I usually try to write mostly about movies I really like. I like to tell people about hidden gems of movies I find, that I want everyone to see, like Local Hero, or Truly Madly Deeply. Year One is the opposite - a horrifying stinker of a movie.
Today, I have to warn you about a stinker of a movie, Year One. Jack Black and Michael Cera play ancient hunters running around in the forest, who run into Cain and Abel and every biblical cliche ever concocted by Cecil B. DeMille.
It's not a historic epic. It's not even a slapstick comedy, although that's its aim. It's more like two actors in silly costumes improving every scene in the most ludicrous, far-fetched way imaginable.
What really pisses me off about Year One is that it SHOULD be a terrific movie. It's written and directed by Harold Ramis, who was responsible for Stripes, Caddyshack, Groundhog Day, Analyze This, and on and on.
Year One stars Jack Black, an actor I love. I want to kidnap him and spend an evening feeding him lasagna and beer and urging him to tell me funny stories.
It also stars Oliver Platt and Hank Azaria, very gifted and funny character actors.
The kids and I started watching this movie last night, and within 5 minutes I wanted to turn it OFF. Within 10 minutes I wanted to break the DVD, curse the heavens, let Coco chew the disc, and perform a ritual wherein all our memories of the horrible movie had been wiped clean.
Michael Cera was funny in Superbad, I admit. In Year One, he was awful. He wore a long blonde wig and looked and talked like a girl throughout the movie. He also spoke in a monotone 90% of the time. He has the same bone structure as a young Barbra Streisand and in the right wig and makeup he would be her twin. If he could get a personality surgically grafted on, he might have a decent career as a female impersonator.
I urge you, I beg you, if you see Year One at Blockbuster, or in the $5 movie bin at Walmart, pass it by. Do NOT waste nearly two hours of your life on it!!
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