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{{Short description|2009 American adventure comedy film}}
{{Use American English|date=January 2025}}
{{Infobox film
| name = Year One
| image = Year one.jpg
| caption = Theatrical release poster
| director = [[Harold Ramis]]
| producer = Harold Ramis [[Judd Apatow]] [[Clayton Townsend]]
| screenplay = Harold Ramis [[Gene Stupnitsky]] [[Lee Eisenberg]]
| story = Harold Ramis
| starring = {{Plainlist|
* [[Jack Black]]
* [[Michael Cera]]
* [[Oliver Platt]]
* [[David Cross]]
* [[Hank Azaria]]
}}
| music = [[Theodore Shapiro]]
| cinematography = [[Alar Kivilo]]
| editing = Craig Herring Steve Welch
| studio = [[Columbia Pictures]] [[The Apatow Company]] Ocean Pictures
| distributor = [[Sony Pictures Releasing]]
| released = {{Film date|2009|6|19|North America}}
| runtime = 97 minutes 
| country = United States
| language = English
| budget = $60 million<ref name="mojo" />
| gross = $62.4 million<ref name="mojo" />
}}
'''''Year One''''' is a 2009 American [[adventure film|adventure]] [[comedy film]] directed by [[Harold Ramis]], produced by Ramis, [[Judd Apatow]], and [[Clayton Townsend]], written by Ramis, [[Gene Stupnitsky]], and [[Lee Eisenberg]], and stars [[Jack Black]], and [[Michael Cera]] in lead roles, alongside an [[Ensemble cast|ensemble supporting cast]] including [[Oliver Platt]], [[David Cross]], [[Christopher Mintz-Plasse]], [[Vinnie Jones]], [[Juno Temple]], [[June Diane Raphael]], [[Olivia Wilde]], [[Bill Hader]], and [[Hank Azaria]]. A parody on the [[book of Genesis]], the plot follows two tribesmen who travel to the city of [[Sodom and Gomorrah|Sodom]] to save their love interests 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 Apatow's production company [[The Apatow Company]] and was released on June 19, 2009 by [[Columbia Pictures]]. It grossed $19.6 million in its opening weekend and $62.4 million worldwide, against a budget of $60 million.<ref name="Year One">{{Cite web|url=https://www.boxofficemojo.com/release/rl3178923521/|title=Year One|website=Box Office Mojo|access-date=2020-02-10}}</ref> Upon release, ''Year One'' was panned by critics and audiences, receiving only a 14% approval rating based on 173 votes on [[Rotten Tomatoes]].<ref name="Year One"/> This was the last film to involve Ramis before his death in 2014.

== Plot ==
Zed is a disillusioned hunter in a primitive tribe, who yearns for a purpose. When the tribe learn he has eaten from the [[Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil|Tree of Knowledge]], the shaman and tribe brute Marlak banish him. Oh, a timid gatherer, reluctantly joins Zed on a journey to discover what the world has to offer, after Zed accidentally burns down the village.

The duo encounter [[Cain and Abel]]. Cain kills Abel with a boulder in an act of rage and tells Zed and Oh that they must escape with him or else they will be accused of killing Abel.

Zed and Oh find out their love interests, Maya and Eema, from their tribe have been captured and sold into [[slavery]]. 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 [[Sodom and Gomorrah|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]] [[Binding of Isaac|about to kill his son]] [[Isaac]]. Zed stops them, telling Abraham that [[God in Abrahamic religions|God]] sent him to do so. He takes them to his Hebrew village and tells them about the cities of [[Sodom and Gomorrah]].

Zed and Oh head off for Sodom when Abraham plans to [[Circumcision|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 [[Sumer#Name|Sumerian]] 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]] 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 (trope)|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, meaning that Eema cannot be sacrificed. They help Zed subdue the other soldiers, who have already turned on and killed the King.

Together Zed and Oh stop the High Priest from sacrificing Maya. 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.

==Cast==

{{Cast listing|
* [[Jack Black]] as Zed
* [[Michael Cera]] as Oh
* [[Oliver Platt]] as [[High Priest]]
* [[David Cross]] as [[Cain]]
* [[Christopher Mintz-Plasse]] as [[Isaac]]
* [[Vinnie Jones]] as [[Sargon of Akkad|Sargon]]
* [[Hank Azaria]] as [[Abraham]]
* [[Juno Temple]] as Eema, Sister of Zed
* [[Olivia Wilde]] as Princess [[Inanna]]
* [[June Diane Raphael]] as Maya
* [[Xander Berkeley]] as The King
* [[Gia Carides]] as The Queen
* [[Eden Riegel]] as Lilith
* [[Horatio Sanz]] as [[Enmebaragesi]]
* [[David Pasquesi]] as Prime Minister
* [[Matthew Willig|Matthew J. Willig]] as Marlak
* [[Bill Hader]] as The Shaman
}}

In addition, the film's director, [[Harold Ramis]], along with [[Rhoda Griffis]], [[Gabriel Sunday]] and an uncredited [[Paul Rudd]], complete the family unit of [[Adam]], [[Eve]], [[Seth]] and [[Abel]], respectively.

==Music==
The score to ''Year One'' was composed by [[Theodore Shapiro (composer)|Theodore Shapiro]], who recorded his score with contemporary band elements, and a 75-piece ensemble of the [[Hollywood Studio Symphony]] at the Sony Scoring Stage.<ref name=scoring>{{cite news | first=Dan | last=Goldwasser | url=http://www.scoringsessions.com/news/182/ | title=Theodore Shapiro scores ''Year One'' | publisher=ScoringSessions.com | date=2009-03-13 | access-date=2009-03-15 }}</ref>

==Marketing==
A commercial for the film aired during [[Super Bowl XLIII]]; soon after, a clip from the film surfaced on [[YouTube]] and the first trailer was attached to ''[[I Love You, Man]]''.

They sponsored an episode of the [[Fred Figglehorn]] [[Fred Figglehorn#Web series|web series]].<ref>{{Cite AV media |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P-AEH6YVEHs |title=Fred Gets Dissed at Bible School |date=2009-06-04 |last=FRED |access-date=2025-03-25 |via=YouTube}}</ref>

==Reception==
===Critical response===
On [[Rotten Tomatoes]], 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."<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/year_one | title=Year One Movie Reviews | work=[[Rotten Tomatoes]] | publisher=[[Fandango Media]] | access-date=April 14, 2022}}</ref> On [[Metacritic]] the film has a [[weighted average]] score 34% based on 28 reviews.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.metacritic.com/film/titles/yearone | title=Year One (2009): Reviews | website=[[Metacritic]] | access-date=2019-08-30 | archive-date=2010-07-20 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100720205358/http://www.metacritic.com/film/titles/yearone? | url-status=dead }}</ref> Audiences surveyed by [[CinemaScore]] gave the film a grade B− on scale of A to F.<ref>{{cite web |url= https://www.cinemascore.com/publicsearch/index/title/ |title= Cinemascore |url-status= live |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20181220122629/https://www.cinemascore.com/publicsearch/index/title/ |archive-date= 2018-12-20 }}</ref>

Michael Phillips of the ''[[Chicago Tribune]]'' gave the film a "fair-good" review of 2.5 out of 4 stars, stating, "''Year One'' won't join [Ramis's] list of essential comedies, the ones [he] helped create as writer, director, performer or combination thereof."<ref>{{cite news | url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/entertainment/movies/chi-tc-mov-year-one-0617-0619jun19,0,5754569.story | title='Year One' stars Jack Black, Michael Cera | access-date=2009-06-21 | date=2009-06-19 | newspaper=[[Chicago Tribune]] | archive-date=2009-06-22 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090622081513/http://www.chicagotribune.com/entertainment/movies/chi-tc-mov-year-one-0617-0619jun19,0,5754569.story | url-status=dead }}</ref> Claudia Puig of ''[[USA Today]]'' 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".<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.usatoday.com/life/movies/reviews/2009-06-18-year-one_N.htm | title=Don't mark your calendar for 'Year One'- USA Today.com | newspaper=[[USA Today]] | access-date=2009-06-21 | first=Claudia | last=Puig | date=2009-06-21}}</ref> [[Roger Ebert]] of the ''[[Chicago Sun-Times]]'' 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".<ref>{{cite news | date=2009-06-17 | author = Roger Ebert | author-link= Roger Ebert |url= https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/year-one-2009 | title= Year One| newspaper=[[Chicago Sun-Times]] | access-date=2009-06-21}}</ref>

===Box office===
''Year One'' opened at #4 at the US box office in its opening weekend.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.boxofficemojo.com/weekend/chart/?yr=2009&wknd=25&p=.htm |title=Weekend Box Office Results for June 19–21, 2009 |work=Box Office Mojo }}.</ref> 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.<ref name="mojo">{{cite web | url=https://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=yearone.htm | title=Year One | website=[[Box Office Mojo]] | access-date=2009-07-20 | date=2009-07-19}}</ref>

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
{{wikiquote}}
* {{IMDb title}}

{{Harold Ramis|state=expanded}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Year One}}
[[Category:2009 films]]
[[Category:2009 comedy films]]
[[Category:2000s English-language films]]
[[Category:2000s adventure comedy films]]
[[Category:2000s buddy comedy films]]
[[Category:2000s road movies]]
[[Category:2000s fantasy comedy films]]
[[Category:Apatow Productions films]]
[[Category:American adventure comedy films]]
[[Category:American buddy comedy films]]
[[Category:American fantasy comedy films]]
[[Category:American road movies]]
[[Category:Columbia Pictures films]]
[[Category:Prehistoric people in popular culture]]
[[Category:Films about cavemen]]
[[Category:Films about Adam and Eve]]
[[Category:Films directed by Harold Ramis]]
[[Category:Films produced by Judd Apatow]]
[[Category:Films produced by Harold Ramis]]
[[Category:Films produced by Clayton Townsend]]
[[Category:Films scored by Theodore Shapiro]]
[[Category:Films set in the Stone Age]]
[[Category:Films shot in New Mexico]]
[[Category:Films with screenplays by Lee Eisenberg]]
[[Category:Films with screenplays by Harold Ramis]]
[[Category:Films with screenplays by Gene Stupnitsky]]
[[Category:Fiction about Neanderthals]]
[[Category:2000s American films]]
[[Category:Cultural depictions of Cain and Abel]]
[[Category:Cultural depictions of Abraham]]
[[Category:Sodom and Gomorrah]]
[[Category:Cultural depictions of Isaac]]
[[Category:Inanna]]
[[Category:Sumer in fiction]]
[[Category:English-language fantasy comedy films]]
[[Category:English-language adventure comedy films]]
[[Category:English-language buddy comedy films]]

Year One (film) - Revision history

imported>Techoliver298: /* Cast */