Spring Break
Zack and Miri score with Kevin Smith's latest
Issue date: 10/30/08
Kevin Smith's uproarious comedy Zack and Miri Make a Porno was not a safe bet.
Making a film that employs excessive dirty humor and sexual content always runs the risk of offending some and angering others. To include the word "porno" in the title is amplifying that risk tenfold. Prior to the film's release, much buzz - both positive and controversial - surrounded the movie. Many complaints have been made around the nation about its advertisement, from Los Angeles to Philadelphia to Boston. Groups have accused the film as promoting pornography and its ads as polluting the minds of children. Having seen it, though, it's safe to say that no amount of buzz or negative connotations will prevent this film from being a tremendous success.
The plot adheres to the title: Lifelong friends Zack (Seth Rogen) and Miri (Elizabeth Banks) decide to make a pornographic movie to pay back their increasing debt. The two live in Monroeville, Penn., a place so horribly cold that Zack must place a hand warmer into his crotch to ward off the morning chill. Zack barely gets by working at a Starbucks-esque establishment called "Beans 'n' Things" with his friendly and wife-hating coworker Delaney (Craig Robinson, The Office). The idea to make a porno is born when Zack and Miri go to their high school reunion, where they discover that Miri's old crush Bobby (Brandon Routh, Superman Returns) is now involved with a homosexual pornographer Brandon (Justin Long, Live Free or Die Hard, in a scene-stealing role). Later, when Zack and Miri's power and water are shut off, the two make the decision: They will videotape sex to pay the bills.
The resulting movie crew includes a few Smith favorites, such as Jason Mewes as Lester, someone who possesses an interesting phallic talent, and Jeff Anderson, made famous by the Clerks films, as Deacon, the reliable cameraman. The antics of this little family as they attempt to create a movie set and begin filming are predictably hilarious, and it's certainly not far-fetched to say this film is destined to be as successful as Knocked Up or Superbad. The only enemies this film could have are the exorbitant amount of sexual content and, in the same vein, the title, but all things considered, Zack and Miri is surprisingly tame and, not surprisingly, very sweet.
Making a film that employs excessive dirty humor and sexual content always runs the risk of offending some and angering others. To include the word "porno" in the title is amplifying that risk tenfold. Prior to the film's release, much buzz - both positive and controversial - surrounded the movie. Many complaints have been made around the nation about its advertisement, from Los Angeles to Philadelphia to Boston. Groups have accused the film as promoting pornography and its ads as polluting the minds of children. Having seen it, though, it's safe to say that no amount of buzz or negative connotations will prevent this film from being a tremendous success.
The plot adheres to the title: Lifelong friends Zack (Seth Rogen) and Miri (Elizabeth Banks) decide to make a pornographic movie to pay back their increasing debt. The two live in Monroeville, Penn., a place so horribly cold that Zack must place a hand warmer into his crotch to ward off the morning chill. Zack barely gets by working at a Starbucks-esque establishment called "Beans 'n' Things" with his friendly and wife-hating coworker Delaney (Craig Robinson, The Office). The idea to make a porno is born when Zack and Miri go to their high school reunion, where they discover that Miri's old crush Bobby (Brandon Routh, Superman Returns) is now involved with a homosexual pornographer Brandon (Justin Long, Live Free or Die Hard, in a scene-stealing role). Later, when Zack and Miri's power and water are shut off, the two make the decision: They will videotape sex to pay the bills.
The resulting movie crew includes a few Smith favorites, such as Jason Mewes as Lester, someone who possesses an interesting phallic talent, and Jeff Anderson, made famous by the Clerks films, as Deacon, the reliable cameraman. The antics of this little family as they attempt to create a movie set and begin filming are predictably hilarious, and it's certainly not far-fetched to say this film is destined to be as successful as Knocked Up or Superbad. The only enemies this film could have are the exorbitant amount of sexual content and, in the same vein, the title, but all things considered, Zack and Miri is surprisingly tame and, not surprisingly, very sweet.
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