Year One

• The MovieSet Movie Review of ‘Year One’

  Published on: June 18, 2009

  By Jeff Otto

  EXPECTATIONS

  What I’d Seen - The trailers didn’t look too promising. The gigantic billboards hanging all over town? Even less so.

  What I’d Heard - The second prehistoric comedy of the summer. Of the two, my prediction was that Land of the Lost would be the one to see. But considering what a letdown the Ferrell comedy turned out to be, perhaps Year One could turn out to be a diamond in the rough.

  What I Wanted - Look, we aren’t talking high art here. If this one makes me laugh and does it with some level of consistency, then it counts as a success.

  

  Olivia Wilde and Jack Black in Columbia Pictures' comedy Year One

  EXPERIENCE

  What Turned Me On - Year One stumbles out of the gate with a heavy dose of schticky humor that offers little promise of what’s to come. The danger of a one-note Saturday Night Live joke lasting 90 minutes appeared to be a distinct possibility. But then, something happened. A funny joke here, a minor laugh there, a clever little knock at a historical moment over there… Soon, we were off and running. The laughs aren’t big knee-slappers, but they are peppered throughout and occur often enough for an enjoyable experience.

  Michael Cera’s unique brand of low energy humor offers many of Year One’s funniest moments. Jack Black is doing his usual thing; funny at points, but without Cera, Black offers nothing more than a retread of the dreadful Nacho Libre. Black’s humor works in doses when it’s part of an ensemble. In addition to Cera, David Cross and Oliver Platt lend memorable goofy supporting characters that compete nose for nose with the leads for laughs. Pay attention for an endless list of cameo appearances including, to name just a few, Ramis, Paul Rudd and Bill Hader.

  What Turned Me Off - Well, as I mentioned above, Jack Black’s schtick is wearing thin these days, but when he isn’t the center attention, his brand of smarmy humor can illicit a few laughs and avoid being too grating. Year One is at its weakest when it goes for the most obvious jokes, but as the humor branches out and gets weirder, the laughs work regardless of high concept plot devices. At one point Cera must give a bare-chested Platt an oil rubdown, a cringe-inducing moment in any setting. As with any comedy of this nature, there are a few clunkers, but overall there are more hits than misses.

  Read the full review here.

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• 'Ghostbusters 3' Seed Planted, Ramis Says

  Published on: June 8, 2009

  Writer, actor and director Harold Ramis had a hand in seemingly half the movies we held dear in childhood, and he shows no signs of slowing his consistently relevant resume. He wrote eternal gems like 'Animal House' and 'Caddyshack,' though Ramis might be most famous for the role of brainy scientist Dr. Egon Spengler in the 'Ghostbusters' films (which he co-wrote with fellow Ghostbuster Dan Aykroyd). Ramis' latest is the upcoming prehistoric buddy film 'Year One,' starring Jack Black and Michael Cera.
  PopEater.com talked to the Hollywood veteran about the possibility of a rumored third film in the 'Ghostbusters' franchise, what makes an enduring comedy, and our lingering questions about 'Groundhog Day.'
  
  
  "...Who would complain about people still talking about work you did 25 years ago? It's a great thing, and it's really good for the work I'm doing now, that people still have fondness for those films..."
  
  Read the full interview here.
  
  PopEater.com
  By: Brooke Tarnoff

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• Sony Launches the 'You're So Year One' Mini-Viral Website

  Published on: June 3, 2009

  Sony has launched a mini-viral site for Year One where, in the spirit of "Your Momma" jokes, users can submit various "You're So Year One" phrases. It really has no end result - none of the phrases will show up anywhere besides that site, there is no contest involved or prizes, or anything like that. It's simply just a fun activity to get people in the Year One mindset and spread the word. They've also launched a Twitter that randomly tweets out some of the most popular phrases.

  "..You're so Year One, you remember when the dead sea was just sick!..."

  Read the full article here.

  
  Firstshowing.net
  By: Alex Billington

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