The biggest comedy minds of today – and yesterday – tag-teamed to bring us “Year One.”
Harold Ramis (“Ghostbusters,” “Groundhog’s Day”) and Judd Apatow (every comedy of the last five years) produced the new neanderthal comedy. But the film’s star, Jack Black, fronted the material.
So how did audiences repond? The film landed in fourth place this weekend, and signs indicate it’ll sink like a stone – “Land of the Lost” style – real soon.
Hard to pin all the blame on Black, since the list of actors who can open a movie continues to shrink.
But this one clearly had him as its biggest calling card.
Audience may be tiring of Will Ferrell’s shtick, but the same could be true of Black. More evidence is needed, since Black’s “Tropic Thunder” scored big last summer.
But it does make you wonder how Woody Allen rode his nebbishy persona to glory for more than four decades.
(Photo: Michael Cera and Jack Black star in “Year One,” a new comedy which earned $20 million during its opening weekend.)
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{ 4 comments… read them below or add one }
Easy. Allen had talent and didn’t rely on pop-crunchy blockbuster-lite comedy concepts with storylines as deep as a lake in the Mojave.
I think black was the weakest link in Tropic Thunder. To call that film Black’s is a little misleading, especially when it starred Stiller, Downey Jr., and Tom Cruise.
He’s got a really limited range, and when he tries to stretch himself in movies like Margot at the Wedding, it doesn’t work. So all he’s got to work with is his normal schtick, and that’s getting old pretty quick.
Woody Allen’s whiny, neurotic schtick isn’t any better (and it got old back in the ’80s), but audiences tolerate it because he’s an excellent writer and director, so his movies are usually worth seeing anyway.
Agree on the Allen comments … and you’re right about “Tropic Thunder.” He’s the weakest link and the other stars carry the day. Was just trying to be fair to Black …