Head to Head – Year One

Have you ever read the bible and thought, what would happen if you inserted toilet humour every few pages? No? Me either. Apparently though, Harold Ramis, the man who made comedy gold with Groundhog Day, did. And so Year One was born. And it is bad. Sure Michael Cera is too awkwardly funny not to like, and over the top Jack Black provides a laugh or two, but for the most part Year One is just plain boring. Perhaps my biggest qualm with this film is the half hearted effort to deliver a message. This film seems to have an opinion on religion, it just doesn’t want to tell you it. Whilst not horrendous (I did enjoy David Cross’ Cain), Year One is certainly not comedy gold, or even comedy silver.

It’s never a good sign when you have to add caveats to your defence of a film, but bear with me for a moment. No, Year One is not as good as past Judd Apatow productions, nor does it match up to Ramis’ best work (such as Groundhog Day). However, there are plenty of hearty laughs to be found in this loose little comedy. It works better as a collection of sketches than a cohesive narrative (the scenes featuring Hank Azaria, Paul Rudd, Oliver Platt and David Cross attest to this). But frankly, Michael Cera’s casting as a clueless gatherer is so inspired it elevates all of the material to the next level. He is so dry and so effortlessly funny that he makes the film eminently watchable. It’s true that Year One isn’t comedy gold or silver. That’s because it’s myrrh baby! Get Biblical!