Director Harold Ramis has helmed several titles that can be termed essential comedies. “Groundhog Day,” “National Lampoon’s Vacation,” and “Multiplicity” are just some examples of Ramis’ ability to evoke genuine hilarity, which is often mixed in with engaging drama that can be revisited time and again. Given how incredibly adept he was at writing comedies, it is a shame that Ramis’ final genre film, “Year One,” was deemed a critical flop in 2009. Although Ramis’ goodwill as an actor/writer/director undoubtedly remains untarnished, “Year One” is a baffling phenomenon that is quite difficult to explain, as the brand of bawdy, illogical humor it weilds has only aged even more terribly with time.
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Well, it seems that Hulu’s algorithm has (once again) spotlighted films that are best left forgotten. You see, “Year One” is currently ranked #13 among the streaming platform’s Top Movies List, having recently lost its #9 ranking to the Jonah Hill and Michael Cera comedy, “Superbad” (via FlixPatrol). While Ramis’ maligned 2009 comedy might be out of the Top 10 rankings for quite some time now, it is being watched enough times to retain its position among the 15 most-viewed films on Hulu. Stranger things have happened when it comes to Hulu rankings, such as when the abysmal, straight-to-VOD “Hellboy: The Crooked Man” debuted at #1 on the platform and stayed there long enough to make most folks scratch their heads in confusion.
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Jack Black and Michael Cera lead “Year One,” where their eccentric characters embark on a heroic quest, but wild shenanigans disrupt what would be considered a conventional journey. Ramis’ film can be termed as a biblical spoof flick, as it parodies the book of Genesis, but it lacks the humor or satirical bite necessary to be considered a valuable addition to the sub-genre. I’ll say this much: it is certainly no “Monty Python’s Life of Brian,” a genre classic that doesn’t sacrifice its poignant messaging even when it embraces irreverent humor.
Year One’s nonsensical humor is a misfire from start to finish
Critic Roger Ebert began his one-star review of “Year One” by lamenting Ramis’ involvement with the project. “I’m so sorry ‘Year One’ happened to him,” Ebert wrote, while proceeding to underline how nothing in this film works, including the chemistry between Black and Cera’s fish-out-of-water characters. This sentiment perfectly encapsulates why “Year One” doesn’t work even as a casual, turn-your-brain-off viewing experience, as there’s little enjoyment to be gleaned from a film that is so deeply unfunny. Moreover, Black’s usual quick-witted grasp of comedic timing is wholly absent in this film, while Cera’s awkwardly endearing presence as an actor doesn’t translate well into the bawdy tone of the story. When two gifted comedic actors cannot make a seemingly humorous script work, it is probably because the skits were not funny to begin with.
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I call them skits because that’s exactly what they feel like. Tribesmen Zed (Black) and Oh (Cera) are forced to become a hunter-gatherer duo after being ostracized by their respective communities, and the two move from one skit to another until we arrive at a dramatic climax. Things start with an uncomfortable meeting with Cain and Abel (yep), after which Zed and Oh are threatened with wrongful accusations of murder. This triggers a string of events that have minimal correlation or significance, for that matter — an aspect that would have worked beautifully in a comedic tale that is laugh-out-loud funny. Unfortunately, “Year One” is downright painful to get through, with a chunk of its humor rooted in the most juvenile “Haha! Sex joke!” mindset.
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“Year One” is very much a product of its time. It is slapdash comedy that attempts to half-heartedly critique the subject matter it is parodying, but the lack of conviction is evident from the word go. Perhaps, a better script would have made the Black-Cera duo thoroughly enjoyable; if you still wish to give the movie a chance, you can stream “Year One” on Hulu.
