Last night, I went to the theatre to see Year One. The trick is to go in with low expectations.I didn't have much prior knowledge about the movie. I'd seen one preview, and read an interview with Michael Cera in the Record. I knew the movie starred Jack Black and Michael Cera as cavemen. That is all I knew, and that was enough to suggest that I might not really enjoy the film.
I like Jack Black. I believe his appearance on Who Wants To Be A Millionaire? contained one of the greatest unspoken limericks in recorded history. I think Tenacious D has enough musical talent that it's a disservice to call them a novelty band. I think he made one good movie.
But that's where it stops. Because Jack Black - like Adam Sandler or Jim Carrey - can only play one character: himself. A charismatic loafer who doesn't realize his own selfishness, stumbles into doing the right thing, and in the end gets the girl and the glory.
As soon as the movie finished, I offered my opinion that Jack Black Is A Caveman was roughly on par with Jack Black Is A Mexican Wrestler and Jack Black Teaches Prep School. I think I'm on to something. Since he's already playing essentially the same character, Jack Black should become a series unto himself. Rather than having to come up with confusing titles which only bear a vague similarity to the plot, just call it Jack Black Fights Space Coyotes or Jack Black Rides A Unicycle.
It works in kids' books. Look at the Berenstain Bears, Little Critter, or others I'm forgetting. Build identification with the main character, and it builds brand awareness, which in turns brings in more people and more money. But back to Year One.
I don't understand where the name came from. If it means the chronological year one (either AD or BC), it makes no sense - all the Biblical allusions (or are they too overt to be allusions?) are from the Old Testament and quite some time before BC became AD. The first year of creation makes a little more sense - the first scene is basically the Garden of Eden - except that we're introduced to a flourishing village, obviously not in its first year of existence.
Overlooking that the name makes no sense, and that Jack Black is playing Jack Black (Michael Cera is playing Michael Cera, as well), it's not *that* horrible of a movie, really. There are some laughs (well, some cheap laughs...in my opinion a much better movie to watch with a group than alone), and the premise is genuinely at least a little clever. Jack Black constantly coming back into contact with the same few people, in an entirely different part of the world, gives me a good excuse to bust out a Candide comparison for the first time in years - and I'd obviously put this far ahead of that particular piece of literary excrement.
Although the biblical parallels were fairly heavy-handed and clichéd most of the time, I'll throw in a special mention to the Cain character - he started out primarily as annoying, then a cliché unto himself as the guy who always screws everyone over, but the scene where he reads the charges against Black and Cera (including 'lepresy' and 'puppetry', before finishing off with a quick 'and killing my brother Abel') did actually get me to laugh out loud.
Overall, though? Meh. I've seen Jack Black play Jack Black with a funnier supporting cast, I've seen Michael Cera play Michael Cera with a funnier supporting cast, and the plot made it clear that Black and Cera were supposed to compensate for its weakness. Not quite.
Overall grade: C. If you've got a big group and are looking for something to watch, okay. Otherwise, don't bother.
--Ryan
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