Movie Review: Zack and Miri make a Porno
[xrr rating=3.5/5]
Zack and Miri make a Porno
2008, 101mins, R
Director: Kevin Smith
Writer: Kevin Smith
Cast includes: Seth Rogen, Elizabeth Banks, Craig. T. Robinson, Traci Lords, Katie Morgan, Jason Mewes, Jeff Anderson, Brandon Routh
Release Date: 31st October 2008
It’s hard not to be impressed to some degree by Zack and Miri make a Porno, as a comedy it has enough good laughs to score a solid passing grade and features several assured and tentative comedic performances from its cast. The problem is that in the light of features like Knocked Up that have blended heartfelt romance and raunchy laughs so skillfully, Zack and Miri feels sappy when it tries to be touching and uneven when it genuinely tries to balance the yucks with charm. Three years ago Zack and Miri make a Porno would have been the best of a weak bunch, but now after the big Apatow boom it feels a little behind the cinematic curve.
Zack (Seth Rogen) and Miri (Elizabeth Banks) are friends who have shared their entire lives together, and now share a home as well. The relationship is purely platonic and both parties seem happy to keep it that way, they have had a lot of good times together and neither wants to “complicate that with sex.” However when times get financially tough the duo find themselves unable to pay bills and only a few steps away from being homeless so conceive an elaborate scheme to get themselves out of debt. Recruiting a charming group of reprobates they decide to go forward and do what many men have done before, make and market their very own Porno. Trouble is that for it to work, it might require Zack and Miri to finally get things on.
Both Banks and Rogen in the lead roles are good, their chemistry doesn’t sizzle but they give the onscreen relationship enough charm and friendly banter to make the audience feel that it could be genuine. As individuals they have a more than respectable barrel of comedic ability and put that to good use, as per usual Rogen’s improv is truly something to savor. Support on the other hand is sort of weak, Craig. T. Robinson provides entertainment value as Zacks’ disgruntled colleague but everyone else including a duo of real porn stars (Katie Morgan and Traci Lords) aren’t given enough decent characterization or humorous material to work with. Kevin Smith regulars Jeff Anderson and Jason Mewes both pop up as part of Zack and Miri’s filmmaking squad, the latter fairing notably better than the former in the joke stakes.
Smith’s script and direction are comedically sound, he’s written some good (and really raunchy) gags and as a pretty seasoned director of the genre he has grown more than competent at given a comedy the required energy and zip. Problem is that he still struggles to get a real genuine romantic arc fired up, something that it’s obvious he’s attempting here but for the most part fails at. It’s hard to pinpoint the exact cause of the dysfunction in this area, more than likely it’s an amalgamation of different issues, the characters aren’t quite fully rounded enough and the writing can’t score the balance between sick and sweet to a satisfying degree.
The film is entertaining and mostly enjoyable, I haven’t mentioned it yet but viewers should look out for a hysterical cameo from Justin Long playing a camp porn star, in many ways his performance epitomizes all that is right with Zack and Miri, it’s bubbly, funny, gross and often quite fresh. However all those things can’t quite overcome the fact this was a beast built as a Rom-Com, and whilst the comedy is in good supply the Romantic DNA just isn’t clicking. Zack and Miri make a Porno is perfectly watchable and really quite fun, but Smith, Banks and Rogen have all partaken in and should go onto do better things.
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Movie Review: Zack and Miri make a Porno- n:zone magazine great article thank you.