Life is not funny in “Year One”.

This is one of those times where I sit through a movie so you don’t have to waste your hard-earned money or precious time, because “Year One” is a waste of both time and money.
 

The laughter in this movie is limited to mindless, goofy, low-brow juvenile gross-out humor.

If someone gave me this concept in 5th grade, this is about what the script would be… bathroom humor and two guys trying to save the girls.  BUT this plot (unlike my theoretical one) starts slow, flatlines, then shows some promise, then meanders into the wasteland of movie comedies.

Jack Black de-evolves… the movie roles we are seeing him in are essentially becoming the same character and at the same time getting less funny.  I liked Black as a supporting character in “King Kong” (2005), “Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy” (2004), “Orange County” (2002), “High Fidelity” (2000), “Enemy of the State” (1998).  He was a good lead however, in “The School of Rock” (2003) and as a main character in “Tropic Thunder” (2008).

Michael Cera is typical too… going through his usual passive-agressive jokes and playing an awkward geeky type.

The writing is not great, the story and concept are okay, but it would have been better in the 1970’s or 1980’s… when I was the age that this would be funny and it could be seen as a spoof of “One Million Years B.C.” (1966) the classic “B” movie starring Raquel Welch… which would have been fresh in the minds of american movie audiences.

THE BOTTOM LINE:

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In this economy, if you have to choose… this isn’t the one animated family movie to pack up the kids and head to the movie theater for this year… “Monsters vs. Aliens” is a movie you should probably wait to rent.

My initial reaction when the movie ended was “that was okay”, shrugged my shoulders and started making additional notes…. but in the end, it comes back to the movie being just okay.  I’m sure that kids will like the action and the funny business, and there are jokes and references to make parents laugh, but when it comes down to deciding which movie to drop $50 at the theater to take the whole family… this isn’t the one so far this year.

 I will say that the screening I attended was in 2D, not the intended 3D, and I would guess that this movie is probably better in 3D, so add 0.5 to my rating if your seeing it in 3D.

The characters are fun with good voice talent, but the story is overly predictable, some of the comedy seems forced like there weren’t enough jokes and gags for the whole movie, so they came up with some fillers… in the end, there’s nothing really special about this movie.

As far as the funny goes… this is probably Set Rogen’s funniest role yet… the combination of the comedic character of B.O.B. (on poster, left) and not seeing Rogen makes his lines the funniest of his career.

THE BOTTOM LINE: 

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 For all the girly buddy movies I’ve seen over the years, this is the buddy comedy for guys… its a beautiful bromance – Paul Rudd and Jason Segel are hilarious in “I Love You, Man” !!!

I’ll warn you now and get this out of the way, “I Love You, Man” is rated R.   Its filled with guy jokes… raunchy humor… and bodily functions: things that women may not all like… but it delivers on its goal to make you laugh.

And just like “Confessions of a Shopaholic” was a chance for guys to learn something about women and shopping… women can learn a little something about guys and their male friendships in “I Love You, Man”.
 

 (Spoiler-free)

Paul Rudd is Peter… an slightly uptight guy about to get married, who is comfortable around women, but awkward around guys and guy things.  One of the running jokes throughout the movie is that he’s always struggling with trying to come up with nicknames or clever sayings around his guy friends.

Jason Segel is Sydney… a foul-mouthed, straight shooting guy that Peter hopes he can become friends with… and his fiancee hopes might be his best man.

One of the great scenes you may have seen in the trailer is when Peter hosts an open house on the big property he’s trying to sell and as Sydney is people watching, he does play-by-play on one guest’s flatulence.

The movie’s poster tells you everything you need to know: its a great blend of Peter’s slightly uptight awkwardness and Segel’s laid back carefree attitude as the two begin hanging out together for hours just doing guy things.. watching tv, playing games, eating corn dogs, listening to cool music, being goofy, and talking about guy stuff.

This is a comedy, but its also a story that is very accesible and easy to connect to… with all kinds of great buddy moments that are both funny and feel good.

“I Love You, Man” also includes a solid supporting cast.   Rashida Jones (”The Office”) is good as the fiancee, Jaime Pressly and Jon Favreau are surprisingly good as the friend couple, and Andy Samberg (”SNL”) does well as the brother, but J.K. Simmons steals the scenes again (“New in Town”, “Burn After Reading”, “Spider-Man” 1-3) as he delivers some hilarious unexpected lines with a straight face.

THE BOTTOM LINE:

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“Role Models” is funny, dirty, and charming all at the same time… this was a fun “R” rated comedy… imagine an older Steve Stifler (”American Pie”) and an unmarried Pete (“Knocked Up”) then mix in two great young actors and a bunch of low-brow but funny jokes and gags with a nice, albeit predictable storyline… and you get your money’s worth (at least for a matinee)…

AGAIN, I HATE TO HAVE TO SAY THIS, BUT THIS MOVIE HAS AN “R” RATING… while this was not as potentially offensive as “Zack and Miri”, it should be noted that I continue to see young kids (under 10) at these movies…. don’t say I haven’t tried to warn you….

“Role Models”

(2008) (rated: R for crude and sexual content, strong language and nudity) (1 hr, 39 min)

Starring: Seann William Scott, Paul Rudd, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, Bobb’e J. Thompson, Elizabeth Banks, Jane Lynch

Genre: Comedy/Raunchy-Comedy

The Plot: Wild behavior forces a pair of energy drink reps to enroll in a Big Brother program.

MY TAKE:

Okay, its nice to get back to the funny and less offensive “R” rated comedies… (more…)

(RE-POSTING FROM 6/8/08)

“Forgetting Sarah Marshall” – Hard to Forget

“Forgetting Sarah Marshall” is a fun *adult*-comedy… more than just raunchy jokes and sexual inuendos from a cast of familiar young faces from many of TV’s top shows….  this ranks right up there with “There’s Something About Mary”, “Knocked Up”, and “Superbad” in R-Rated Comedies….   but I do have one problem… a problem that makes this movie fall just short of a 7/10 rating…

 “Forgetting Sarah Marshall”

starring Jason Segel (”How I Met Your Mother”), Kristen Bell (”Heroes”), Mila Kunis (”That 70’s Show”), Russell Brand, Bill Hader (“Saturday Night Live”), Jonah Hill (”Superbad”/”Knocked Up”)