment, you agree to thebatt.com's Terms of Use.
You may also send a Mail Call to The Battalion at mailcall@thebatt.com