Director Harold Ramis and producer Judd Apatow have quite the track record with crowd-pleasing, laugh-out-loud movies. Is Year One another of them? Jack Black and Michael Cena have joined the newer comedic talents of Paul Rudd, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, Bill Hader, and others to give it their best shot. Whether or not you find the film as knock out as Knocked Up or as super as Superbad, I found the non-theological take on a few key Biblical stories to be interesting spins, as well as the overall growth of our two anti-heroes, Zed (Black) and Oh (Cena).
Zed eats of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil, but rather than losing his place in the Garden of Eden, he’s expelled from the community of prehistoric hunter/gatherers by the resident medicine man. Oh ends up going along for the ride, and the two stumble around, ultimately discovering that their mates-of-choice have been taken captive by Sodomites. Before the two can save the girls and bring order to a chaotic world, they encounter a few Biblical twists…
First, the two fellow travelers encounter Cain and Abel (David Cross and Rudd, respectively) and the Apatow effect is clear. These two quarrel over their offerings to God, but unlike the traditional Biblical view, there is little difference between these two moronic (and derisive) brothers, other than that Cain wins the fistfight. We’re not sure where Year One will take us, but we know that the image of God has been smudged early and often in this retelling.
Abraham (Hank Azaria) and Isaac (Mintz-Plasse) are up next; while the two have some of the same problems (father trying to obey God by sacrificing son; adult circumcision), Isaac’s response is less obedient than the Biblical version.
But the body humor (and frequent homoerotic jokes) continue, as the two enter Sodom, thanks to Cain’s betrayal. There are laugh-out-loud moments to be had there, but we’re also seeing two “rednecks from the woods” discover society. The “civilization” that the two guys discover isn’t all that civilized, and it makes the village that they left behind look pretty good. But after a misguided trip through the Holy of Holies (another Biblical ideal that’s far from the norm here), the two battle virgin sacrifice in a true Ramis-Apatow style, and learn a lot about themselves in the process.
What else is there to say? If you like Ramis or Apatow for their previous work, then you’ll like this; if you’re repulsed by their brand of humor, steer clear. It’s cleaner than the last few outings (which have all been more visual) and the “punchline” ends up being a good one. But these guys are best at being offensive, messing with you a bit, and their take on the first year of civilization is devoid of any real “god.” Instead, it’s about the way that people abuse other people in the name of God, which is their take I guess. It’s certainly food for thought, and it may make you laugh. Like the movie Saved!, I think Year One has something to teach us, because in the criticism of faith we can see what the other side thinks.
