The Bus

IMDB | 31 October 2008

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I got a chance to see an early screening of this.

The story of Zack and Miri Make a Porno is told almost in its entirety in the title: Zack (Seth Rogen) and Miri (Elizabeth Banks) are platonic friends who haven't achieved much in the decade since they've left high school. Running low on funds, they resort to making a porn movie to make ends meet. That's enough of a framework for Smith to hang on his usual repertoire of sex and bodily fluid jokes.

Still, Zack and Miri is the least Kevin Smith-y Kevin Smith movie I've ever seen. (Note: I've not seen Jersey Girl). He takes more from Apatow than just a cast of regulars, he also takes some of his charm. The movie is not just 90 minutes of dick jokes.

We've seen Smith try to be romantic, but it rarely worked to his advantage: Chasing Amy and Clerks 2 (to me, at least) being the big exceptions. In Zack and Miri, Smith does his best job yet of juggling great dialogue, gross-out / sex humor, and romance. While he does each admirably, the end result is that this film isn't as personal as Chasing Amy, or as clever as Clerks, etc. This isn't necessarily a fault: there's only so much screen time you can devote to each, and the transitions between a scene about relationship and, say, a scene with a ball gag seem a lot more natural, if only slightly predictable.

The characters aren't as well-written as they have been in the past. You don't get a great sense of who they are and their dialog isn't as snappy. To those who've complained that no one talks like the characters in a Kevin Smith movie, this might be a relief. By, say, Pineapple Express standards, the movie falls a bit flat. Compare it to any other mainstream comedy though, and you've still got a winner.

The laughs are still there, and they are constant. Like many great comedies, I'll have to see this at least one or two more times so I can catch all the dialogue as several sequences were drowned out in howling laughter. This is without a doubt one of the year's better comedies.

Also, dedicated perverts should look for small roles by Traci Lords and Katie Morgan.

OldBoy

i think a lot will mistake this one as a typical "Apatow" produced or directed fare because of the material and Rogen, when he has nothing to do with it.

i loved "Chasing Amy" and even liked "Jersey Girl" so i look forward to some day seeing this.

Matthew Chmiel

I really enjoyed Jersey Girl, but Clerks 2 was a piece of shit.

Smith teaming up with Rogen and Robinson has me excited, but to be honest, all of Smith's films all show a drop in quality with each outing (I like his films in the order of release).

I'll be there opening weekend, but my expectations are pretty low.

Michael Corvin

You like Mallrats more than Chasing Amy?

JPRaup

Posted a review on my blog: http://thefilmstage.blogspot.com/200...-it-dirty.html

Who knew a film about porn could be one of the most touching of the year? Don't worry, Kevin Smith's new comedy still raises the offensive bar in more than one way. Starring Seth Rogen (Pineapple Express, Knocked Up) and Elizabeth Banks (W, Definitely, Maybe) as Zach and Miri, childhood friends turned roommates. Strapped for cash with no where else to turn they decide to make a porn. Bringing the most laughs is Craig Robinson (Pineapple Express, "The Office") who plays Delaney, Zach's coffee shop co-worker and a disgruntled husband. Brandon Routh, who brings more life to his cameo than he did in all of Superman Returns, is hilarious as Justin Long's (Dodgeball, Die Hard 4) gay porn co-star and lover. The two of them are the catalyst for getting the idea of a porn in Zach's head when the meet at a high school reunion.
The film hits its stride when Zach and Miri raise the question of sex getting in the way of their 20-year friendship. The laughs are heavy and constant, but the romantic dynamic between the two characters is what really keeps the film going. The movie still has its plentiful share of vulgar, even obscene dialogue. I was surprised at the mother and young teenage son sitting to the right of me during this preview screening, as this was easily the hardest R in terms of sexual content and dialogue I have seen. There isn't a sexual subject that goes unmentioned. We are hit with anal, blowjob, gay porn, and even a queef joke, as seen in the trailer.
Don't expect another Clerks, but this film sits proudly next to Chasing Amy as one of Smith's better works. Make sure you don't get up as the credits roll because there is an hilarious extended bonus scene. The film opens wide on Halloween.

8 out of 10

Charlie Goose

That's what I thought it was. I had no idea Smith was the director until opening this thread.

I'm still not really getting Seth Rogen.

silentbob007

I've been skeptical up to this point but am truly hoping it delivers the funny.

Michael Corvin

Apparently you are 'getting' him enough if you came into a thread for a movie in which he is one of the two central characters represented in the title.

Is this out today or next week?

SPiRAL

/\ /\ /\ Next week.

Dan

Saw an advance screening of this, too. 4/5
I really enjoyed the humour (see: typical Kevin Smith). The entire cast was great, in my opinion. Seth played Seth, as usual, but I'm still not sick of it. Jeff Anderson has definitely improved his acting skills.

I'd put this somewhere in my top 3 Kevin Smith films.

Rypro 525

i was watching his pannel at comic con on youtube last night (hilarious for a kid prob not older then 14 saying "hey my mom is here, so I'm going to pretend that i don't know who Katie Morgan is. . Also for Smith calling Tracy Lords 'the Miley Cyrus of porn', due to her starting apparently at 15.). anyways, during it, he mentionedthat in regards to the rating, there was one part the mpaa didn't want in the movie, or they'd give it an NC-17, knowing how they over turned the rating with out cuts, for those that have seen it, whats in there that is borderline R/NC-17 (use tags obviously). i only want to know because i want to take a friend

Shannon Nutt

I owe Kevin an apology for some of my comments in the other "Zack" thread about how it seems his new movie is just repeating stuff he should be growing out of at this point in his directorial career.

I saw the Pittsburgh premiere of "Zach and Miri" last night, and it's easily Smith's best flick since "Chasing Amy". Just laugh-out-loud, fall-on-the-floor funny. Right up there with Apatow's "40-Year-Old Virgin" in terms of quality. At times the audience was laughing so hard we missed a good minute of dialogue. I definitely plan to check it out again when it hits theaters next weekend.

To put my comments in perspective, Clerks and Chasing Amy are the only two Smith movies I really "love". The rest I have varying degrees of problems with, ranging from the so-so (Clerks 2, Dogma) to the downright awful (Jay & Silent Bob, Jersey Girl).

Yeti4623

This movie is probably going to be solid, but I have no huge desire to see it right away. I really like the fact that Elizabeth Banks never seems to wear stick straight hair.