Keepin' it Reel: Year One

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Synopsis: Two loser cavemen leave their tribe to embark on an adventure of biblical proportions.

The Dexter
Year One - A Biblical Gut Buster 

I will admit; I have a simple amused affection for this movie. I'm not quite positive that I wasn't surprised to see Jack Black and Michael Cera spoof a raunchy toss-up of the Book of Genesis, but I'll be honest that I don't feel guilty for obnoxiously laughing at the vulgarity of it. Though it's not worthy of a comparison to Monty Python's Holy Grail, it ended up being quite the mixed bag of nuts. My only real gripe with the film is that it doesn't have so much of an actual plot as it does just making Zed (Black) and Oh (Cera) fall into stupid funny out-of-place sequences and chasing girls that aren't interested in them. Keep in mind that I'm amused by the slightest thing, so the "already heard" jokes and whatnot, lewd conversations and references to other ... odd ... entities of ... "conversation"(?) kept me rolling. And, this movie is definitely quotable with its memorable one-liners. I don't recommend this for individuals who don't find stupid humor, humorous- or for anyone who'll be offended by jokes about the bible, circumcision, sexuality, etc ... 

Though I don't pin "Year One" as a must-see, it's definitely rental-worthy to get a tongue-in-cheek idea of a modern twist on the Old Testament. 

The Realist: Chaz
Year One = TERRIBLE. Nuff said.


Can you remember when you were young and your parentals would try way too hard to be cool or funny? All you could do was roll your eyes, shake your head and smile, not because they were funny, but because they were so ridiculous. Well that's what I felt like I was doing throughout this movie. I would catch myself saying "Oh Jack (Black)" or "Silly Michael (Cera)." They are both funny, but not as two idiotic cavemen.

I admit that I chuckled once or twice, but really? It was an hour and a half long!

This is just another one of those comedies that had no effort put into it. My five-year-old nephew could write something like this. The plot - dumb, the characters - dumb, me after watching it - dumber.

I like when movies leave me asking questions, but not questions like "What the hell was that?" and "Whatever happened to good comedies?"

Skip it. Trust me. 

They call me Roy
Year One doesn't add up
 

First of all, I'm a big fan of Michael Cera. He's one of the best comic straight men in the business, and at 21, that's definitely saying something. However, Jack Black has become way too full of himself to be funny anymore. I was hoping that the two opposites would carry this movie, but it just didn't happen. 

In the spirit of Monty Python and the Search for the Holy Grail and History of the World Part I, Year one is a tongue-in-cheek look at history; this time taking a bite straight out of the bible. Oh (Cera) and Zed (Black) are chased out of their tribe, eventually finding their tribe having been enslaved. They then try to rescue their two love interests making their way through "hilarious" scenes from the bible. That's pretty much where the funny stops.
There were some funny parts, but they were few and far in between plains of boredom. There were times in the theater when I actually pulled my cell phone out to check the time. All in all, it may be worth renting ... maybe. 

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