The problem with history is that, well, there's just so much of it. Historians, professors and teachers might groove on studying and/or teaching it, but for many a student, it's overwhelming, boring, or both, what with all of the dates, people, incidents and so on.
Some of the better educators know that the best long-term results stem from making such learning fun, entertaining and memorable, and thus mix humor, anecdotes, and asides into their teachings to engage their pupils. Heck, a few will even throw in movies if that can add to that informational mix in some fashion, as most kids love that sort of "interruption" of the daily grind (especially back in my pre-home video days, although I saw "El Cid" enough times for several lifetimes).
Two titles that shouldn't be part of the curriculum despite their inclusion of lots of history, however, are "History of the World - Part 1" and now "Year One" that's come along nearly two decades after Mel Brooks' comedy fiasco. Like that 1981 comedy, this film from writer/director Harold Ramis and "The Office" TV writers Gene Stupnitsky & Lee Eisenberg is a highly disjointed affair. It also throws temporal believability out the window, contains crude and potentially offensive material and, worse yet, is awash in comedy material that simply doesn't work.
That is, unless you're either a young male adolescent (or have the mindset of one) or are possibly stoned (and not of the rock upside the head variety that, natch, occurs here), conditions that could possibly make this complete misfire more amusing to some degree. Yes, I understand it's all supposed to be stupid, goofy and absurd, even if it never attempts to take that latter quality to the levels of "HOTWP1" and its big musical number "The Inquisition." I'm fine with dumb and dumber material as long as it's funny, but the offerings here come up shockingly short in that regard.
All of which is somewhat of a surprise considering that Ramis has delivered some comedic gems through the years, whether as writer and/or director. Granted, some have failed, but there were also those that were stupid yet funny ("Caddyshack," "National Lampoon's Vacation"), and a handful that were great (such as "Ghostbusters" that he wrote and especially "Groundhog Day" for which he wore both hats). Alas, one's track record doesn't always guarantee anything, and this film is arguably the low point of his career.
In short, this is a road trip flick through some early parts of history, more often than not traipsing around the Bible for characters and inspiration. After being kicked out of his clan, lame hunter/tribe clown Zed (Jack Black) sets out with his best friend, nerdy gatherer Oh (Michael Cera), and then meets the likes of Cain & Abel (David Cross and Paul Rudd), Abraham & Isaac (Hank Azaria and Christopher Mintz-Plasse), Roman soldiers and slave gatherers (including, of all people, one played by Vinnie Jones), and then the denizens of Sodom (most notably Oliver Platt as a hairy and presumably gay high priest with a thing for full body hot oil rubs performed by young men).
The latter locale, of course, sets up the opportunity for various sodomy based jokes, but there are also ones about circumcision (that seemingly gets the lion's share of related dialogue -- no surprise considering the male adolescent mindset that runs rampant throughout the production), tasting feces, farting, vomiting, animal entrails and, of course, virgins and wanting to "lay" with them.
The order of the material is so scattershot that nearly all of the scenes could be rearranged with no greater ill effect than is already present, and both the randomness and high failed joke quotient stymie any sort of building comedic momentum or plain and simple fun.
Some of the characters -- most notably Cross' Cain as well as June Diane Raphael & Juno Temple as the objects of the protagonists' lustful thinking and Matthew Willig as their muscle-bound original clan leader -- keep reappearing from time to time, with the lackluster material letting them down with each and every return. That's also true for most of the rest (including Mintz-Plasse who made quite the impression as "McLovin" in "Superbad" and then in "Role Models" but is a non-entity here, while Rudd smartly exits the film as quickly as possible, although that was a given considering who he's playing).
My biggest complaint, however, is the casting of and performances by Black and Cera in the lead roles. Purposefully designed or just a matter of laziness on their part and/or that of the filmmakers, they're simply playing themselves, or least the caricature versions. All of which means the mannerisms, other behavior, vocal delivery and overall personalities are exactly the same as you've seen them do before.
While Cera's shtick is newer than Black's that jumped the shark, as they like to say, quite a while back, that doesn't make it any more forgivable. It's possible their diehard fans will get a kick out of them doing that while playing contemporary-minded Neolithic beings, but I found all of that just as hilarious as the rest of the film.
In other words, not at all. About as random, tedious and unfunny as they come, the only thing that "Year One" manages to succeed at is instill fear that there might be "Year Two" somewhere in the development pipeline. Oh, and showing that making movies about cavemen apparently isn't as easy as buying auto insurance. The film rates as a 1 out of 10.
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