MOVIES | Harold Ramis weighs 'big ideas' about life and God within context of a comedy

For Harold Ramis, the genesis (pun completely intended) of his new film ''Year One'' (which opened Friday) has evolved over many, many years.


Going back to the mid-1970s, ''when I screwed around with an idea of Bill Murray and [John] Belushi in a thing about early man, based on a PBS documentary -- with Bill to play a Cro-Magnon man, and John to play a Neanderthal. It was funny. I filed that away, knowing someday I'd get back to it.''

Chatting with the Sun-Times earlier this week, the North Shore resident also said more recent personal experiences in his spiritual life played a big part as he zeroed in on ideas for the script that became ''Year One.''

After spending most of his adult life outside the framework of organized religion, Ramis said it was on the recommendation of comedian Aaron Freeman he joined the North Shore congregation Aitz Hayim, which is Hebrew for ''tree of life.''

Jokingly agreeing that it's ''kind of like a Unitarian approach to Judaism ... believe what you want,'' Ramis said the leaders of Aitz Hayim ''imagine a new approach to Jewish practice. It's totally inclusive, post-denominational and kind of existential. It teaches us to let go of our fundamentalism, orthodoxy and our need to be chosen. ... God is not certainty. God is uncertainty and ambiguity. It's about what we don't know. That's the mystery of life.''

Ramis agrees that this is ''heavy stuff ... big ideas, but being me and given the way I think, I go, 'Yeah. There's a comedy in there.' ''

That, of course, led Ramis and his writing team to construct the basic premise of ''Year One,'' with ''two idiots arguing about whether God exists. One thinks he's the chosen. The other one thinks he's the victim of existential life.

''Fortunately, I found my Laurel and Hardy: Jack Black and Michael Cera.''

While Ramis' film deals with early man, Stone Age characters leaping into the world of the Old Testament and those early biblical figures of Adam and Eve, Cain and Abel and Abraham and Isaac, the filming locale for ''Year One'' did give him another reason to chuckle.

''Don't think it didn't cross my mind that we built Sodom in Louisiana -- the heart of the Bible Belt -- 45 minutes from Shreveport, with a Baptist church every hundred yards.''

Given that Ramis started out as an actor at Second City and SCTV and then leapt into the public consciousness with his first two big films (''Stripes'' and ''Ghostbusters''), it's not surprising that Ramis also is seen on screen in a small part or cameo, as he has been in most of the films he directed.

Having watched a retrospective of his performances -- in a video at Tuesday's Chicago premiere of ''Year One,'' where he received a lifetime achievement award from the TBS ''Just for Laughs'' comedy festival -- Ramis joked about his take on his theatrical gifts.

''Watching all my performances strung together, I realized the only things that have changed are my hair color and my shirt. The acting was all the same in every single movie. I realized I'm not so much of an actor but a personality in films.''

The Chicago native also stressed he still loves acting, but the writing and directing are what really motivate him -- and has for decades.

''Yet, part of me still yearns to be an actor. I see this role of Adam [in 'Year One'] as an audition for more serious roles.

''How about some Shakespearean parts?'' deadpanned Ramis, making it difficult -- as it often is -- to completely know if he's kidding or ... not.


source : http://www.suntimes.com