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Movie Review: Year One

Eric Emin Wood — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 04:05:08 +0000

I hadn’t seen the trailers for Year One. I wasn’t expecting a “Jack Black” movie; for me the most important name in the credits was director/co-writer Harold Ramis (Ghostbusters, Groundhog Day).

Year One begins with a boar hunt; not as convincing as the one in Apocalypto perhaps, but credible nonetheless. For two brief, shining minutes I thought here was a movie that understood that most important and least followed rule of comedy: the more seriously the participants take it, the funnier it is.

Then a hunter played by Horatio Sanz is hit with a spear, the type that if thrown properly would have gored him. It barely scratches his shoulder, and after discovering Sanz isn’t a boar, Black apologizes for throwing it. He sounds exactly like the Jack Black we’ve seen in countless other films (King Kong excepted), and if the movie began here I would have found myself wondering what he was doing dressed as a caveman.

Michael Cera sounds exactly like the character we’ve seen in countless other films too – which, as a coworker pointed out, is odd, because he played a completely different character in his breakthrough, Arrested Development.

Soon Black is thrown out of his village for eating the fruit of knowledge. He accidentally burns the village as he’s leaving, so everyone else has to leave too. Rejected by the girl of his dreams (Juno Temple), Cera’s character soon follows.

At first, Black and Cera continue to stumble across some bible stories: they witness Cain (David Cross) accidentally murder his brother Abel (Paul Rudd); they prevent Abraham (Hank Azaria) from sacrificing Isaac (Christopher Mintz-Plasse); and they journey to Sodom, which you might think they end up burning to the ground (at least, I did). But no; 40 minutes in, the bible angle finishes. Black and Cera wind up in Sodom (along with, coincidentally, the rest of their tribe), and stay there.

Like all viewers, critics are biased; I have a soft spot for dumb comedies, am critical of religion, and appreciated seeing a movie whose central thesis (if it has one) was, “what if there is no God?” I like Cera, and Black in the right material, and accepted their pseudo-stoner dialogue without difficulty.Year One is more genial than funny, but its lightweight story is enough to string us along, and you can tell the actors were having a good time. I’ll admit I laughed occasionally, and when I wasn’t laughing or closing my eyes I smiled much of the way through.

Unfortunately, biases run both ways, and I have a big one when it comes to comedy: I hate toilet humour.

Despise it.

To this day I’ve never seen “classic” scenes such as Leslie Mann vomiting shrimp all over Steve Carell in The 40-Year-Old Virgin, or the “pale ale” in American Pie. I accept that on a conceptual level it serves its purpose (it makes the characters painfully human) and a segment of the audience finds it funny. In an otherwise wonderful movie, I’m happy to close my eyes for a moment and move on.

In Year One, however, something disgusting happens every 20 minutes: Jack Black examines (and eats) a pile of shit; Michael Cera, while hanging upside down, pees on his face (judging from Black’s lines, some of it lands in his mouth and nose); a man sharing a bed with Cera proudly farts repeatedly. In a major supporting role, Oliver Platt plays a high priest who’s extremely hairy, and the camera lingers while Cera is forced to slowly rub oil all over his chest.

Does a majority of the audience actually find this funny? I thought nothing could top the running gag involving gum thrown up at Penn Station in last year’s Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist. Once again Hollywood proved me wrong.

There are other problems – Mintz-Plasse’s Isaac is wasted, while Cross’s Cain remains onscreen long past his sell-by date; Black’s love interest (June Diane Raphael) falls for him even though he repeatedly forgets about her, jokes about her parents’ deaths, and would happily dump her for Sodom’s princess (House’’s Olivia Wilde) – but they pale in comparison to the film’s desire to shock.

I enjoyed parts of Year One because I kept hoping it wouldn’t disgust me again (the shit-eating scene comes at the beginning; the Michael-Cera-pissing-on-his-face scene near the end). You’d have to pay me to see it a second time, and during that repeat viewing I would get up ten minutes into the movie and never come back.

Jessica Alba’s Office Debut

Ilan Mester — Thu, 18 Dec 2008 00:08:59 +0000

Jessica Alba will be guest staring in a special hour-long episode of “The Office” according to E! Online. The episode is scheduled to air on February 1, after the Super Bowl.

Funny-man Jack Black will join Alba for the episode. The two are set to play movie stars in a bootlegged movie on the episode that will be called “Stress Relief”.

Alba is currently filming “An Invisible Sign of My Own,” where she will play Mona Gray, a math teacher. The film is based on the book of the same title by Aimee Bender and focusses on Mona Gray, a woman who turns to math after dealing with a family illness. Other cast members include J.K. Simmons, the actor who played Peter Parker’s boss in the “Spider-Man” franchise.

Meanwhile, Black’s next project is “The Year One”. The movie follows two hunter-gatherers who are banished from a village. It is a comedy set in biblical times and co-stars Michael Cera.

Jack Black Puts Comedic Twist On ‘Bourne Identity’

Eva Lam — Wed, 01 Oct 2008 19:07:19 +0000

Jack Black is Jason Bourne … sort of.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, the actor will star in an untitled action comedy for Universal that is described as “a comedic take on ‘The Bourne Identity.’”

Black will play an American who washes up on the shores of Cuba with a bad case of amnesia and concludes he must be a superspy, à la Matt Damon’s character in the “Bourne” movie franchise.

The project reunites Black with “Kung Fu Panda” writers Jonathan Aibel and Glenn Berger.

Aibel and Berger, whose past credits include “King of the Hill,” is currently working on DreamWorks’ “Monsters Vs. Aliens,” which will be released in the spring.

Black will next appear in Harold Ramis’ adventure-comedy “Year One,” which also stars Michael Cera and Olivia Wilde.

‘Rock School 2′ Confirmed

andPOP Staff — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 08:05:43 +0000

“Rock School” is officially back in session.

Variety has confirmed that a sequel is in production for the Jack Black flick. Black will resume his role, this time taking his summer school group on a trip to discover the roots of rock ‘n’ roll.

Richard Linklater and Mike White will be back as well, as director and writer, respectively.

White has already finished the script, as he claimed last month that writing it made him weep. At a screenwriting panel, he said, “”I actually just completed a draft of what’s potentially the sequel [to School of Rock], and I’m still, like, crying as I’m writing the script. I try to come at it from a personal place…”

Jack Black’s Bad Heroin Trip

andPOP Staff — Tue, 08 Jul 2008 07:40:43 +0000

Jack Black has admitted to a one-time experience with heroin.

The “Kung Fu Panda” star told Blender magazine: “It didn’t agree with me. I couldn’t really feel my legs, and my heart felt like it was slowing down too much. I thought, ‘Oh my God, it’s going to shut me down. I’m going to die.’ I went down to the 7-Eleven at the bottom of the hill, and I had this strange sensation that my legs were pumping, but the feet were just sort of lifeless stumps. I did a little shopping and then walked back up the hill and survived. And never did it again.”

Black has recently opened up about his troubled childhood, when he used to sniff glue and steal money from his mother to buy cocaine before the age of 15.

‘Kung Fu Panda’ Finishes on Top

Irene Ogrodnik — Mon, 09 Jun 2008 09:06:10 +0000

The animated movie “Kung Fu Panda” finished on top with $60 million, estimates Exhibitor Relations Co. while Adam Sandler’s new flick, “You Don’t Mess With the Zohan” came in second with $40 million.

Jack Black provides the voice for the panda, while Dustin Hoffman, Angelina Jolie, Jackie Chan and Lucy Liu also give their vocals to the movie’s other characters.

“Kung Fu Panda” is expected to take eighth place on the list of all-time animation openers, as per stats at Box Office Mojo.

“Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull” came in third place with $22.8 million while last week’s box office smash hit “Sex and the City” came in fourth place with $21.3 million.

Jack Black Welcomes Baby No. 2

Irene Ogrodnik — Mon, 02 Jun 2008 08:32:52 +0000

Comedian actor Jack Black is a dad again, after he and his wife Tanya welcomed their second child about a week ago.

The star of “Kung Fu Panda” told Entertainment Tonight that his new son was “fresh out of the oven.” Jack is said to have been changing a lot of diapers over the past week.

The baby is said to be named after his father and is joined by big brother Samuel, who is almost 2. Black and his wife married in 2006.

About two weeks, Black spilled the beans to the press and confirmed that Angelina Jolie was expecting twins.

Another Baby For Jack Black

Eva Lam — Mon, 07 Jan 2008 16:08:08 +0000

Jack Black is gearing up to be a new father all over again.

The actor and Tenacious D musician confirmed that he and his cellist wife Tanya Haden are expecting their second child while promoting his upcoming film, Michel Gondry’s “Be Kind Rewind,” in Los Angeles this weekend.

The couple, who married in 2006, has a one-and-a-half-year-old son named Samuel.

While Black didn’t specify the due date or if the baby would be a boy or a girl, he told reporters he has taken a “day-to-day” approach to parenting.

“I’ve been told that two children is three times as hard as one child, but then strangely three children is easier than one,” he said.

“Be Kind Rewind,” also starring Mos Def, Mia Farrow and Danny Glover, is set to hit theatres on Feb. 22.

‘McLovin’ Reuniting With Cera, Apatow

andPOP Staff — Thu, 06 Dec 2007 14:19:36 +0000

“Superbad”’s McLovin, a.k.a. teeny actor Christopher Mintz-Plasse, will have the chance to steal scenes once again in the Judd Apatow film “Year One.”

Reuniting with Canadian pal Michael Cera, Mintz-Plasse will play a ” platform-shoe-wearing high priest,” according to Yahoo! Entertainment.

No word yet on what his catchphrase will be this time around.

The comedy, set in biblical times, will also star Jack Black. Vinnie Jones is also in talks to play a palace guard. Harold Ramis will direct. Filming will take place in Louisiana and New Mexico come January.

“Superbad” is now on DVD.

Jack Black To Produce Movie for Universal

andPOP Staff — Fri, 06 Oct 2006 22:30:42 +0000

Actor Jack Black will soon be adding “producer” to his resume. Universal Pictures has picked up the movie rights to a New York Times article by Pete Thamel for Black to produce.

The Aug. 23 article, with the headline “In College Football, Big Paydays for Humiliation,” was about how college football teams pay big dollars to play weaker teams for easy wins.

There is no screenwriter named for the film yet and while Black will act in the movie, he will not be the star. The comic’s next film “Tenacious D in the Pick of Destiny” is set to hit theaters Nov. 17.