In this issue, you'll learn about a deeply disappointing comedy, one that makes me reflect on the state of movies--and movie watching--in general.

Year One

(PG-13, Now Available)

What happened to Harold Ramis? The director of "Caddyshack," the writer of "Stripes," and co-writer of "Ghostbusters," one of the cleverest and most underrated scripts ever written. How did he end up co-writing and directing a movie with Michael Cera, Jack Black, and a host of other very talented actors that's just so... bad? There was so much potential here. So what happened?

"Year One" is a look at biblical and ancient history through a comedic (well, attempted comedic) lens. Zed (Black) is the worst hunter in his village, while his only real friend, Oh (Cera) is a shy gatherer with a crush on Zed's sister Eema (Juno Temple).

Zed wants to do something special with his life. Mostly he wants to impress Maya (June Diane Raphael). He decides to eat an apple from the Tree of Knowledge.

"It has sort of a knowledgy taste," he declares. But it also has "a forbidden taste," so when his fellow villagers find out, Zed is banished and forced to roam the earth. His exit doesn't help anyone, though, when he accidentally burns the entire village down upon leaving. Oh reluctantly joins him while Eema and Maya are captured by a slave master.

The opening is a bit slow, but there's a sense that once Zed and Oh embark on their journey the story, and hopefully the comedy, are going to pick up. Sadly, it never really does. Their meeting with Cain (David Cross) and Abel (Paul Rudd) has the potential to be a comedic home run. Instead it's a weak single trickling past the second baseman. It's kind of funny but not nearly as much as it ought to be. Still, it ends up being one of the best scenes in all of "Year One."

Most gags feel flat, rarely hitting their target. Black and Cera try, but they have very little to work with. Not even Hank Azaria and Christopher Mintz-Plasse (McLovin) as Abraham and Isaac can liven things up.

The script by Ramis, Gene Stupnitsky and Lee Eisenberg is incredibly weak. It didn't help that virtually everyone involved with the making of "Year One" kept trying to compare it to Monty Python's "Life of Brian" in every pre-release interview. Where "Brian" was a smart and very funny satire that had something to say, "Year One" is a series of lazy fecal and genitalia jokes that lack imagination. That Stupnitsky and Eisenberg have been hired to write "Ghostbusters III" now concerns me greatly.

"Year One" is a tremendous disappointment involving a whole lot of people who must have known on some level that this just wasn't up to snuff. This is one to avoid. 3/10.

In my attempts to find a second new release to review for this issue, I came across such stellar offerings as "National Lampoon Presents Endless Bummer," starring Matthew Lillard and Joan Jett. At long last Lillard and Jett on screen together! I wish I could say I'd made that up, but it's all too real.

Meanwhile, the new television season has left me colder than any in recent memory.

You might think that, between "Year One," the weak TV schedule, and the promise of Lillard-Jett Mania sweeping the nation, I'm a negative guy. You may think that the fact that I review movies means I'm a negative guy. Arguably the most cutting insult in all of literature is simply one man calling another, "Critic."

But I'm not a negative guy. I try to find the good in most anyone and anything. I've sat through some awful movies, sure. But even those can have worthwhile moments. Yes, "The Go-Getter" is a derivative waste of time. But without it there'd be no She and Him. If you have absolutely no idea what I'm talking about, skip the movie, but pick up the album "She and Him: Volume 1." It's fantastic.

I'm not saying you should make a point of seeking out bad movies. But do make a point of seeking out movies. And if you're going to seek out movies, you will find the occasional stinker. It's just like life. You keep trying new experiences, and some of them you will love, while others you'll decidedly hate.

Love the American remake of "The Office?" Give the original Brit-com a try. For my money it's even funnier. Want to pop in "Taxi Driver" for the eighth time? Check out "The King of Comedy." It's still Scorsese and De Niro, but I'll bet you haven't seen it before. It lacks the flash of "Goodfellas," but I think it's the best thing Scorsese's ever done.

Being an adventurous movie watcher may mean a dumb comedy double feature like "Pootie Tang" and "The Jerk," or it might mean embracing subtitled movies in black and white-maybe a night in with "The Grand Illusion" and "The Seventh Seal."

Anywhere, anytime, you can find a great movie or a great show to watch that you've never seen before. You might not have known it ever existed. And if you're anything like me, you'll find that the more movies you see, the more you'll realize how many you haven't seen.

So be willing to give something different a try. Be discerning, sure. If the description sounds awful, the trailer looks awful, and the casting is awful, chances are it's going to be horrendous. But step out of your comfort zone. History professors, give "Blades of Glory" a chance. If you're a high school jock, watch "Amelie." And if you're the homecoming queen, watch "Die Hard."

Actually, everyone should watch "Die Hard." It's "Die Hard." I mean, come on.

Happy viewing!

Contact Bob with comments, suggestions or questions at bob@northcountyoutlook.com.


Also New to DVD and Blu-Ray

Now Available:

Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (G)

Not Quite Hollywood (R)

Bones: Season 4



10/13:

The Proposal (PG-13)

Drag Me to Hell (R)

Land of the Lost (PG-13)

The Backyardigans: Robot Repairman

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