Film reviews: Back to black

Jun 23 2009 By Pierce Hunt, Surrey Herald

OH DEAR, oh dear. Quite what Harold Ramis was thinking when he conjured up this stinker of a film is anyone's guess.

From the man who has written, produced, directed and starred in scores of classic films including Ghostbusters, Caddyshack and Groundhog Day, Ramis manages to put a hefty black mark next to his name with the painfully unfunny Year One.

The script is awash with feeble jokes, which more often than not fail to raise even a wry smile. If a barrage of non-stop poo, pee and penis jokes are your bag, you'll be in your element, but after the first five minutes it soon becomes tiresome. Even 12-year-olds will feel grown up after being bombarded with sub par, childish humour.

The main men, Jack Black (Zed) and Michael Cera (Oh) fill carbon copy roles they always play. Black - annoying, hyperactive attention-seeker and Cera - awkward, shy misfit. These roles have been done to death and Year One only highlights the actors two-dimensional capabilities.

The unlikely duo are banished from their village and set out on a journey of self-discovery across desolate terrain, which is fraught with danger.

The randomness of the narrative soon stops becoming infuriating as you eventually stop caring. Zed and Oh's adventure through a biblical landscape is long - 30 minutes too long, which is embarrassing for a 97 minute film.

If the script doesn't get your goat, the cheapness of the set sure will. It's as if the budget was blown on the 'talent' and the catering staff were slipped a few extra pounds to knock up sets and costumes that wouldn't look out of place in an amateur dramatics pantomime.

The mind boggles as to how this was given the green light. The stupidity of the unfolding story will turn most brains to mush within the first hour, those with any brain power will have already left the cinema and, with any luck, the majority will have had the sense to avoid this at all costs.