The future seems to be doing better than the past at the box office these days. Take the opening weekend returns of "Star Trek" and "Land of the Lost" -- $75.5 million for the space travel flick vs. $18.8 million for the back-in-time installment. Or the $20.2 million opening of "Year One" against the $42.5 million debut of "Terminator Salvation."

There's a reason for this, of course. "Star Trek": good. "Land of the Lost": not so much. "Terminator": OK. "Year One": well ¦

I don't know how to sum up "Year One" in one or two words. The Jack Black/Michael Cera buddy comedy, billed as the original road trip, is an odd duck.

It's part satire and part screwball with a dash of gross-out gags and a helping of fratboy comedy. If that sounds like it goes together, well, it sort of does.

But there's a jarring effect to the movie as a whole. I feel like an eighth-grade English teacher saying this, but someone needs to work on their transitions.

This is a twofold problem. The first part is between the comedy bits. Let me describe two scenes: Black, as Zed, eats feces; Zed and Oh (Cera) run into Cain and Abel and witness the first murder. (Poor, poor Paul Rudd. Cut down in his prime.)

There's a brief bit between these two scenes, but they're essentially next to each other. It's just a bit odd to go from "Mmm, poo" to "Ha! The Bible is funny!"

The second issue: I'm guessing there will be quite a few deleted scenes shipped with the DVD release. One of the first scenes in the film involves a giant snake wrapping itself around Oh. Cut to the next scene, and there's really no mention of how that all got resolved.

At first I was waiting for the explanation -- sometimes things are funnier when described rather than witnessed. But no, they just move on like it's totally normal to just get away from a giant python. I mean, maybe I blacked out for a minute, but I doubt it.

There are some hilarious moments in this movie. Oliver Platt is great as the high priest, Olvia Wilde (yes, of "House") looks amazing as Princess Inanna and there's a vizier with a funny hat. Can't ask for much more than viziers in funny hats.

"Year One" definitely appeals to a certain brand of humor, but at least there's some humor in it. I think you're guaranteed to laugh at least once; depending on the breadth of your funny bone, you may laugh a lot more.

review

'Year One'

Starring: Jack Black, Michael Cera, Oliver Platt, Olvia Wilde

Director: Harold Ramis

Run time: 1 hour, 37 minutes

Rated: PG-13, for crude and sexual content throughout, brief strong language and comic violence

Now playing at: Crossroads, College Square

3 out of 5 stars