Zack and Miri Make a Porno (2008)
Zach and Miri Make a Porno (USA). Directed by Kevin Smith. Written by Kevin Smith. Starring Seth Rogen; Elizabeth Banks; Justin Long; Brandon Routh; Craig Robinson; Tisha Campbell; Traci Lords; Katey Morgan; Jason Mewes; Jeff Anderson
Kevin Smith seems caught in the middle between the toilet/sex related humor of Clerks, Clerks II, Mallrats, et al, and the more sentimental approach of Jersey Girl, Chasing Amy, etc. Zack and Miri benefits from two excellent leads in Seth Rogen (Zack) and Elizabeth Banks (Miri). In our current economic times, the premise is a timely one too - cash strapped, platonic roommates/friends decide to make low-budget porn. There are a number of funny bits, although time and time again Smith goes for the lowest common denominator. That’s fine if one aspires only to be a Will Ferrell-like nonsense comedy where no one is supposed to believe the main characters are living, breathing people, but Smith clearly wants us to identify with Zack and Miri, and therein lies the problem. Smith has quite blatantly taken a page from Jud Apatow’s playbook (employing Banks and Rogen and others is only the first clue), but unlike Knocked Up; Superbad; and Sara Marshall, Smith seems to get the balance wrong, desiring us to identify with and buy into his character’s plight, while going for sex and scatological jokes and gags at every pass. The appearance of real porn stars like Traci Lords (who has been in legitimate films for years) and Katey Morgan (who in true form overacts throughout) might’ve been a semi-necessity, but Smith regulars Jason Mewes (showing the physical effects of real-life drug addiction) and Jeff Anderson aren’t, and they are both irredeemably bad (as in, they should never act again bad). Appearances by Tisha Campbell; Craig Robinson; Brandon Routh; and Justin Long help, but some of the other support is so weak that at times it feels as if Banks and Rogen are in a different film than the players around them. Smith is not without talent as a writer, and the film could’ve actually said something about love and relationships, but the director misses out by being afraid to explore real-life characters or actual human emotions while having his insider fun. Relatively entertaining, and as raunchy as promised, but a missed opportunity for this director to grow.