Better Than You Might Expect

Year One Review

Coming off the heels of The Hangover isn’t doing Year One any favors, as it looks positively amateurish by comparison.

That being said it’s a perfectly pleasant time at  the movies, with a threadbare story that does cause it to drag but enough laughs to get you through.

As he did in Nacho Libre, Jack Black sort of single-handedly saves this picture, as his absurd facial gestures and occasional overt breaks from character represent the picture’s high points.

The film is also stocked with a gajillion comedy vets such as:

-Bill Hader

-Oliver Platt

-Paul Rudd

-David Cross

-Hank Azaria

etc.

They show up, goof it up, and usually score one or two laughs, with the exception of Platt as the obnoxious and disgustingly hairy high priest. No knock on Platt, he takes it to probably the best place it could go, but it’s just not funny material.

How much you will enjoy this movie largely hinges on whether you are willing to accept Jack Black being Jack Black, again and Michael Cera doing exactly what you saw him do in Superbad and Juno, albeit in a goofier way, here.

For Cera it’s rapidly becoming a real issue that he does the same type of performance pretty much everytime. He can do dramatic acting (Nick and Nora’s Infinite Playlist, seriously, he had some moments) and he even played a jerk pretty well in a mockumentary on the Knocked Up DVD but for the most part he just does the same awkward, halting cadence again and again.

That being said, it’s funny. So if you’re not tired of it yet, you might not mind. Ditto for Black.

There are definitely too many childish pee and poop jokes here, one would think Harold Ramis and co. could have come up with enough Biblical satire to not need to resort to such crudity.

But there are also funny jokes, actual funny jokes, enough to help you make it through. A “high-speed” chase between two ox-drawn carts, for example.

This movie is not in the same league as The Hangover, but it’s also not the disaster it’s 20% rating in Rottentomatoes might have you think.

-Dan Benamor