ZACK & MIRI MAKE A PORNO

Pornographic movies are pretty ridiculous by nature. Horrible acting, dreadful dialogue, cheesy music, locations that look like modified coatrooms. In many ways it’s absurd to think that what gets filmed and burned to DVD is designed to titilate…more than a few of them seem designed to garner laughs. With that in mind, one has to wonder why took so long for someone to think of a movie like ZACK AND MIRI MAKE A PORNO.

Obviously the title of the movie sums up the plot pretty well in six words, but allow me a few more to elaborate. Zack (Seth Rogen) and Miri (Elizabeth Banks) have been friends since they were six. Now in their late twenties, they are roommates living a rather unspectacular customer service lives. Of course the problem with unspectacular lives is that it pays unspecatcular money, and as such Zack and Miri find themselves so far behind on their bills that their power, water, and heat get shut off in quick succession.

Desperate times call for desperate measures – as Miri herself puts it, “It’s usually around this time that people find themselves having sex for money”…which of course ignites the lightbulb over Zack’s head. They bring together a motley crew to act and film their project, and manage to convince their friend Delany (Craig Robinson) to front them the money. Their idea isn’t so far fetched when you think about it – if their video can go even slightly viral (and what porn can’t?), they’ll be back in the black.

While I seem to be in the minority, I actually really enjoyed ZACK & MIRI. The film was written and directed by Kevin Smith – he of CLERKS and CHASING AMY fame. I was getting close to giving up on Smith as a brand, since I felt he’d been wandering aimlessly since 1999’s DOGMA. While ZACK & MIRI isn’t his wittiest script to date, and does indeed go rather conventional on more than one occasion, for Smith it is a step back in the right direction. With his first movie set outside of New Jersey, he seems to be trying to start over. It’s a smart move, and one that helps Smith imagine some much fresher shennanigans for his characters.

In some ways, the movie isn’t as good as the sum of its parts. For instance, the first act features a really funny scene featuring Justin Long (ACCEPTED). He has a lengthy exchange with Rogen and eventually gets joined by his boyfriend played by Brandon Routh (SUPERMAN RETURNS). The conversation between the three of them is funny far longer than it should be, and gets high marks in my book for using the phrase “Nickelodeon Chic”. Unfortunately, laughs like these are offset by some character developments in the final act that feel forced. It’s these developments that I believe may divide audiences, and ultimately leave them focusing on the negative.

Yet another thing bound to catch the audience’s attention is the fact the movie’s well-earned. There is a moment that is amazingly gross – it plays for laughs, but it’s still gross – and of course there’s a high quotient of sexual acts and dialogue. The humour is sophmoric, and not at all for young kids. However, I wouldn’t say it crosses the line and becomes truly offensive. Every dirty word and shot of flesh is done with a smile. It all comes together to play like the stories that get told late at a grown-up party, and less like those you’d read in Penthouse Forum.

ZACK AND MIRI MAKE A PORNO is indeed a funny movie. Yes it’s flawed, but the flaws come in the direction of the story…not in the form of jokes that fall flat. Many of the jokes spawn from witty writing, or clever improv. In a year where the humour has come from the lowest common denominator, it’s a bit refreshing to watch a comedy where the laughs aren’t completely reliant on male genetalia.

But fear not, the male genetalia does make an appearance…and it even provides a few laughs.

Matineescore: ★ ★ ★ out of ★ ★ ★ ★

What did you think? Please leave comments with your thoughts and reactions on ZACK & MIRI MAKE A PORNO.