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Jack Black and Michael Cera Year One |
It’s One to forget from Mr Black
YEAR ONE
Directed by Harold Ramis
Certificate 15
YEAR One, a historical comedy set in a strangely indefinable time and place that could be around 2,000 years ago, lacks a storyline to keep you interested and gags which would make up for an invisible plot.
It is a great, great disappointment, for I find it hard to look at Jack Black without giggling to myself. He is one of my guilty pleasures. From his killer folk-rock comedy band Tenacious D to his tale of a heavy metal guitarist taking it to the kids in School of Rock, he has managed to hit the right notes.
Throw in my favourite, the marvellous Mexican wrestling tale Nacho Libre – Black has scored hit after hit in recent years.
And it is super track record that makes Year One so utterly disappointing.
Black plays Zed, a Stone Age man banished from his village because he is essentially a bit of a loser: he is a hunter and is frankly rubbish at chucking spears and tracking boars. He is joined by his friend Oh, a gatherer with similar issues over his role in village life. The pair set out on a Stone-Age road trip, encountering a mixture of biblical figures on their way and eventually finding some form of redemption in the eyes of the two village girls they left behind.
Sadly, the jokes are flimsy beyond belief, mainly relying on grotesque moments such as Black eating excrement (an essential part of his tracking skills), puerile quips about circumcision, cheap laughs at eunuchs, a few unfunny gay stereotypes... the list of low targets that take direct hits are endless and rather sad.
There is also a lack of discernible banter between the two, which is crucial for any buddy-buddy road trip movie. This pair simply have little to say to one another and it’s an uneasy friendship that does not hold your attention.
Jack, you need to get back on the horse and make some funny, easygoing original comedies that your previous filmography suggests you are capable of. |
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