Year One is a comedy about our “ancestors” and how life was funny back in ancient times and while I laughed some I just couldn’t get past the fact that only certain characters talked as they would back then while most spoke as you and I do today. The mix was odd which is a great way to sum up Year One…odd.

The story is about Zed (Jack Black) and Oh (Michael Cera) who are cavemen who don’t live in a cave. They are forced to leave their village and explore the world after Zed eats the forbidden fruit. Get used to this as random Bible references are thrown in during the whole movie but all during the same year which adds to the oddity. They meet Cain (David Cross) and Abel (Paul Rudd) who murders his brother and sticks around Zed and Oh the entire movie, which REALLY hurts the film.

They meet Abraham (Hank Azaria) along the way who is funny but obsessed with only one thing that I’m not going to talk about. They learn of Sodom and head there to become guards, slaves and all sorts of things as they are still searching for their villagers who have become slaves. Mind you, if you’re looking for plot in Year One then you’ll be sorely disappointed. If you’re looking for laughes…well, more on that in a bit.

Princess Inanna (Olivia Wilde) takes a liking to Zed to help free her people from a drought. She apparently is related to some sort of royalty in Italy and actually is a real Princess. Weird. Anyway, this is when Oliver Platt playing the High Priest enters the film and while he has the most uncomfortable character that I’ve seen in awhile, I laughed at him more than anyone in the film. Yeah, he was funny but so strange. I really think it had to only be Oliver Platt for me to be able to laugh.

All in all, for this being a comedy, I guess I’ve missed something. It seems more like Jack Black got together everyone he finds funny for a movie and while I find him funny, I don’t find his friends funny. He was decent in the film but didn’t have a lot to work with either. The focus was on the side characters too much. The humor was odd and awkward and not funny. Cera isn’t funny and its too feminine to do anything but pitty. David Cross is the least funny comedian of all time. He’s annoying looking, annoying sounding and NOT FUNNY! Oliver Platt was funny but it was in a strange, bizare way. Jack Black was hit or miss. I really find him hilarious but he needs the right surroundings and Year One was not a good one for him. I can’t recommend this film to anyone as its not worth it. So until next time, don’t eat the bear poop and watch out for those Critical Hits!