Year One
Beautiful women, fart jokes and biblical references are the ingredients in this gumbo of a comedy. The timing and feel of it all reminded me of Mel Brooks (though my stating this may be considered blasphemy by some) and I couldn’t imagine that the pairing of Jack Black and Micheal Cera would work so well.
Synopsis: Zed (Jack Black) is the son of a great hunter but is a poor hunter himself. His aspirations go beyond that of his caveman’s village and he yearns to travel beyond it’s walls into the great unknown. Oh (Michael Cera) is a builder and gatherer, unlike Zed he is a virgin and yearns to lay with the lovely Eema (Juno Temple) in order to become a man. Zed has little luck himself in the pursuit of Maya (June Diane Raphael) and unsuccessfully tries daily to get with her but her eyes are on the warrior Marlak (Matthew Willig) since he is the best. Zed’s curiousity soon leads him to eating a forbidden fruit that gets him banished from the village. He and Oh make their way to the edge of the earth only to find that it actually extends and a whole world of adventure lays before them.
All in all a very funny movie for a non-religious person like myself. For the holy-roller… I am not sure if the jokes will be considered funny or offensive. There are scenes from the Bible, like Cain killing his brother Abel and Abraham trying to sacrifice his son. Another prevalent topic throughout was the legend of Sodom and Gomorrah, with a heavy emphasis on Sodom or should I say sodomy. No actual sodomy mind you but a whole lot of ass chasing for it once the boys hit the city of ill-reputed fame.
Inside Sodom was funny enough but in between the laughter we are treated to the stunning beauty of Princess Inanna (Olivia Wilde) and her intoxicating glare. She turns out to be one more major distraction for Zed on his road to enlightenment and although I found neither her nor Cain (David Cross) exactly funny, her presence in this movie brought it back down to earth for a bit. Oliver Platt as the “High Priest” was probably the funniest character to me. The trade-offs between he and Michael Cera were beyond hilarious as he demanded naughty favors from the innocent Oh whilst making remarks that were truly cringe-worthy. It seemed as if everyone had a good time making this film and it was a good time watching it.
If you need a good laugh and a light remembrance of those stories in Sunday school then you should check out Year One. Just remember to check your serious side at the door, Jack Black doesn’t miss a beat and Michael Cera is again a loveable virgin (typecast much?). Nuff said, check it out.
STAR RATING: (4/10) ★★★★★★★★★★
Filed under Adventure, Comedy · Tagged with biblical references, cavemen, jack black, micheal cera, olivia wilde, sodom and gomorrah
