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If there’s anyone who knows how to ruffle feathers, it’s Kevin Smith. The writer/director has never been one to shy away from…well…anything. But with his latest movie, Zack and Miri Make a Porno, he’s created the ultimate media frenzy. First, he fought the MPAA, successfully getting an R rating instead of a box-office-killing NC-17. Then came the trailers (and the posters), which were apparently too suggestive—so he resorted to using stick figures. And, finally, some outlets refused to run ads for anything using the word “porno”—so he created ads without the movie’s title in them. Of course, by that time, no one really needed to see the title, anyway. Thanks to all the hype, everyone knew all about it. And that, my friends, is marketing genius.
Despite the movie’s controversial title, though, Zack and Miri isn’t just about porn. It’s about two roommates (played by Seth Rogen and Elizabeth Banks) who are struggling to make ends meet. Their minimum-wage jobs just aren’t cutting it—and after their water, power, and heat are all turned off, Zack decides that their only hope of paying the bills is to make a porno film. Eventually, Miri reluctantly agrees. But when it’s time for the two childhood friends to shoot their big scene together, they realize that keeping their feelings out of it might not be as easy as they once thought.
Perhaps the most ingenious thing about Zack and Miri is that it isn’t the explicit sex-fest that you might expect. Now, don’t get me wrong here; it’s still an adult movie. It is, after all, a Kevin Smith movie. And Kevin Smith does love his F-bombs—so it’s packed with profanity. It’s also rather graphic—so please, please, please don’t take your kids to the theater to see it. But, when it all comes down to it, there’s really nothing here that you haven’t seen in a Judd Apatow movie. In fact, it might even be tamer than the average Apatow movie.
And there’s so much more to Zack and Miri than the characters’ filmmaking endeavors. Zack and Miri is, first and foremost, a comedy—and if you can appreciate Smith’s sick-and-wrong sense of humor, you’re guaranteed to laugh until it hurts. From the early scenes at Zack and Miri’s class reunion to those awkward roommate moments, Zack and Miri is loaded with off-color laughs. Smith’s writing is solid—and the jokes rarely misfire.
But it’s also strangely (and somewhat disturbingly) cute. Rogen and Banks may seem like an unlikely couple, but they have great on-screen chemistry. And while the film’s surprisingly standard chick flick formula means that you’ll know how it’s going to end, it’s enjoyable (and, believe it or not, even lovable) anyway.
So don’t let the hype scare you; despite its controversial subject matter, Zack and Miri Make a Porno is faithfully funny and surprisingly sweet. While it’s definitely for mature audiences only, it’s also one of Kevin Smith’s best.
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