Release Date: October 31, 2008 Studio: The Weinstein Company MPAA Rating: R Genre: Romantic •
Comedy Director: Kevin Smith Writers: Kevin Smith Cast: Elizabeth Banks, Seth Rogen, Craig Robinson, Jason Mewes, Jeff Anderson, Traci Lords,, Brandon Routh, Justin Long,Ricky Mabe, Katie Morgan, Gerry Bednob Synopsis: “Man cannot live alone”—Maya (Liv Tyler) in Kevin Smith's JERSEY GIRL.
Friends since grade school and platonic roommates for ten years, Zack and Miri are broker than broke.With all other choices apparently gone, Zack comes up with an outrageous solution to their money woes--making a pornographic film.
Making the adult film is easy. Dealing with their emerging adult feelings for each other is hard. The Review: Kevin Smith is at it again.
In addition to writing and directing seven previous well-known, cult status indie feature films, he has racked up an impressive resume of 25 acting credits (thanks www.imdb.com) including a fictional version of himself in “Degrassi:The Next Generation (note to imdb.com—watch these episodes and you’ll see what I mean), done the voice of superhero Green Lantern Hal Jordan for the “Duck Dodgers” cartoon, written Daredevil comics for Marvel, Jay and Silent Bob comics for Dark Horse and is the head of a humongous marketing empire, creating everything from “Mooby Burger” crew shirts, to “Nails cigarettes” lighter, and even a bedtime children’s book—“GOODNIGHT MEWES”. (Okay, I’m kidding about the book, but Kevin,if you’re interested, drop me a line C/O filmgeekz.com—we’ll talk.)
And now we have ZACK AND MIRI MAKE A PORNO.
Is this an order at the Drive-In window of the Kevin Smith Oeuvre so big that even he won’t be able to fill it?
Can Mr. Smith make a “mainstream” film that somehow manages to not suck as much as his previous non-Jay and Silent Bob undertaking (the flop Jersey Girl) while at the same time, keeping his rude, indie dick and fart joke edge?
Would Kevin ever move his movies out of New Jersey?
Will ViewAskew (KS’s production company) be able to make a film without Jay, Silent Bob, or The Affleck’ed One ?
What the hell does QUANTUM OF SOLACE mean?
For answers to these and other equally exciting questions, read the stultifyingly satisfying review below to find out.
Opening in the snowy winter of Pittsburgh, PA we meet our heroes Zack (Seth Rogen) and Miri (Elizabeth Banks) . They’re roommates now but they’ve have been best friends since forever. They both live little lives in Pittsburgh, PA—she works at the local dirt mall (see MALLRATS for a full definition) and he works at Bean 'N' Gone, a local, non-Starbuck’s coffee shop.
Like most real people, they hate their jobs, get paid waay too little, spend the little money they have on stupid shit they don’t need and find at the end of the end of the day/week/month that they don’t have enough money to go to where most responsible adults would have already sent it:the gas & electric company and the water company.
But, for the moment, the most important thing in their lives—sorry, the most important thing in Miri’s life is their High School 10-year reunion.
Zack shows up to the event in exactly the same middle-of-the-Pittsburgh-winter clothes he wore to work.
Miri goes out of her way to “dress to impress” a former classmate named Bobby (Brandon Routh).
He treated her like crap in high school, but she’s willing to forgive him to sleep with him.
It was great to see Brandon Routh. His Clark Kent and Superman in SUPERMAN RETURNS were wonderful variations and expansions on the work of the late, great Christopher Reeves, and I’ve been hoping to see more of him on the screen since then.
As Miri is flirting as hard as she can, Zack strikes up a conversation with the gravel-voiced Brandon (Justin Long). It’s obvious he’s not from Pittsburgh. With his jet-black drape haircut and his black on black wardrobe he looks like the Venom-possessed “bad-boy” Peter Parker in SPIDER-MAN 3.
Justin Long, known to most as the “Mac” guy in the “I’m a Mac and he’s a PC” Apple commercials and from GALAXY QUEST and DIE HARD 4 is very good—as always, in this very suave role. Brandon informs Zack that, not only is he Bobby’s boyfriend (note to Miri: you should’ve paid attention when he mentioned “using product” in his hair), but that he and Bobby make pornographic films together.
ZACK AND MIRI’s reunion scenes hit right on target for me. From the too-perky hostess (Kevin’s wife Jennifer Schwalbach Smith in her one small, but very funny moment in the film—thankfully her acting is improving) to the not-very-glamorous-setting of the high school gym, I was getting flashbacks to my post-high-school life.
One of the problems with watching movies all the time is that you begin to think that life is really like the movies. I went to my ten year reunion and boy, what a disappointment that was. Thank goodness, Kevin Smith and ZACK AND MIRI show a really crappy high school reunion so the next generation of party-goers won’t be suckered in by the typical “Hollywood” lie.
After the reunion, Z&M count their losses and commiserate over their sorry state of affairs. And they tell themselves that they may have crappy jobs and have no water or power, but, dammit, they’re still better than those successful jerks at the reunion.
Even with their pride intact, the question remains: what can they possibly do to get themselves out of their financial hole?
If you guessed “make a porno” you’d be correct.
Their decision to make an adult film, harkens back to the old classic MGM “let’s put on a show” movies with Mickey Rooney and Judy Garland that you can now catch every few weeks on Turner Classic Movies.
For those of you students of film that don’t do musicals from the 1940’s, then perhaps you may find the basic plot to follow any of the classic “BIKINI CAR WASH/DRIVE IN/BAKE SALE/WALL STREET BAILOUT” flicks that used to play at 2:15 AM on Cinemax.
Regardless of what movies you have playing in your head, you’ll easily be able to guess what happens next:auditions.
They get:
A skinny tattooed blond guy named Lester (Jason Mewes), a big-boobed, not-so-big-brained blonde named Stacy(Katie Morgan), a more mature blonde actress named Bubbles (Traci Lords ) a Porno wannabe/ hanger-on/boom microphone operator Barry(Ricky Maebe), video cameraman Deacon (CLERKS alum Jeff Anderson) and Delaney, (Craig Robinson)--Zack’s coworker at the coffee shop wants in, too.
Mr. Mewes is turning into a fine comedic actor, and although I usually don’t indulge in editorializing over such personal matters, I’m glad he’s sober now. He gets a lot of laughs and a lot of action--both in the making of the “film” and in his full frontal moments.
I got the feeling that, at some point before the genesis of this movie, Jason said to Kevin: “Dude, if I get clean you gotta let me totally show my junk!”
So move over UPS, Fed Ex and DHL, because Jason Mewes has brought his package!
Ms. Morgan was a little too realistic with the Barbie face and the Barbie plastic body of an adult film actress.
What? She is a porn star ? For reals?
Go to http://www.thekatiemorgan.com if you want to see, uhh...more of her body of work.
Traci Lords is, according to imdb.com “...a study of a determined and complex woman with a very controversial background.”, but nevertheless, she’s still not a great actress.
Craig Robinson, best knows as Kelly Kapoor’s boyfriend Daryl in ” The Office” is a gas throughout,and adds some very nice gravitas in some of the later scenes.
I was never a big fan of Jeff Anderson in CLERKS, but time has been good to him and like Mrs. Smith, his acting chops have improved over the years.
Assembling a crack crew, Zack and Miri rack their brains for what will prove to be the most important feature in creating their Porno masterpiece--the title!
Not only will the correct title steer what direction the film, err, the video will take, but, following the dictates of nearly every successful porn ever made, it should be a naughty variation on the title of a well-known mainstream picture. With a cursory glance through the internet I found these very real porn titles: The Loin King, The Good The Bed and The Snuggly and Malcolm XXX.
After many, many funny suggestions (none of which I can remember—sorry) Zack comes up with taa daa...STAR WHORES!
Pause Review
As you may have heard, in the months and weeks leading to the film’s release, ZACK AND MIRI MAKE A PORNO has been creating one shit storm of controversy after another.
First, the MPAA (the beloved Motion Picture Association of America—the entity responsible for the US film rating system) wanted to give ZAMMAP (the movie, not the comic book sound effect) an NC-17 rating.
Our man Kevin appealed and got it re-rated as “R”.
Second was an uproar over the poster showing stars Seth Rogen and Elizabeth Banks (see above) . It doesn’t matter that they’re fully clothed. Nope, look carefully at the bottom of their photos in the poster.
Wow. Are you shocked beyond belief?
The second, replacement ad now shows stick figures and reads : "Seth Rogen and Elizabeth Banks made a movie so titillating that we can only show you this drawing."
Who could be offended by that?
Well, somebody was, claiming that the ad “targeted children” and would make children ask a question like” What’s a porno?”
Pardon me a moment.
As The Joker said in THE DARK KNIGHT “Ha ha ha ha hee hee ho ho ho ha ho. And I thought my jokes were bad.”
Finally—I hope, the television commercials have even been changed so the title is simply “ZACK AND MIRI” .
If the film’s title is okayed by the MPAA, then it should follow that everyone else should be cool with it too, right?
Are we supposed to let various agencies delete or alter titles they find questionable ?
At this point, I’m surprised we were ever allowed to see the TV spots for Cameron’s TITANIC or Polanski’s THE PIANIST, OCTOPUSSY, THE BANK DICK , PRETTY IN PINK or even “Leave it to Beaver”.
Back to the movie, ZACK AND MIRI now turns into a cute, barely-disguised little parable about Kevin Smith’s experiences making his first film CLERKS, including the use of a hockey stick as a microphone boom.
Anyone who has been involved in the making in one of these ultra ultra low budget wonders (or blunders) will recognize the crew’s feelings of being swept away by the spirit of excitement and camaraderie that comes with being a part of such a production.
As the film progresses, Z and M come to the part where they have to do it. To no one’s surprise, it’s not a big sex scene at all...it’s a very tender moment of two very good friends making sweet sweet love, and here, the movie remembers that what it really wants to be is a romantic comedy.
Seth and Elizabeth are really good throughout, but they both shined the most in their dramatic moments.Seth showed he can sensitive and silly at the same time.
By the way, I’m not complaining, I’m just wondering—is it just me or is Seth Rogen doing a deliberate Kevin Smith impersonation in ZAMMAP?
This has been a really good year for Elizabeth Banks. From the romantic comedy DEFINITELY, MAYBE to the Eddie Murphy annual bad idea MEET DAVE, to the high comedy and dramatics of Oliver Stone’s W. she’s been keeping well-employed and putting in some very good work in 2008.
The story then hits the third act and a number of predictable fairly well-trod story points later, Zack and Miri have a happy ending.
Extra points to KS by letting us wait through some full frontal Jason Mewes and a way-too-long, uncomfortably hilarious and enlightening explanation of a “dutch rudder” before giving it to us.
ZACK AND MIRI has a fun script, a likable cast but, because of the not-so-mainstream story line it is NOT a great first date flick. But, it’s very funny, very raunchy, very rude and ultimately sweet and instead, I’m highly recommending it as a third date movie.
If you aren’t at the third date yet, improvise with a bunch of mini-dates before you see the movie.
You’re welcome.
FILM GEEKZ FUN FACT #1 :
ZACK AND MIRI is actually Kevin’s second look at the adult film industry.
Back in 1998, in the second issue of Oni Press comic “Chasing Dogma”, Jay and Silent Bob found Neil Patrick Harris making a porno in Pittsburgh, PA. This story, in which Jay is hired on as a “fluffer”, pre-dates the NPH renaissance of 2004 and is, legen -- wait for it...dary! Look for the collected edition published by Image Comics at a better comic shop near you.
Visit comicshoplocator.com or call 1-888-COMIC-BOOK
FILM GEEKZ FUN FACT #2 :
In the STAR WARS cantina, the two young women (popularly known to SW fans as “The Tonnika Sisters”) seen in matching green and blue catsuits with high braided black hair were given the nick-name “Star Whores” by some members of the film’s production team, regardless of the actresses Angela Staines and Christine Hewitt’s stellar reputations. Rating:
