It's one thing for a movie to be dirty; it's another thing altogether for it to be plain sloppy.
Zack and Miri Make a Porno (2008)
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Reviews Counted:34
Fresh:17
Rotten:17
Average Rating:5.8/10
Consensus: Zack and Miri Make a Porno is a modest success for Kevin Smith, due in large part to the charm of Seth Rogen and Elizabeth Banks.
Theatrical Release:Oct 31, 2008 Wide
Box Office: $31,382,624
Synopsis: As its explicit title suggests, Kevin Smith's ZACK AND MIRI MAKE A PORNO is a foul-mouthed and filthy film that probably isn't fit for the very young, the very old, or the easily offended. But for... As its explicit title suggests, Kevin Smith's ZACK AND MIRI MAKE A PORNO is a foul-mouthed and filthy film that probably isn't fit for the very young, the very old, or the easily offended. But for those who enjoy Smith's brand of humor, this raunchy but romantic comedy could be the perfect date movie (though perhaps not for a first date). With mountains of past-due bills piling up, Zack (Seth Rogen, KNOCKED UP) and his roommate/childhood friend Miri (Elizabeth Banks, SCRUBS) aren't sure how they're going to stay in their Pittsburgh apartment. But a chance encounter at their 10-year reunion gives them the idea to make a porn movie. When it comes time for the friends to do the deed, they realize that perhaps they're more than just friends. With all the talk of sexual positions and bodily functions, it'd be easy to say that Smith is hopping on the Judd Apatow bandwagon that has dominated the box office in the latter half of the aughts with KNOCKED UP and THE 40-YEAR-OLD VIRGIN, and ZACK AND MIRI even features a few Apatow alumni. But Smith perfected this schtick down back in the '90s with CLERKS, when some of Apatow's fans were still in diapers. ZACK AND MIRI is most reminscent of Smith's own CHASING AMY; there are plenty of gag- or giggle-inducing moments, but Smith's script is also surprisingly sweet. Rogen and Banks make a perfect couple, and the always hilarious Rogen could be Smith's new Ben Affleck or Jason Lee. [More]
Starring: Seth Rogen, Elizabeth Banks, Traci Lords, Jason Mewes
Starring: Seth Rogen, Elizabeth Banks, Traci Lords, Jason Mewes, Ricky Mabe, Craig Robinson, Katie Morgan, Jeff Anderson
Director: Kevin Smith
Director: Kevin Smith
Screenwriter: Kevin Smith
Producer: Scott Mosier
Composer: James Venable
Studio: Weinstein Company
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Reviews for Zack and Miri Make a Porno
Kevin Smith turns out to be reverent after all: he wants to separate true love from mere copulating for money, but his story mixes romance and porn so inextricably that he seems confused, and the movie trips over its own conceits.
Seth Rogen is totally out of control. He's been marvelously funny in the past, and will be again, but get that party animal back in his cage.
Zack and Miri isn't very funny. Laugh-out-loud bits here are as rare as real breasts in an adult film.
The audience where I watched the movie laughed so hard that we all probably missed a third of the lines, and it was still one of the funnier movies I've seen this year.
The jokes are forced, almost mechanical, in their crudeness. They're so carefully placed that they feel a little precious rather than spontaneous, which ends up defying that impulsive, animal thing inside us.
The mood lurches around a bit, and the film itself feels a bit diluted -- as if Kevin Smith were doing Judd Apatow doing Kevin Smith. And Smith, and his fans, are far too original to settle for that for long.
Without the wit, raunchiness tends to feel uncomfortably forced. And the moments when Z&M works are, almost without exception, the ones that are more sweet than shocking. All the rest, frankly, feel like Apatow Lite.
Despite all the waggish raunch-talk, it's just not especially funny. And despite all the agile intercourse (originally rated NC-17), it's frankly kind of a bore.
There may not be a special movie rating for this kind of coyness, but it definitely feels like emotional porn.
There are laughs. Big, loud laughs. Laughs of self-recognition, laughs at social duplicity, laughs at prejudices of all types. Lots of laughs about the most basic of human functions. And many, many laughs at our own inhibitions.
While I wouldn't call the role of cheery, foul-mouthed Miri nuanced, Banks and Rogen click in a way that Rogen and Katherine Heigl in Knocked Up did not.
Zack and Miri Make a Porno, in spite of its lewdness, follows a gee-whiz romantic-comedy formula that would not be out of place on the Disney Channel.
Other peoples' emotional intimacy can be downright embarrassing. Here, sadly, it's also boring.
It's a funny concept whose execution does not live up to its potential.
At 38, the grand old man of raunch talk has figured out how to make a movie that's sweet, funny and (a little) sexy.
Rogen and Banks, both terrific, bring out the sweet and spicy best in each other.
Latest News for Zack and Miri Make a Porno
February 08, 2009:
Two porn stars and true romance on their, well, first date on camera, and a stud geek worried about man boobs. Kevin and Seth make a porno that may be too hardcore for the sexually squeamish and too mushy for porniacs. ![]()
More...
February 02, 2009:
RT on DVD: Friday the 13th Redux, Zack & Miri, Nick & Norah
Prepare to relive the rise (and death, and rise and death) of Jason Voorhees as the first three Friday the 13th flicks are re-released this week (Part 3 even comes with 3D... More...
January 31, 2009:
Two porn stars and true romance on their, well, first date on camera, and a stud geek worried about man boobs. Kevin and Seth make a porno that may be too hardcore for the sexually squeamish and too mushy for porniacs. ![]()
More...
November 14, 2008:
UK Critics Consensus: Is Zack And Miri Make A Porno On The Money (Shot)? Is Max Payne Maxing Or Taxing?
This week in the UK cinema screens we have Kevin Smith's latest, the intuitively titled Zack And Miri Make A Porno. Marky Mark Wahlberg stars in the video game adaptation Max... More...
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