Zack and Miri Make a Porno (and a Funny Movie)

Posted: 12th November 2008 by Luc "Sandman" G. in Movies

A quick review since time seems to be a luxury I don’t have lately….

Last week my wife and I were finally able to catch the latest Kevin Smith film Zack and Miri Make A Porno. This was the first Smith movie that I didn’t get to see on opening weekend since Chasing Amy… stupid on-call got in the way.

The story revolves around Zack and Miri, 20-something year old friends and roommates who work at dead end jobs and can’t make the ends meet. Having met in the first grade, these two characters share a strictly platonic relationship that has never crossed the romance/sex line. They coast through life until one day their heat, water and electricity get cut off for non-payment (on Thanksgiving no less). Desperate to raise some money to get rid of their debt, Zack comes up with the plan to make a porno.  The idea being that at minimum their old high school friends and acquaintances would buy the flick “just so they could see someone they knew f*ck”.

They enlist the aid of Zack’s co-worker, played by The Office’s Craig Robinson, to finance the picture, an old high school videographer (Jeff Anderson, better known as Randal in Clerks/Clerks2), a want to be porn star (played by Jason Mewes) and 2 real life ex-porn stars (Traci Lords and Katie Morgan). As the shoot progresses, Zach and Miri discover that they have feelings for each other which culminates when they have shoot their sex scene. Some misunderstandings arise, causing a rift between the lifelong friends.

I found Zack & Miri to be a really good film. I did not find it as funny as Smith’s previous movies (Jersey Girl notwithstanding), but that did not affect my views of it. To compare it to Smith’s previous movies, it is similar to Chasing Amy in tone. Seth Rogen fits perfectly well in a Smith written & directed movie. The brand of comedy that we’ve become accustomed to seeing him in is eerily similar to Smith’s movies, so that casting was a perfect fit. Elizabeth Banks is believable as Miri. However,  Craig Robinson or Jason Mewes pretty much steal every scene that they are in. Those 2 play their characters superbly and have the funniest dialogues and lines in the film.

If you like Kevin Smith’s previous movies, or any movie by Judd Apatow, then you’ll surely like Zack and Miri Make A Porno.  I may be a biased Kevin Smith fan, but I give Zack and Miri an 8 out of 10.

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  1. […] They enlist the aid of Zack’s co-worker, played by The Office’s Craig Robinson, to finance the picture, an old high school videographer (Jeff Anderson, better known as Randal in Clerks/Clerks2), a want to be porn star (played by Jason … Original post […]

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