Year One
Columbia Pictures | Release Date: June 19, 2009 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
34
METASCORE
Generally unfavorable reviews based on 28 Critic Reviews
Positive:
6
Mixed:
8
Negative:
14
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
80
The New York TimesManohla Dargis
A thoroughly, sometimes gaggingly broad and sly conceptual laugh-in. Read full review
75
San Francisco ChronicleMick LaSalle
Year One has one joke, but it's a good one, played for many variations over the course of an often very funny comedy. Read full review
67
Entertainment WeeklyOwen Gleiberman
This is just silliness run mildly wild. Read full review
63
Philadelphia InquirerDavid Hiltbrand
Dopey but resourceful yukfest. Read full review
63
Chicago TribuneMichael Phillips
It's the knockabout biblical lark Mel Brooks never got around to making. Read full review
63
Baltimore SunMichael Sragow
At best it's a bit like Mel Brooks' "The History of the World Part I" (except Ramis stops somewhere in Genesis); at worst it's like a Scary Movie-type parody of John Huston's "The Bible." Read full review
50
Miami HeraldRene Rodriguez
Year One is not really THAT bad and not ENTIRELY without laughs. Read full review
50
USA TodayClaudia Puig
The humor, largely centered around bodily functions and bathroom habits, is almost exclusively sophomoric. Read full review
50
SlateDana Stevens
I have a certain affection for this movie, if only because of its conceptual simplicity. Read full review
50
VarietyRonnie Scheib
Lacks seismic guffaws but elicits many mild smiles. Read full review
42
The A.V. ClubJosh Modell
Year One isn't dreadful; it just isn't nearly as funny as it hopes to be. Read full review
40
Los Angeles TimesBetsy Sharkey
There is no real plot either; instead the narrative seems designed to get this prehistoric pair from one funny sketch to the next, which sometimes works and sometimes doesn't. Read full review
40
EmpireDan Jolin
Unless you pine for second-tier Mel Brooks, you'll find more laughs in the Old Testament itself. Read full review
40
The Hollywood ReporterFrank Scheck
A lot of comedic talent founders in this new Harold Ramis comedy that doesn't exactly recall his glory days of "Caddyshack" and "Groundhog Day." Read full review
38
ReelViewsJames Berardinelli
I found the most extreme material to be so tasteless that it voided all comedy. Read full review
38
New York PostKyle Smith
Its script isn't worth the papyrus it's inscribed on. Read full review
33
Christian Science MonitorPeter Rainer
The people who made Year One seem to think that all you have to do to make a hit comedy is get a bunch of jokesters together. But where are the jokes? Read full review
30
Washington PostMichael O'Sullivan
A lowbrow, only fitfully amusing comedy. Read full review
30
SalonStephanie Zacharek
Year One sets prehistoric comedy back at least 20 years. Read full review
25
Boston GlobeTy Burr
Any good will the movie generates, though, is grated right back off by Black, whose obnoxiousness has lost whatever charm it once possessed. Read full review
25
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)Liam Lacey
Perhaps the best that can be said for Year One is that it aims low and hits the mark. Read full review
25
Chicago Sun-TimesRoger Ebert
A dreary experience. Read full review
20
New York Daily NewsJoe Neumaier
During all of the film’s oh-so-long 97 minutes, Year One, barely earns a snicker. Read full review
20
Austin ChronicleMarc Savlov
The only people who should be peeved enough to raise hell about Year One are the viewers who had to pay to sit through it. Read full review
20
Chicago ReaderJ.R. Jones
Creatively it's a giant step backwards. Read full review
12
PremiereRobert Calvert
We loved this movie the first three times we saw it, when it was called "Life of Brian," "Wholly Moses," and "History of the World Part 1." Read full review
10
Film ThreatRick Kisonak
This is shtick that’s minimally a generation past its expiration date. Read full review
0
L.A. WeeklyRobert Wilonsky
Unbearably painful from shrugging start to outtakes-laden finish, Harold Ramis’ half-assed, hare-brained return to writing and directing makes Mel Brooks’ equally muddled, soporific "History of the World, Part 1" look downright majestic by comparison. Read full review
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