''Year One'' is a 2009 American

adventure An adventure is an exciting experience or undertaking that is typically bold, sometimes risky. Adventures may be activities with danger such as traveling, exploring, skydiving, mountain climbing, scuba diving, river rafting, or other extreme ...

comedy film A comedy film is a category of film which emphasizes humor. These films are designed to make the audience laugh through amusement. Films in this style traditionally have a happy ending ( black comedy being an exception). Comedy is one of the o ...

directed by Harold Ramis and distributed by

Columbia Pictures Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc. is an American film production studio that is a member of the Sony Pictures Motion Picture Group, a division of Sony Pictures Entertainment, which is one of the Big Five studios and a subsidiary of the mu ...

. The film was written by Harold Ramis,

Gene Stupnitsky Gene Stupnitsky (born August 26, 1977) is a Ukrainian-born American film and television writer and producer. He grew up in the suburbs of Chicago. He usually works with Lee Eisenberg, with whom he founded Quantity Entertainment. Life and caree ...

, and

Lee Eisenberg Lee Eisenberg (born April 5, 1977) is an American film and television writer and producer. He usually works with Gene Stupnitsky, with whom he founded Quantity Entertainment. Life and career Eisenberg was born in Needham, Massachusetts. His fath ...

and stars

Jack Black Thomas Jacob Black (born August 28, 1969) is an American actor, comedian, and musician. He is known for his acting roles in the films '' High Fidelity'' (2000), '' Shallow Hal'' (2001), '' Orange County'' (2002), '' School of Rock'' (2003), ' ...

and

Michael Cera Michael Austin Cera (; ; born June 7, 1988) is a Canadian actor and musician. He started his career as a child actor, voicing the character of Brother Bear on the children's television show ''The Berenstain Bears'' and portraying a young Chuck B ...

. Its story follows Zed and Oh, two

hunter-gatherer A traditional hunter-gatherer or forager is a human living an ancestrally derived lifestyle in which most or all food is obtained by foraging, that is, by gathering food from local sources, especially edible wild plants but also insects, fung ...

s who travel to the city of

Sodom Sodom may refer to: Places Historic * Sodom and Gomorrah, cities mentioned in the Book of Genesis United States * Sodom, Kentucky, a ghost town * Sodom, New York, a hamlet * Sodom, Ohio, an unincorporated community * Sodom, West Virginia, ...

after being banished from their tribe. Problems quickly emerge during their journey, as they encounter several biblical figures along the way. The film was produced by

Judd Apatow Judd Apatow (; born December 6, 1967) is an American comedian, director, producer, and screenwriter, best known for his work in comedy and drama films. He is the founder of Apatow Productions, through which he produced and directed the films ' ...

's production company

The Apatow Company Apatow Productions (or The Apatow Company) is an American film and television production company founded by Judd Apatow in 1999. The company's first television production was the comedy series ''Freaks and Geeks'' (1999–2000) and its first film ...

and was released on June 19, 2009. It grossed $19.6 million in its opening weekend and $62.4 million worldwide, against a budget of $60 million. Upon release, it was panned by everybody, receiving only a 14% approval rating based on 173 votes on

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wan ...

. This marked the last film to be directed, produced, written and starring Harold Ramis before he passed away in February 2014.

Plot

Once informed the

Neanderthal Neanderthals (, also ''Homo neanderthalensis'' and erroneously ''Homo sapiens neanderthalensis''), also written as Neandertals, are an Extinction, extinct species or subspecies of archaic humans who lived in Eurasia until about 40,000 years ag ...

hunter Zed ate from the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil, the shaman and Marlak banish him from the tribe. His hut destroyed after Zed burns the village down by accident, the gatherer Oh reluctantly joins Zed on a journey to discover what the world has to offer. They encounter

Cain and Abel In the biblical Book of Genesis, Cain ''Qayīn'', in pausa ''Qāyīn''; gr, Κάϊν ''Káïn''; ar, قابيل/قايين, Qābīl / Qāyīn and Abel ''Heḇel'', in pausa ''Hāḇel''; gr, Ἅβελ ''Hábel''; ar, هابيل, Hābīl ...

. Cain kills Abel with a boulder in an act of rage and tells Zed and Oh that they must escape with him or else he will be accused of killing Abel. Zed and Oh find out their love interests, Maya and Eema, from their former tribe have been captured and sold into

slavery Slavery and enslavement are both the state and the condition of being a slave—someone forbidden to quit one's service for an enslaver, and who is treated by the enslaver as property. Slavery typically involves slaves being made to perf ...

. Trying to buy the girls' freedom, they end up being sold as slaves themselves, as Cain had been wanting to rid himself of the murder's witnesses. Whilst in transport, the slave caravan containing Oh, Zed, Maya, Eema and others from their tribe is attacked and overpowered by Sodomites. Zed and Oh escape and hide in the desert but lose track of the now Sodomite-led slave caravan. Still resolved to free the slaves and knowing the caravan's new destination, Zed and Oh pass by a mountain where they find

Abraham Abraham, ; ar, , , name=, group= (originally Abram) is the common Hebrew patriarch of the Abrahamic religions, including Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. In Judaism, he is the founding father of the special relationship between the Je ...

about to kill his son

Isaac Isaac; grc, Ἰσαάκ, Isaák; ar, إسحٰق/إسحاق, Isḥāq; am, ይስሐቅ is one of the three patriarchs of the Israelites and an important figure in the Abrahamic religions, including Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. He was ...

. Zed stops them, telling Abraham Abraham's Deity sent him to do so. He takes them to his Hebrew village and tells them about the cities of

Sodom and Gomorrah Sodom and Gomorrah () were two legendary biblical cities destroyed by God for their wickedness. Their story parallels the Genesis flood narrative in its theme of God's anger provoked by man's sin (see Genesis 19:1–28). They are mentioned frequ ...

. Zed and Oh head off for Sodom when Abraham plans to circumcise them. As they arrive they are captured. Cain, now a Sodomite soldier, saves them from being sodomized, calling them his "brothers". They remind Cain he sold them as slaves; he apologizes and offers them food, gives Zed and Oh a tour of the city and gets them jobs as guards. While patrolling the city they see the princess Inanna, who is fasting as she feels guilty that most of the city is starving. She notices Zed and has him invited to a party that night, surreptitiously pulling him aside for clandestine discussion. Inside the palace, Zed sees Maya and Eema serving as slaves, but Oh is forced to follow the High Priest around the palace while Zed meets with Princess Inanna, who asks him to enter the

Holy of Holies The Holy of Holies (Hebrew: ''Qōḏeš haqQŏḏāšīm'' or ''Kodesh HaKodashim''; also הַדְּבִיר ''haDəḇīr'', 'the Sanctuary') is a term in the Hebrew Bible that refers to the inner sanctuary of the Tabernacle, where God's pres ...

and tell her what it is like, believing Zed is the "Chosen One". Inside the temple, Zed encounters Oh, who is hiding from the high priest. They get into a heated argument and are ratted on by an eavesdropping Cain, who then imprisons them for entering the temple. Sentenced to be stoned to death, Zed convinces the Sodomites to have mercy, so they are instead sentenced to hard labor until they die from work. The king then announces that he will sacrifice his daughter and two virgins (Maya and Eema), who were labeled by Cain as "followers of the Chosen One", as a gift to the gods. The growing crowd, already at its breaking point from the famine, reacts negatively as Princess Inanna is already very popular for her regular displays of solidarity with the people. Zed interrupts the ceremony and Oh instigates a riot with the exclamation "The Chosen One Comes"! Abraham arrives with the Hebrews to help overthrow the King. Oh and Eema have sex inside the palace, preventing either of them to be sacrificed. They help Zed subdue the other soldiers, who have already turned on and killed the King. Just about to throw Maya into the flames, Oh and Zed throw oil over the High Priest and he ends up being sacrificed instead, proving to be a true virgin. As a result, rain actually starts to fall, first for only a split second, then as an actual storm once Zed proclaims that anyone can be the chosen one. The crowd is ready to proclaim Zed as the Leader being the "Chosen One" but he decides that his love for Oh, Eema, and Maya outstrips his wish to be a Savior persona. He lets Inanna rule, and becomes an explorer with Maya. Oh becomes the leader of his home village. The two say goodbye and head their separate ways.

Style

The film uses the translation convention to comedic effect, presenting man

prehistoric Prehistory, also known as pre-literary history, is the period of human history between the use of the first stone tools by hominins 3.3 million years ago and the beginning of recorded history with the invention of writing systems. The us ...

and Roman-era people speaking modern

American English American English, sometimes called United States English or U.S. English, is the set of varieties of the English language native to the United States. English is the most widely spoken language in the United States and in most circumstances ...

, and some Romans and royalty speaking

British English British English (BrE, en-GB, or BE) is, according to Oxford Dictionaries, "English as used in Great Britain, as distinct from that used elsewhere". More narrowly, it can refer specifically to the English language in England, or, more broadl ...

Cast

as Zed, son of Zero *

as Oh, son of Ooh *

Oliver Platt Oliver Platt (born January 12, 1960) is a Canadian-born American actor. He is known for his starring roles in many films such as ''Flatliners'' (1990), ''Beethoven'' (1992), '' Indecent Proposal'', ''The Three Musketeers'' (both 1993), '' Execut ...

High Priest The term "high priest" usually refers either to an individual who holds the office of ruler-priest, or to one who is the head of a religious caste. Ancient Egypt In ancient Egypt, a high priest was the chief priest of any of the many gods rev ...

David Cross David Cross (born April 4, 1964) is an American stand-up comedian, actor, director, and writer known for his stand-up performances, the HBO sketch comedy series ''Mr. Show'' (1995–1998), and his role as Tobias Fünke in the Fox/ Netflix sitco ...

Cain Cain ''Káïn''; ar, قابيل/قايين, Qābīl/Qāyīn is a Biblical figure in the Book of Genesis within Abrahamic religions. He is the elder brother of Abel, and the firstborn son of Adam and Eve, the first couple within the Bible. He ...

Christopher Mintz-Plasse Christopher Charles Mintz-Plasse (; born June 20, 1989) is an American actor and comedian. He has performed roles such as Fogell (McLovin) in '' Superbad'' (2007), Augie Farcques in ''Role Models'' (2008), and Chris D'Amico in '' Kick-Ass'' (201 ...

* Vinnie Jones as Sargon *

Hank Azaria Henry Albert Azaria ( ; born April 25, 1964) is an American actor, comedian, and writer. He is known for voicing many characters in the animated sitcom ''The Simpsons'' (1989–present), most notably Moe Szyslak, Chief Wiggum, Comic Book Guy, ...

* Juno Temple as Eema, daughter of Zero and sister of Zed *

Olivia Wilde Olivia Jane Cockburn ( ; born March 10, 1984), known professionally as Olivia Wilde, is an American actress and filmmaker. She played Remy "Thirteen" Hadley on the medical-drama television series ''House'' (2007–2012), and has appeared in the ...

as Princess

Inanna Inanna, also sux, 𒀭𒊩𒌆𒀭𒈾, nin-an-na, label=none is an ancient Mesopotamian goddess of love, war, and fertility. She is also associated with beauty, sex, divine justice, and political power. She was originally worshiped in Su ...

* June Diane Raphael as Maya * Gia Carides as The Queen *

Horatio Sanz Horacio Sanz (born June 4, 1969), better known by his stage name Horatio Sanz, is a Chilean-born American actor and comedian. He was a cast member on '' Saturday Night Live'' from 1998 to 2006. Early life Sanz was born on June 4, 1969 in Sant ...

as Enmebaragesi * David Pasquesi as Prime Minister * Matthew J. Willig as Marlak * Gabriel Sunday as

Seth Seth,; el, Σήθ ''Sḗth''; ; "placed", "appointed") in Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Mandaeism, and Sethianism, was the third son of Adam and Eve and brother of Cain and Abel, their only other child mentioned by name in the Hebrew Bible. ...

Paul Rudd Paul Stephen Rudd (born April 6, 1969) is an American actor. He studied theater at the University of Kansas and the American Academy of Dramatic Arts, before making his acting debut in 1991. He received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame i ...

Abel Abel ''Hábel''; ar, هابيل, Hābīl is a Biblical figure in the Book of Genesis within Abrahamic religions. He was the younger brother of Cain, and the younger son of Adam and Eve, the first couple in Biblical history. He was a shepherd ...

(uncredited) * Eden Riegel as

Lilith Lilith ( ; he, לִילִית, Līlīṯ) is a female figure in Mesopotamian and Judaic mythology, alternatively the first wife of Adam and supposedly the primordial she-demon. Lilith is cited as having been "banished" from the Garden of Ed ...

Bill Hader William Thomas Hader Jr.''Finding Your Roots'', January 26, 2016, PBS. (born June 7, 1978) is an American actor, comedian, writer, and producer. He is the creator, producer, writer, director, and star of the HBO dark comedy series ''Barry'' (201 ...

as The

Shaman Shamanism is a religious practice that involves a practitioner (shaman) interacting with what they believe to be a spirit world through altered states of consciousness, such as trance. The goal of this is usually to direct spirits or spir ...

* Harold Ramis as

Adam Adam; el, Ἀδάμ, Adám; la, Adam is the name given in Genesis 1-5 to the first human. Beyond its use as the name of the first man, ''adam'' is also used in the Bible as a pronoun, individually as "a human" and in a collective sense as " ...

Rhoda Griffis Rhoda Griffis (born January 9, 1965) is an American actress who has played supporting roles both in independent and mainstream films and television. Life and career Griffis appeared onstage in ''Angels in America'', ''Proof'', '' Collected Stor ...

as Eve * Xander Berkeley as The King *

Paul Scheer Paul Christian Scheer (born January 31, 1976) is an American actor, comedian, writer, producer, director, and podcaster. Scheer is a SAG award-winning actor known for his roles in Showtime's comedy series '' Black Monday'' and FX/ FXX's ''The ...

Bricklayer A bricklayer, which is related to but different from a mason, is a craftsman and tradesman who lays bricks to construct brickwork. The terms also refer to personnel who use blocks to construct blockwork walls and other forms of masonry ...

* Kyle Gass as Zaftig the

Eunuch A eunuch ( ) is a male who has been castrated. Throughout history, castration often served a specific social function. The earliest records for intentional castration to produce eunuchs are from the Sumerian city of Lagash in the 2nd millenni ...

Marshall Manesh Marshall Manesh (born August 16, 1950) is an Iranian-American actor. Biography When Manesh was young, his father died; he was raised by his mother, from whom he feels he got his strength to make it in show business. He went to the United S ...

as Slave Trader * Bryan Massey as New Guard

Music

The score to ''Year One'' was composed by

Theodore Shapiro Theodore Michael Shapiro (born September 29, 1971) is an American composer best known for his film scores. He is a frequent collaborator of directors Ben Stiller, Paul Feig, Jay Roach, Karyn Kusama, and Rawson Marshall Thurber, and won th ...

, who recorded his score with contemporary band elements, and a 75-piece ensemble of the

Hollywood Studio Symphony The Hollywood Studio Symphony (sometimes the Hollywood Freelance Studio Symphony) is the credited name of the symphony orchestra behind many major soundtracks, including '' The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe'', ''Suck ...

at the Sony Scoring Stage.

Marketing

A commercial for the film aired during

Super Bowl XLIII Super Bowl XLIII was an American football game between the American Football Conference (AFC) champions Pittsburgh Steelers and the National Football Conference (NFC) champions Arizona Cardinals to decide the National Football League (NFL) champ ...

; soon after, a clip from the film surfaced on

YouTube YouTube is a global online video sharing and social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by Google, and is the second mo ...

and the first trailer was attached to '' I Love You, Man''.

Reception

Critical response

, the film has an approval rating of 14% based on 173 reviews, with an average rating of 3.90/10. The site's consensus reads: "''Year One'' is a poorly executed, slapdash comedy in which the talent both in front of and behind the camera never seem to be on the same page." On

Metacritic Metacritic is a website that aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created by Jason Dietz, Marc ...

the film has a

weighted average The weighted arithmetic mean is similar to an ordinary arithmetic mean (the most common type of average), except that instead of each of the data points contributing equally to the final average, some data points contribute more than others. The ...

score 34% based on 28 reviews. Audiences surveyed by

CinemaScore CinemaScore is a market research firm based in Las Vegas. It surveys film audiences to rate their viewing experiences with letter grades, reports the results, and forecasts box office receipts based on the data. Background Ed Mintz founded Ci ...

gave the film a grade B− on scale of A to F. Michael Phillips of the ''

Chicago Tribune The ''Chicago Tribune'' is a daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States, owned by Tribune Publishing. Founded in 1847, and formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper" (a slogan for which WGN radio and television ar ...

'' gave the film a "fair-good" review of 2.5 out of 4 stars stating that "''Year One'' won't join his list of essential comedies, the ones Ramis helped create as writer, director, performer or combination thereof." Claudia Puig of ''

USA Today ''USA Today'' (stylized in all uppercase) is an American daily middle-market newspaper and news broadcasting company. Founded by Al Neuharth on September 15, 1982, the newspaper operates from Gannett's corporate headquarters in Tysons, Virgini ...

'' gave the film 2 out of 4 stars complaining that the film "is scattershot and silly, squandering its potential by relying on juvenile bawdy humor".

Roger Ebert Roger Joseph Ebert (; June 18, 1942 – April 4, 2013) was an American film critic, film historian, journalist, screenwriter, and author. He was a film critic for the ''Chicago Sun-Times'' from 1967 until his death in 2013. In 1975, Ebert beca ...

of the ''

Chicago Sun-Times The ''Chicago Sun-Times'' is a daily newspaper published in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Since 2022, it is the flagship paper of Chicago Public Media, and has the second largest circulation among Chicago newspapers, after the '' Chicago ...

'' gave the film 1 star out of 4, stating that the film "is a dreary experience, and all the ending accomplishes is to bring it to a close". Kyle Smith of the ''

New York Post The ''New York Post'' (''NY Post'') is a conservative daily tabloid newspaper published in New York City. The ''Post'' also operates NYPost.com, the celebrity gossip site PageSix.com, and the entertainment site Decider.com. It was established ...

'' gave the film 1.5 stars out of 5 saying it was "mediocre at best."

Box office

''Year One'' opened at #4 at the US box office in its opening weekend.. The film eventually grossed $43,337,279 in US ticket sales, and a further $19,020,621 worldwide, for a total of $62,357,900. Its production budget was $60 million.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Year One 2009 films 2009 comedy films 2000s English-language films 2000s adventure comedy films 2000s road movies Apatow Productions films American adventure comedy films American buddy films American fantasy comedy films American road movies Columbia Pictures films Cultural depictions of Adam and Eve Films about hunter-gatherers Films about cavemen Films directed by Harold Ramis Films produced by Judd Apatow Films produced by Harold Ramis Films produced by Clayton Townsend Films scored by Theodore Shapiro Films set in prehistory Films shot in New Mexico Films with screenplays by Lee Eisenberg Films with screenplays by Harold Ramis Films with screenplays by Gene Stupnitsky Fiction about neanderthals Sodom and Gomorrah 2000s American films