Jack Black has of late been riding the crest of a Box Office wave. 2008 gave him a combination of hits, with Kung Fu Panda keeping the younglings happy and being part of a comedy classic in Tropic Thunder. Black joins other comedy heavyweights in Year One, from Groundhog Day director Harold Ramis (or Egon to Ghostbusters fans) and co-starring Michael Cera (Juno, Arrested Development).

Based in ancient times, Zed (Black), an inept hunter, and Oh (Cera), a passive gatherer, are banished from their tribe when Zed eats from the forbidden fruit tree in their forest. Convinced he has been bestowed with unlimited knowledge, Zed leads a reluctant Oh on an adventure, where he will encounter Cain and Abel (David Cross and Paul Rudd), a circumcision-obsessed Abraham (Hank Azaria) and the swinging town of Sodom.

To say this film has a plot is stretching the definition somewhat. What Year One feels like is a series of sketches poorly stitched together. The gags are catapulted at you, with varying success but most just come across as tasteless. The ultimate problem is that the only two films that resemble this are The Life of Brian and The History of The World: Part One, both generally considered great comedy works. But even when you remove such lofty standards, it fails to have the pace or wit of a quality comedy. It will make you chuckle occasionally, yes, but a couple of good gags do not make a film.

Black is let loose to do his ‘spirited loser’ routine that was good in School of Rock but is really wearing thin. Chasing around the set like a portly Jack Russell, he’s the exact opposite to Cera, who provides a lot of the better jokes with his subtler form of comedy, but he’s lost without a clever script. If films like this are the reason he’s holding out on the Arrested Development movie, he has made the wrong choice. Elsewhere, David Cross is decent as the sneaky Cain, Oliver Platt sets the Gay Rights movement back about 20 years with his clichéd camp performance, and Vinnie Jones plays Vinnie Jones, except he’s dressed as a Roman general.

Overall a huge disappointment given the talent involved. Silly, juvenile humour abounds without any kind of intelligence, and the stellar comedy actors are given little to do other than giggle at toilet gags - the fact that so many jokes are aimed at Black’s weight gives you an idea of the kind of depths we’re talking about. A good idea, but the execution means the end product is somewhat pointless.

Year One is out 26th June.