Zack and Miri Make a Porno Movie Review – A Good Ol’ Raunchy Love Story

What do you do when you have a mountain of debt and nowhere can you get some extra cash?  This is the predicament that Zack and Miri face as they are on the verge of eviction in ZACK AND MIRI MAKE A PORNO.  This is a welcome return for its writer and director Kevin Smith ( CLERKS, DOGMA) whose past films haven’t connected with the audience.  Underneath the raunchy, crude humor and laugh out loud dialogue, there’s an engaging love story to be told.  The film teams up once again Seth Rogen (Zack) and Elizabeth Banks (Miri) who starred in THE 40-YEAR OLD VIRGIN together as well as real-life friends Kevin Smith and Jason Mewes (Lester) from their days as Jay and Silent Bob.

The film highlights Zack and Miri’s series of unfortunate incidents throughout their daily life.  From Zack at his dead-end barista job to Miri accidentally landing on the internet involving her underwear, you begin to garner a little sympathy for their situation.  While attending their 10-year high school reunion, Zack shares an amusing exchange with gay porn actor “just Brandon” (played humorously by Justin Long) about life in the pornography industry and the amount of money one can make for having sex on camera.  It isn’t until when their power gets shut off that they realize something needs to happen for them to make some cash and to better their situation.  With their dignity and their self-respect at its lowest, Zack comes up with the idea of making a porno.  Miri agrees to go along with this bizarre plan with the two promising that having sex will not ruin their friendship.

In order for Zach’s idea to come to fruition, he enlists his barista co-worker and pal, Delaney (played by Craig Robinson) to fund their project and plays the part of the producer.  With Delaney on board, they hold auditions for the perfect actors with “unique” qualities to include in their homegrown porno.  In their search, they find Bubbles ( Traci Lords), Lester ( Mewes), Barry ( Ricky Mabe), Stacey ( Katie Morgan) and Deacon ( Jeff Anderson).  Amidst all of the filming and the obstacles that the fearless group come up against, an underlying and brewing romance begins to develop for Zack and Miri in a hilarious scene they “act “ out in front of their peers.

One would have to commend Smith’s choice of casting for the supporting roles.  Current porn star queen Katie Morgan delivers a noteworthy performance, not bad for her first time in a mainstream role.  Ricky Mabe and former porn star Traci Lords provide laughable scenes that help sustain the film’s laugh factor. 

Jason Mewes ( CLERKS, JAY AND SILENT BOB STRIKES BACK) is entertaining and it’s a great departure from the pot-smoking and sarcastic Jay he’s always used to playing.  The real stand out supporting character in this movie is Craig Robinson.  His dialogue and delivery are a complement to Rogen’s character as one could see that these guys were truly best friends.  He steals every scene that he is in as the fellow barista who is waiting for that Oprah-rich payday.  Let’s not forget the two main characters that carry this movie, Seth Rogen and Elizabeth Banks.  Banks comes into her own as a great actress and was mesmerizing as the impractical best friend.  Not only Banks’ character Miri was sexy and funny, but she was also vulnerable and lonely and looking for Mr. Right not realizing he was right in front of her the entire time.  Rogen has now cemented himself as a leading man ever since KNOCKED UP and the chemistry that he has with his leading ladies, including Banks work.

Overall, director Kevin Smith tackled this raunchy, clever love story and knocks this one out of the ballpark.  Although, the film is quite predictable and scenarios seem implausible, there is guaranteed laughter throughout.

Zack and Miri Make a Porno stars Seth Rogen, Elizabeth Banks, Traci Lords, Jason Mewes, Ricky Mabe, Craig Robinson, Katie Morgan, Jeff Anderson, Justin Long, Brandon Routh and Tisha Campbell-Martin.  The script was written and directed by Kevin Smith.

Zack and Miri Make a Porno is rated R for strong crude sexual content including dialogue, graphic nudity and pervasive language.  Running time is 101 minutes.

For more details about Zack and Miri Make a Porno and to make your own porn name, visit the official website at (http://www.zackandmiri.com).
 
All images are provided by Weinstein Company Publicity