Year One is one of the very few films that I actually recognized the name of the director, Harold Ramis. In my mind Ramis is the Michael Bay of the comedy world. Ramis has worked on many classic films such as Animal House, Caddyshack, Groundhog Day, Vacation, and of course Ghostbusters.

I normally pass over speaking of the directors and writers of the films that I review, but in this case, I feel that it deserves a mention. Of course I have already stated that the film was directed by Harold Ramis, who also had a hand in the writing of Year One. Gene Stupitnitsky, and Lee Eisenburg (two of the creators of The Office) joined Ramis in the writing of Year One. Why is this so important? Because it is these three minds who are currently working on Ghostbusters 3. So for many of us fans Year One could have possibly been a glimpse into what we could expect from a possible Ghostbusters 3.

Let’s hope that Ghostbusters 3 does not fall into the same category as Year One. Sure, I enjoyed Year One, and I found it entertaining, and parts were downright funny, but it seriously lacked the quality that I would come to expect from this crew.

Again, let me say I enjoyed the film. I did not hat Year One, I would actually recommend it to anyone looking for cheap laughs, but it is by no means going to be a cult classic, at least not in my opinion. The closest thing I could compare the film to is Monty Python meets Scary Movie. The movie almost seemed like a spoof of itself, filled with slapstick humor, poop jokes, and a slow plot.

As it typically goes with a goof-ball, Jack Black comedy the plot was fairly lacking. It just doesn’t really go anywhere, and parts just made no sense. But, what the plot lacked the comedy of Jack Black, and Michael Cera filled the gaps. Many of the jokes were expected, but there were several one-liners, poop humor, and other nonsense that left me in tears. It was no Hangover, but an it was still an entertaining comedy.

Perhaps what I liked the most about the film, was the sub-story of Cain (David Cross) and Abel (Paul Rudd). Even though I can’t really stand David Cross, he played the perfect Cain. I was really surprised of how big of a part that Cross played. I actually had thought that the Cain and Abel scene would start, end and be forgotten about very quickly. Well, Abel didn’t last long, but I was very surprised to see Cain appear several times during the second half of the film, at some very ironic times I might add.

I believe that it has been said here before that a film is what you make of it. If you go in expecting something amazing and over the top, you will be let down. It was very disappointing to me knowing the background, and future, of the minds behind the film. However, if you set aside your own expectations, and take the film for what it is, you may possibly find yourself mildly entertained. I will not claim that the film will be breaking any records, and it is definitely not as good as I had expected, but I will tell you that it is a very entertaining film. Overall I would recommend Year One, but only if you enjoy a typical Jack Black film.

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