JACK BLACK AND MICHAEL CERA HANG IN THE VILLAGE. CERA GETS TO SHOWOFF HIS LEGS, JUST LIKE IN JUNO

A laugh-filled review of ancient history: grass shacks to gilded palaces in 97 minutes

Year One is a broad but quick-witted costume comedy by Harold Ramis, who wrote Animal House and directed Caddyshack and Groundhog Day. The American critics aren't happy with it, though if Monty Python had made it, which isn't impossible, they'd be a whole lot more enthusiastic. (Life of Brian and Apocalypto were both inspirations.) Ramis succeeds very well in his purpose, which is to entertain and make us laugh. There's a range in the humor from the crude to the subtly satirical. Ramis dips lower than the Brits and doesn't fly as high, but there's some wit and for a few moments the Old Testament gets taken for a bracingly wild ride. The basic joke, well emphasized in the colloquial dialogue, is the contrast between the modern sensibility of the two protags and the ancient settings they roam through.

Ramis gets off to a good start by combining the crude, boisterous Jack Black and the dry, fey Michael Cera as buddies from a stone-age tribe: they make a good contrast, Black's invincible confidence set off against Cera's restraint and exquisite timing. Zed (Black) and Oh( Cera) are outcast members of a hunter-gatherer village: Zed is full of bravado, daring to sample the apple of the tree of knowledge, for all the good it does him (which is none), but still a totally incompetent hunter. Oh is a multi-talented gatherer, the smartest guy in town, though as he says, "that's a low bar." Oh was the one who thought of using gourds to drink out of instead of cupping one's hands ("it just seemed practical"). Oh and Zed, Cera and Black, provide a running series of jokes about masculinity and intelligence throughout. Ramis has fun with Cera's girlish voice and soft face. He's still the smartest guy around -- and also a big guy, towering above squat, plump Jack. Oh's also unmistakably interested in girls, proclaiming himself to be a "male virgin," a status he is aiming to lose. But his looks mean he has to watch out for Zaftig the bald eunuch (Kyle Gass) and the flaming hirsute high priest of Sodom (Oliver Platt).

Dramatically different levels of civilization coexist in Ramis' ancient times, as they do now. Year One is a quick run-through of the early stages of human history. The neolithic pals quickly run into some farmers with domesticated animals, who turn out to be a nastily squabbling Cain and Abel, and some mean Biblical fun begins, leading from fratricide to the discovery of the tiresome old blowhard Abraham. His son Isaac (Christopher Mintz-Plasse of Superbad), whom they save from being sacrificed, emerges as a rebellious pot-smoking teenager who likes to sneak off to Sodom to party (as what teenager wouldn't?). When Zed and Oh hears about this sink of depravity they can't wait to go there themselves, despite Abraham's condemnation. Anyhow they have to escape Abe's clutches before he circumcises them, a new idea they don't particularly fancy.

Things go on in this vein. A lot of the action takes place in Sodom. The Old Testament Hebrews are just a stopover on the way, though they pop up again later. It's a wild ride for Zed and Oh, who go from wearing animal skins to giving oil massages and losing their virginity backstage at a palace revolt. That elaborately staged scene (the budget was $60 million) shows Ramis shot this more like a Biblical blockbuster than a penny-pinching Python flick, and the changing costumes and hair styles are fun. But I'll be honest with you. Jack Black is wearing a bit thin (metaphorically, that is), and it's chiefly Cera, with his casual, throwaway delivery of the best lines, who breathes freshness into this.

_________________
©Chris Knipp. Blog: http://chrisknipp.blogspot.com/.