Review: Year One (12A)*
What do you call a comedy without a single laugh? Year One. Harold Ramis' road movie through the Paleolithic era is headlined by Jack Black and Michael Cera, two of the most gifted comic actors of their generation.
Pelt-clad primitives Zed (Black) and Oh (Cera) are incompetent and lazy, and don't pull their weight like the other men in their village. Zed cannot master his bow and arrow, and is a woeful hunter. Inevitably, the friends are banished from the tribe and embark on a quest of self-discovery through an ancient world riddled with danger.
Zed and Oh unexpectedly find courage and determination in the face of adversity, arriving in Sodom where the flamboyant high priest (Oliver Platt) threatens to sacrifice Maya and Eema to the gods.Thankfully, the buddies orchestrate a daring rescue mission, but first they must outwit the captain of the guards, Sargon (Vinnie Jones). Producer Judd Apatow's recent winning streak, which includes The 40 Year Old Virgin, Knocked Up, Superbad and Forgetting Sarah Marshall, comes to an inglorious end with Year One.
Foolishly, the script begins at the dawn of mankind and merrily incorporates Biblical references, which beg unfavourable comparisons with Life Of Brian.
Monty Python's film may be 30-years-old, but it boasts more chuckles and guffaws in the opening five minutes than Year One can muster in its lifeless entirety.
Email to a friend
Print this page- Three-inch blanket of snow heading our way today
- Alan Shearer in list of favourites for Leeds and England jobs: Latest odds
- Barnsley’s Keith Hill invokes Fawlty Towers over link with Leeds job
- McCormack feels United search can be narrowed down
- Redfearn throws down gauntlet as queue builds at Elland Road
- Rival chips in with £500,000 to restore the original Harry Ramsden’s
- Visit from Princess as Serbian culture celebrated
- SportsTalk: Leeds United’s manager search, Super League and Calcutta Cup
- Libraries aren’t like supermarkets, they are magical places where dreams begin
- Strategic review will lead to job losses at Yorkshire Bank
Looking for...
Featured advertisers
Jobs
Search for a job
Motors
Search for a car
Property
Search for a house
Weather for Yorkshire
Sunday 12 February 2012
Today
Light rain
Temperature: 1 C to 6 C
Wind Speed: 8 mph
Wind direction: North west
Tomorrow
Sunny spells
Temperature: 4 C to 8 C
Wind Speed: 16 mph
Wind direction: West
