The world has now seen far more of Jason Mewes than necessary.
"Zack and Miri Make a Porno" is the least-restrained Kevin Smith movie ever made. If he had made this in 2001, when he had to cut bits out of the relatively tame "Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back" to avoid an NC-17 rating, there is no way he could have made this movie without removing so much of the plot as to make it incomprehensible.
Apparently, the average American's idea of what is acceptable in filmmaking has shifted quite a bit in the last seven years. While there aren't any explicitly hard-core shots in the film, they are heavily implied. Full frontal male nudity was practically guaranteed to garner an NC-17 in the late '90s and at the very least would have guaranteed another round of protests from right-wing groups, as did Smith's 1999 religious parody "Dogma."
Today? Nary a peep. The right wing is probably too distracted by its personal electoral apocalypse to be concerned with a raunchy movie. It's too bad. Many people went to see "Dogma" because of the protests - and more people need to go see "Zack and Miri."
From start to finish, this film is hilarious. Smith is considerably talented at elevating toilet humor to an art form. Who else would think of making Superman (Brandon Routh) gay and having him date the Apple Guy (Justin Long)? Of course, who would think of having the plot of their film revolve around two roommates making a porno to afford rent?
As usual with Smith's movies, "Zack and Miri" starts out as pure comedy and slowly shifts gears into the sentimental - just skimming the edge of sappy without quite putting a toe in the water - and ends up with the main characters admitting feelings for each other in a typically hilarious fashion. This is basically the plot, on one level or another, of every Kevin Smith movie ever made. Sure, it's a little derivative, but hey, if you can't rip yourself off, whom else can you rip off?
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The acting is good across the board. For the first time in a wide-release film, Mewes proves that he can play someone besides Jay. Seth Rogen was a perfect match for Smith's style of sarcastic humor - his deadpan delivery is excellent. Elizabeth Banks wasn't quite as funny as Rogen, but she came pretty damn close. Even infamous former porn star Traci Lords was amusing in "Zack and Miri."
"Zack and Miri Make a Porno" is not the funniest movie Smith ever made. But, it's just funny enough and more polished than his earliest work. It doesn't have the originality of "Clerks," or the poignancy of "Chasing Amy," but it does keep the audience laughing from start to finish. Though perhaps the world would be a happier place if the exact topography of Jason Mewes's genitalia was not now common knowledge.
'Zack and Miri Make a Porno'
Grade: B+
