Premise: Two misfits (Jack Black and Michael Cera) get ejected from a prehistoric clan, only to stumble into various situations from the Book of Genesis.
Comments:
1. This movie wants to be Superbad in ancient Israel, but it ends up feeling more like Bill & Ted Save Soddom & Gomorrah. It's just two dopes getting involved with biblical characters, such as Cain (David Cross), Abel (Paul Rudd), Abraham (Hank Azaria), and Isaac (McLovin), all the while seeking to get laid. Very stale stuff.
2. Jack Black and Michael Cera do what each gets paid to do: Black flails wildly with jubilant stupidity, while Cera complains snarkily with lame, stuttering boyishness. It usually works for them, but not here. Maybe with halfway decent writing, they would have been funny together, but alas, we'll never know.
3. Most of the genuine laughs come from gross-out humor: Jack Black tastes some bear shit and describes it; Michael Cera pees on himself; Adam's son lyrically farts; Oliver Platt gets rubbed in oil; testicles are tossed; statue penises fall off, etc. You might smile or snicker at other gags* in the movie, but I guarantee that only the above will even come close to evoking an audible giggle.
4. There are more laughs in the ending credit blooper reel than in the movie proper. It's sad because the bloopers weren't even that good (They must have been desperate to include that unfunny Olivia Wilde blooper, no offense to Olivia Wilde).
5. For the sake of full disclosure, I am a Jack Black fan. I am a Michael Cera fan. I typically like this kind of movie. I enjoy low brow toilet humor. But this movie was just boring to me. What does that tell you?
6. P.S. Harold Ramis -- the scene where Cain beats Abel to death with a rock -- bad choice.
Recommendation: Even if you like the usual Apatow fare, you won't be able to squeeze more than a few half-hearted chuckles from this one. If you have to see it, wait for the DVD.
* With one exception: At one point, after Cera's character is exposed to circumcision and eunuchs, he says: "What is with all the genital mutilation?" That was pretty funny.
1 comments:
I'm so glad you took this one I didn't want to destroy it, and I would have. It really is that bad dispite the talent behind it. #5 sums up my feelings for this film perfectly. It was not as bad as Walk Hard, but freakin Drillbit Taylor had more laughs. All of these lie pretty low on the Apatow scale. This was made by the same guy who did Groundhog Day & The Ice Harvest?! Egon (Harold Ramis) how could you?
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