'Zack & Miri Make a Porno' Film Review

Article originally published 10/31/2008 at popculturezoo.com

It is hard to determine what director Kevin Smith’s intentions were when he set out to make a film that included the word ‘porno’ in its title. The term certainly contains the same level of shock value that Smith has so eagerly included in some of his previous works. From the lampooning of organized religion in Dogma to the not-so-subtle jabs at the film industry in Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back, Smith has never been one to shy away from making frank observations about society’s embrace of the more sinful aspects of human nature. So, while it is understandable that Zack and Miri Make a Porno includes a healthy dose of Smith’s crass humor, one gets the feeling that the intended message of the film never becomes fully realized.

Zack (Seth Rogan) and Miri (Elizabeth Banks), two platonic high school friends, are the introduced early on as the embodiment of the lazy American. Living together and acting more like siblings than best friends (which makes the obvious sexual tension more than a little creepy), they trudge through their daily routine while lamenting everything from a lack of money to lack of sex. When the two show up for a high school reunion, they learn that the answers to their aforementioned woes may lie in adult films. As the plan to shoot their own low-budget porno slowly comes to fruition, the two discover that they don’t exactly dig the idea of watching the other have sex with someone other than them. Humor, jealousy and the obvious message about true love hiding in plain sight are all rolled out before us through Smith’s use of real-life porn actresses and a long string of f-bombs.

In short… if you are at all familiar with Kevin Smith’s previous works, you’ve seen this movie before.

Don’t get me wrong, this film isn’t entirely wasted. Smith is able to capture some brilliant performances from some of the movie’s more unlikely characters. Justin Long’s over the top portrayal of male adult film star ‘Brandon’ is a definite highlight. Brandon’s onscreen partner Bobby Long is played by Brandon Routh, who appears to be attempting to stifle his laughter at Long’s performance the entire time the two are onscreen together. Also great are Jason Mewes, who appears freakishly comfortable as the adult film star ‘Lester’, and perennial View Asewniverse actor Jeff Anderson. Anderson’s role as ‘Deacon’, the cameraman of the aforementioned porno, is included in one of this movie’s foulest and most memorable moments. A hint: it involves real-life porn starlet Katie Morgan and her affinity with an, er… uncomfortable sexual position.

Fans of Kevin Smith’s previous films will undoubtedly line up to see Zack and Miri Make a Porno, and they likely won’t be disappointed. The film certainly has its moments of shock humor, rapier-sharp dialog and even a few more digs at the Hollywood film industry. However, the movie never completely feels like it belongs in the same universe as Clerks and Mallrats, two of Smith’s most revered films. Instead, this movie more closely resembles a combination of the jokes from Clerks 2 with the romantic message of Jersey Girl. It never strives to be anything but a recycling of previous Kevin Smith films. While it certainly provides an amusing distraction, Zack and Miri Make a Porno seems like more of a lateral step in the progression of Smith’s filmmaking. Here’s hoping he’s got more tricks up his sleeve with his future projects.