Year One (2009)
Last Watch Date - February 10, 2024
Total Times Watched - Three or Four
Comments
Another milquetoast sort of comedy, you say? No problem! Year One came out to little fanfare, but from some pretty big names. Written by Harold Ramis, Gene Stupnitsky, and Lee Eisenberg (the latter two of The Office writing fame), you'd expect this movie to be a BIG BOY release. Oh yeah, and it also has Apatow as a producer. And Jack Black starring. And Olivia Wilde. And ...
So what exactly is wrong with it? I think the biggest issue with this movie is that it's not really that funny. There were a bunch of movies that came out around this time that were REALLY funny. Especially Apatow-related movies. They were maybe a bit over the top, but memorable and funny (I'm thinking Superbad, The 40-Year Old Virgin, Step Brothers, Bridesmaids..). This one is definitely the odd one out from that group.
Casting-wise, this movie is amazing. I already mentioned Black and Wilde, but it also has Michael Cera, David Cross, Oliver Platt, Vinnie Jones, Hank Azaria, Juno Temple, Bill Hader... It's really well-acted and there's no complaints from me on the acting. The script is fine – it's a goofy take on the book of Genesis, including the murder of Abel by Cain, Abraham and Isaac, and a whole lot of foreskin cutting.
The movie is about 90 minutes and it has nice pacing. It's funny to see how they keep getting into worse situations over and over, though it is a bit formulaic. Jack Black and Michael Cera have a good dynamic, and the addition of David Cross gives it a funny wrinkle.
For as poorly as this movie was reviewed critically, I actually always enjoy it. It's really stupid and silly, but it's fun. It's not super raunchy, but it does have some off-color jokes. I wonder if people saw the cast and creators and thought "this should be better than it is." It's no classic like Groundhog Day, sure, but it's still fun. I'm not a real critic though, so don't believe me.
Recommended?
I got this bad for for a couple bucks too. Fun times in antique stores! It's hard to stream this, but if you can find it for cheap or see it on TV, check it out!
