ZACK AND MIRI MAKE A PORNO (2008) Dir. Kevin Smith
I kept putting this one off because of the bad word of mouth. But still knowing I would get to it eventually. I’ll start out by saying that I am not a Seth Rogan fan at all. I don’t see his appeal. To me, he only works in bit parts like THE 40 YEAR OLD VIRGIN. But movies like KNOCKED UP, I wasn’t impressed. I am a Kevin Smith fan, but I also see his flaws. So going into this, I was ready for anything.
The film follows late twenties best friends since kindergarten Zack and Miri as they are way behind on their rent and bills. They go to their high school reunion and come home back to their mediocrity and the power shut off. Desperate for cash they decide to follow up on an earlier happenstance of Miri getting filmed via a cellphone camera changing clothes (and getting a lot of internet downloads as a result) and make a real adult feature. They get a producer, hire a crew and cast and decide to shoot what they have available.
Watching all of this unfold, one cannot help but think of Smith himself, as a parallel to him making his first film “CLERKS” was done in the same manner, sans the adult movie stars. Unfortunately, as the film unfolds, we can see that the problem (once again) is Kevin Smith’s dialog. I just have a hard time believing a woman spouting the same dialog as their male co-stars and not batting an eye at its vulgarity. There’s a scene early on in the movie where Craig Robinson handles racist dialog like it was written by Kevin Smith. It lacks the flow and ebb of subtlety and seems “written.” Especially written from the perspective of a person who only thinks they know what they are talking about. Also in the movie is another Kevin Smith cliche, is the one sexual or grotesque term or idea that will be repeated once the film is over. In Clerks it was snowballing. Mallrats, the stink palm. Clerks 2, the interspecies erotica. And this film is no different. Its a tired device, but one expects it from a Smith movie.
Lastly in the bad department, I felt the film was overly obvious in its jokes and ending. I almost preferred a CHASING AMY type of ending because its realistic and it works. Perhaps Smith was trying to play it safe with his characters. After all, he’s got Hollywood darlings Elizabeth Banks and Seth Rogan to play with in his sandbox. Who could blame him?
What I liked about the film was the cameos. You have Tracy Lords and Katie Morgan as some of the adult film actors, natch. Longtime Smith film star Jason Mewes turns in a surprisingly halarious and fun performance as a bumbling potential actor. Jason Long and Brandon Routh have wonderful performances themselves and I think steal every scene that they show up in. They are written and acting subtlely, which I know is coming from ad-libbing… something Kevin Smith is sorely against. I think of all the characters in this, they work the best because they are allowed to stretch a bit and bring us that subtlety in humor that makes things gel. When things seem to obviously written without proper context or believability, (like female dialog and racist humor), it comes off as extremely stale and “been there, done that.”
I also enjoyed that the film centers around the Monroeville, PA area. Finally, I don’t have to hear yet another love letter to New Jersey! Many subtle homages to the area abound. From Tom Savini popping up, the hockey team’s name and a scene shot in the actual Monroeville Mall (Where George Romero’s DAWN OF THE DEAD was shot back in 1977). Again, once Smith decides to stretch himself and his conventions he’s established over the last seven movies, thats where I think he succeeds. I think if the story stuck to the parallels of Smith’s filming CLERKS, and them filming their adult movie, then I think that would have lended some of the heart back into it that it seems to lack. Kevin Smith does write from the heart, but I felt this film to really be uninspired and a cry for mainstream audiences to notice him more. Its a shame it didn’t work out that way.
I love Kevin and his films. I own everything he’s released practically. And I wish him luck on future endevours. I know that his next project is a film he didn’t even write, and its with Bruce Willis and Tracy Morgan. Hopefully he enjoys just playing with new toys in someone else’s sandbox for a while instead of building and wrecking the same sandcastle over and over again.
GRADE: 2.5 hockey boomstick mics out of 5
For more from the author ADAM TALLEY, including a look at his independent comic book work, visithttp://www.idiothead.com
Raised primarily in central Michigan all his life, Adam is a successful writer, artist and self publisher. He is best known for his comics: PLEASANT LIFE, THE EXPENDABLES, WISE INTELLIGENCE and the upcoming ANNA POCOLYPSE. He also wrote a free online how to book called "IN THE TRENCHES: HOW TO SURVIVE AS A SMALL PRESS COMIC BOOK PUBLISHER." He also has done some pinup work for ANTARCTIC PRESS and logo designs for many other clients. He has been featured on web sites, newspapers, television and magazines talking about his work and travels around the country promoting it. He resides in Southwest Michigan. 
