THE POPCORN REEL FILM REVIEW/"Zack And Miri Make A Porno"
Mr. Smith Goes To Pittsburgh, With Trials
And Titillations In Hot Pursuit
Elizabeth Banks as Miriam Linky and Seth
Rogen as Zack Brown in Kevin Smith's sexy romantic comedy "Zack And Miri Make A
Porno", which opened in the U.S. and Canada last Friday. (Photo: The
Weinstein Company)
By
Omar P.L. Moore/November
7, 2008
Kevin Smith has always had something of a blue, or crude streak in his films.
For as long as he has directed them, for all of nearly 15 years now, the New
Jersey native has a distinct way of making characters do and say the most
shocking things, pre-dating man-of-the-moment Judd Apatow in all his
unexpurgated glory including bodily fluids. (Mr. Apatow may well have gone
to Mr. Smith's school for instruction in frolic and occasional detour.) In
any event, Mr. Smith's new film "Zack And Miri Make A Porno", which opened last
Friday in the U.S. and Canada, is a stellar film and an even better romantic
comedy. You think that it is about one thing judging from its title but by
the time it has ended "Zack And Miri" has played out as a winning, endearing
love story, one of Mr. Smith's best films.
What's more, the acting of Elizabeth Banks as Miriam Linky is strong,
significantly better than those in the rest of the cast. This isn't meant
to cast aspersions on the film's other players -- they too are good. It's
just that Ms. Banks is a cut above. She is the soul of "Zack And Miri".
Zack (Seth Rogen, an Apatow alumnus) and Miri live together in a Pittsburgh,
Pennsylvania apartment and are struggling to keep the roof over their head.
After an interesting high school reunion Zack and Miri come to the conclusion
that tough economic times and the threat of eviction must be met with an even
more desperate measure: making pornography to make money.
Making money in a fashion that is necessitated by tough times is not exactly a
desperate thing, but "Zack And Miri" thrives by going to all corners of human
behavior to see where the duo's journey takes us. Even before the more
salacious, sexy and titillating travails come we are naturally curious about how
these two platonic partners will survive. Their motley crue of filmmakers
and cast members for the porn shoot includes Zack's long-time buddy Delaney
(Craig Robinson of "The Office" television series), an on-the-job producer
looking to get away from his severely shrewish wife (an unrecognizable Tisha
Campbell-Martin), the ever-ready-for-everything Lester (Smith alum Jason Mewes),
the vivacious Bubbles (former porn star Traci Lords) and the sexy, eye-candy
lady Stacy (current porn star Katie Morgan). There are also amusing cameos
by Justin Long and Brandon Routh that may surprise the devout Superman fans or
fans of the Mac-PC television commercials -- but the comedy between Mr. Long and
Mr. Routh is terrific, especially Mr. Long's character.
"Zack And Miri" gets away with everything in all of the most incorrect ways but
the film would hardly be worthwhile if it were toned down or amped up even more
than it is. If there were such a thing as a Grand Guignol equivalent for
sex, bodily fluids and full-frontal nudity, Mr. Smith's film would get the blue
ribbon award. The film's soundtrack is also good -- listen carefully if
you can during a scene between Ms. Banks and Mr. Rogen in a bar to the faint
echo of Donald Fagen's "New Frontier" from his 1982 album "The Nightfly".
Mr. Fagen is one half of the pop-rock music duo Steely Dan (Walter Becker is the
other half.) The great song is a soothing refrain and a precursor to what
might be happening subconsciously within the two title characters as they plunge
head long into the rough and tumble of life together.
In working class Pennsylvania Mr. Smith shows that as adversity grows emotional
bonds grow too, and when this is all wrapped up by the outer packaging of a film
that promises sex and lots of laughs, you've got a mature, honest and refreshing
film for adults that actually uses a minimum of bathroom humor (with the
exception of one hilarious outre scene that will bring the house down.)
You needn't bring a raincoat, just a great sense of humor and sensibilities that
aren't easily offended.
"Zack And Miri Make A Porno", also written and edited by Kevin Smith, is one of
the better films of the year.
"Zack And Miri Make A Porno" is rated R by the Motion Picture Association of
America for strong crude sexual content including dialogue, graphic nudity and
pervasive language. The film's duration is one hour and 41 minutes.
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