Making porno...romantic?

There's been a lot of buzz about Kevin Smith's latest comedy, Zack and Miri Make a Porno. A lot of people were speculating this film would be something of a cross between American Pie and There's Something About Mary due to rumors of gratuitous nudity as well as some extremely gross jokes. The film's title even came under fire after viewers complained of hearing the word "porno" in its commercials during primetime television hours. But is Smith's latest opus as sexy and outlandish as the hype has made it out to be? In a word - no. Zack and Miri is a typical Smith comedy full of witty, biting, vulgar dialogue coupled together by a far-fetched story with the occasional nasty sight gag. I should have prefaced this review by saying I am a huge fan of Kevin Smith's, but I'm not so blindly devoted to the man that I can't see the flaws in his films. He definitely is a master of dialogue, but telling a believable, cohesive story is not his strong point. Nearly all of his films have used fuzzy logic to tell their tales (Clerks is the exception because it had no plot). I had a hunch this film would fall victim to the same problem as soon as I heard the basic description, which is as follows:

Zack (Seth Rogen) and Miri (Elizabeth Banks) are two lifelong platonic friends who share an old apartment in Pittsburgh, work at a coffee shop and are just about broke. After attending their high school reunion and realizing things couldn't get any worse, they decide to make their own porno movie as a get-rich-quick scheme. Miri initially scoffs at the idea since anyone could make their own skin flick, but Zack believes they could at least sell a few hundred copies to all their old classmates and extended circle of friends because anyone would pay to see someone they know in a porno.

The two convince their friend Delaney (Craig Robinson) to bankroll the film and hire two men and two women to co-star in the movie. But then the film's biggest plot hole rears its ugly head: Zack and Miri decide they will appear in the movie with the other performers as well as sharing a scene themselves. Since they're "just friends" you can imagine what kind of problems it might cause. I couldn't help but wonder why they felt the need to do this since they each could have performed with the other cast members. The answer is obvious - there would be no plot without this extremely weird turn of events. But why would a movie with this type of premise even need a plot at all? I don't have to elaborate on the remainder of the story. It's a totally generic romantic comedy with all the usual clichés at its disposal, including the run-to-catch-the-girl-at-the-last-minute device. C'mon Kev, you're better than that.

Discussing sexual issues in gory details through brilliant, hilarious dialogue has been Smith's forte since his early years (the Jaws scars/cunnilingus spoof scene in Chasing Amy is classic). He revisits that territory this time around, but only sparingly, and the result is hit or miss. For example, there is a hilarious scene where Zack and Miri debate why it's not considered strange for women to use electronic devices for masturbation, but if a man uses a toy he's considered a pervert.

It's a scene like that which showcases Smith's ability to depict realistic dissection of sexual idiosyncrasies that no one in Hollywood would dare touch, but he often goes way too far. The most notable instance might be when two gay men talk about their sex life in what is clearly supposed to be a zany, cartoonish manner because it's so extreme, but just comes off as arbitrary outrageousness (let's just say the term "cum dumpster" is used).

And since this film is dealing with sexuality in its rawest form it's no surprise to see full-frontal female and male nudity and some outrageous sight gags (often simultaneously). I have no problem with what is clearly good-natured, adult-oriented, dirty humor, but this flick often approaches the tasteless and mean-spirited, not unlike a "B" movie. Many of these jokes would have been much funnier had the punchline been implied rather than exploited for shocking sight gags. I got the feeling Smith used them just to see if he could get away with it, and how he beat the NC-17 rating I don't know.

But the reason Zack and Miri ultimately fails is because as funny as its crude jokes may be, they seem out of place because the plot is so standard. There was really no reason to make this film such a formulaic romantic comedy that happens to be based on a risqué premise. It would have worked much better had it been just a regular sex comedy with zero romantic subplot. If anything, it almost works as the raunchiest chick flick ever made.

GRADE: C+