Kevin Smith's new comedy: Zack and Miri Make a Porno
11-02-08, 06:26 PM
#253
DVD Talk Legend
Ignore my post in the Box Office thread where I was under the assumption I wouldn't see it until later this week. My girlfriend took me to a late night showing last night.
To be honest, the film suffers the same fate as Clerks 2; the third act. It kills whatever the first two acts brought us to completely stop the film dead in it's tracks. Unfortunately, the first two acts weren't that great to begin with either.
It's also sad to state that the supporting characters steal the show leaving the leads with not that much material to begin with. Craig Robinson and Justin Long need more work and it's sad to say that Jeff Anderson, who is still great playing a typical asshole, will only get work when his friends are involved. Rogen and Banks don't bring that much charm to the movie, which is unsatisfying, as their relationship is what the film is based around.
[EDIT: Oh, you can't forget Mewes. To be honest, thinking about it now, I would've loved it if Zack and Miri were put in the background and the film was more about a ragtag group of individuals making a porno with Robinson, Anderson and Mewes at the forefront. Hmmm.]
It's also unsatisfying to say that the most memorable scene of the film involves someone getting "frosted like a cake."
I expect more from Smith. I really do. However, I don't know if I'm getting more mature and my level for quality has gone up with Smith not meeting those demands or Smith has become less of a filmmaker. At this point, I would really love for him to try something new (Red State, for example) than him going back to the well over and over again.
To be honest, the film suffers the same fate as Clerks 2; the third act. It kills whatever the first two acts brought us to completely stop the film dead in it's tracks. Unfortunately, the first two acts weren't that great to begin with either.
Spoiler:
It's also sad to state that the supporting characters steal the show leaving the leads with not that much material to begin with. Craig Robinson and Justin Long need more work and it's sad to say that Jeff Anderson, who is still great playing a typical asshole, will only get work when his friends are involved. Rogen and Banks don't bring that much charm to the movie, which is unsatisfying, as their relationship is what the film is based around.
[EDIT: Oh, you can't forget Mewes. To be honest, thinking about it now, I would've loved it if Zack and Miri were put in the background and the film was more about a ragtag group of individuals making a porno with Robinson, Anderson and Mewes at the forefront. Hmmm.]
It's also unsatisfying to say that the most memorable scene of the film involves someone getting "frosted like a cake."
I expect more from Smith. I really do. However, I don't know if I'm getting more mature and my level for quality has gone up with Smith not meeting those demands or Smith has become less of a filmmaker. At this point, I would really love for him to try something new (Red State, for example) than him going back to the well over and over again.
11-02-08, 06:42 PM
#254
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Kevin Smith needs to make more films like Dogma. There is a reason that is his most successful film. It is by far the best written, acted, funniest of his films.
11-02-08, 07:11 PM
#256
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There was also a ton of controversy surrounding Dogma. Smith received death threats, there were protests, etc. That definitely played a big hand in its box office results. And financially, only a half a million dollars separates it from Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back. So, it's not like it's head and shoulders above anything else in terms of success.
11-02-08, 07:29 PM
#257
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I couldn't disagree more. Dogma was hamfisted, obnoxious, and Smith's least funny film by far. I don't know how someone who could write and direct something as insightful and funny as Chasing Amy could follow it up with the bloated, leaden Dogma.
11-02-08, 09:11 PM
#258
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There was also a ton of controversy surrounding Dogma. Smith received death threats, there were protests, etc. That definitely played a big hand in its box office results. And financially, only a half a million dollars separates it from Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back. So, it's not like it's head and shoulders above anything else in terms of success.
J&SBSB opened on nearly 2800 screens and had much more promotion and featured a large chunk of American Pie 2's cast (which opened weeks befre and was a huge B.O. success) and yet it still could not top the success of Dogma.
Dogma is still IMO one of the best written comedies of all time (I even consider it a better screenplay in terms of readability than such films as Casablanca and some other classics.) and Smith's masterpiece that holds up better on repeat viewings than any other film in his filmography.
11-02-08, 09:47 PM
#259
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I really enjoyed the movie. I went 2nite at 7pm and was surprised I had to wait in line to buy a ticket and the theater was 3/4 full on a Sun night. I live in a college town and it was mostly college age couples.
11-02-08, 11:19 PM
#261
DVD Talk Godfather
It's weird how polarizing his movies are. There are some that pretty much love everything he's done, and others that seem to have varying degrees of love and hate with Mallrats, Chasing Amy, and Dogma in particular.
11-02-08, 11:28 PM
#262
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Enjoy.
Primus - Wynona's Big Brown Beaver
DJ Kool - Let Me Clear My Throat
Marcy Playground - Sex & Candy
Len - Steal My Sunshine
Bronski Beat - Smalltown Boy (Not Supermode's Tell Me Why, thank you)
Jesus & Mary Chain - Just Like Honey
Donald Fagen - New Frontier
MC Chris - Fett’s Vette
Forbidden Ensemble - My Assistant Will Take Notes
Live - Lift Me Up/Hold Me Up
Blondie - Dreaming
DMX - Party Up
Pixies - Hey
The Dears - You And I Are A Gang Of Losers
Climax Blues Band - I Love You
Jermaine Stewart - We Don’t Have To Take Our Clothes Off
11-03-08, 12:58 AM
#263
Clerks. is his best. Pitched at the exact right level of amateur filmmaking, and still very funny more than a decade later.
Mallrats is underrated by critics (but probably overrated by fans). Aside from the slapstick, I find it very much in tune with Clerks., except dirtier. It has the same charming cheapness and the cast is still pretty great.
Chasing Amy is better than Mallrats, but I'd say it's the one of Smith's films that doesn't wear its cheapness well. Aside from that minor complaint, it's a pretty great movie. I never liked Affleck's "solution" the way Roger Ebert seems to, but the speech he gives in the car is pretty much tops, as is Adams' monologue outside the hockey rink and Smith's title speech.
Dogma is a remarkably sharp and funny film, and personally, while Smith loves to insist he's anti-visual, I like the bright, colorful, real-movie, scope cinematography of the film. The performances are great, too. I think I'd call it second-best.
Jay & Silent Bob Strike Back is a total lark. There are lots of not-particularly-funny and not-particularly-groundbreaking bits but some of it, mainly Affleck, is very funny. Still, it's really inconsequential, and it's also entirely narcissistic.
Jersey Girl is schizophrenic and schmaltzy. The film can't decide if it wants to be raunchy or sweet, and so the result is just random (even Will Smith's cameo is strangely crude). I didn't think it was the disaster some did, because the performers all have their moments, but it's a weird movie.
Clerks II is Kevin's worst movie. The worst part is, the heart of the movie, the scene in the jail, feels like it dropped in from a worthy successor to Clerks. Randal's plead to Dante hit me on such a personal level (along with the wonderfully nostalgic final montage) that it pains me to accept how crassly unfunny some of the movie is, but it really doesn't hold up at all.
If I was putting them in order, I'd go: Clerks., Dogma, Mallrats, Chasing Amy, Zack and Miri Make a Porno, Jay & Silent Bob Strike Back, Jersey Girl, Clerks II.
11-03-08, 07:20 AM
#264
DVD Talk Godfather
Saw it yesterday afternoon to a crowd of maybe 10. Sounded like everyone enjoyed it. The 'frosted like a cake' scene was clearly the funniest scene. Kinda funny listening to the few of us in there. First a quick groan and then laughter. 
I really enjoyed the flick, but it felt rushed in the third act. I thought Banks was great but there wasn't much chemistry with Rogen, but I still think she sold it. It is clear to me after seeing this that Brandon Routh seriously needs another shot at Clark Kent/Superman. He was loose and funny and it even felt like I was watching Clark Kent at his H.S. reunion (minus the whole gay bit). Singer needs to loosen the reigns a bit next time out.
I'm surprised no one has mentioned how this movie is just Kevin putting up a mirror to himself and the making of Clerks. Guy who's broke, maxing out his credit cards to make a movie with his friends. Shoots it after hours at work, and of course the movie is a smashing success leading to a very profitable career. Oh, the characters play wiffle ball instead of roller hockey.
I'll give you Clerks II, but even then it was a heartfelt send off to his Askiewniverse world. What better way to end it than the way it did?
As for Miri, I think the downfall is the 'Make Your Porno' during the credits. I suspect they were Weinstein enforced and tacked on at the last minute. When the credits begin to roll you're thinking, that's it? Where's the ending? But thinking back it's a perfect ending because that's how the Porno ended, without an ending. Plus from the opening scenes to the end, despite the title, the movie is clearly about the Z&M relationship, not making the porn and that's how it ends prior to the credits. I think the movie would have been much stronger without that epilogue. They could have saved the 'Make Your Porno' bit as an exclusive for the DVD/Blu, gave it some better production values and turned it into a real ad for the disc.
I really enjoyed the flick, but it felt rushed in the third act. I thought Banks was great but there wasn't much chemistry with Rogen, but I still think she sold it. It is clear to me after seeing this that Brandon Routh seriously needs another shot at Clark Kent/Superman. He was loose and funny and it even felt like I was watching Clark Kent at his H.S. reunion (minus the whole gay bit). Singer needs to loosen the reigns a bit next time out.
I'm surprised no one has mentioned how this movie is just Kevin putting up a mirror to himself and the making of Clerks. Guy who's broke, maxing out his credit cards to make a movie with his friends. Shoots it after hours at work, and of course the movie is a smashing success leading to a very profitable career. Oh, the characters play wiffle ball instead of roller hockey.
I'll give you Clerks II, but even then it was a heartfelt send off to his Askiewniverse world. What better way to end it than the way it did?
As for Miri, I think the downfall is the 'Make Your Porno' during the credits. I suspect they were Weinstein enforced and tacked on at the last minute. When the credits begin to roll you're thinking, that's it? Where's the ending? But thinking back it's a perfect ending because that's how the Porno ended, without an ending. Plus from the opening scenes to the end, despite the title, the movie is clearly about the Z&M relationship, not making the porn and that's how it ends prior to the credits. I think the movie would have been much stronger without that epilogue. They could have saved the 'Make Your Porno' bit as an exclusive for the DVD/Blu, gave it some better production values and turned it into a real ad for the disc.
11-03-08, 08:50 AM
#265
DVD Talk Special Edition
Am I the only one who watched this movie and thought that it seemed like KS wrote a movie, intended to use his usual cast, but then was stopped by studio execs who said "Kevin, you can't keep using the same cast over and over... Hey, that Apatow guy and his friends are really popular right now- why don't you use them instead?"
-jason
-jason
11-03-08, 09:26 AM
#266
DVD Talk Hero
according to one of the blogs, Smith wrote the part for seth since he liked his character in 40 yr old virgin so much, also mentioning that he was hoping that it would be his first leading role (knocked up hadn't come out yet) As for Banks, he wanted Rosario first.
Surprised no one has mentioned the Mooj cameo at the begining. Even though its really brief,i also laughed at the Jim Norton cameo also (he was the first shown auditioning for the porn.
Also not to sound gay or anything, but damn does Jay look great or what, especially for an ex hardcore heroin adict.
Surprised no one has mentioned the Mooj cameo at the begining. Even though its really brief,i also laughed at the Jim Norton cameo also (he was the first shown auditioning for the porn.
Also not to sound gay or anything, but damn does Jay look great or what, especially for an ex hardcore heroin adict.
11-03-08, 09:37 AM
#267
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$10.1 M opening weekend. Not bad, not great. It beat out 'Saw V' but got defeated by HSM3 (of course). If it's gonna do any better financially than Smith's previous films, it's gonna have to have a lot of repeat business.
11-03-08, 10:22 AM
#270
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Could you spoiler-tag some details for me? I drank WAY too much Coke and had to rush for the bathroom as soon as the credits started to roll. And them being just as broke at the end as they were in the beginning (worse; 'cause didn't they have to pay all the porn performers too?) was a concern.
11-03-08, 12:15 PM
#271
DVD Talk Legend
Probably deserving of another thread, but I'd rank Kevin's movies as follows (from best to worst):
Clerks
Chasing Amy
Zack & Miri Make A Porno
Clerks 2
Dogma
Mallrats
Jersey Girl
Jay & Silent Bob Strike Back
Clerks
Chasing Amy
Zack & Miri Make A Porno
Clerks 2
Dogma
Mallrats
Jersey Girl
Jay & Silent Bob Strike Back
11-03-08, 12:40 PM
#272
DVD Talk Legend
Anywho, just returned from seeing this a second time. Another small crowd but it was a Monday morning show, after all. Like someone said earlier, the movie holds up pretty well for a second viewing.
11-03-08, 01:00 PM
#274
DVD Talk Legend
For me:
Clerks
Chasing Amy
Mallrats
Dogma
Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back
Jersey Girl
Clerks II
Zack and Miri Make a Porno
I'd be one the of the few to say that Jersey Girl, despite all of it's flaws, was Smith's last consistently good movie.
Clerks
Chasing Amy
Mallrats
Dogma
Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back
Jersey Girl
Clerks II
Zack and Miri Make a Porno
I'd be one the of the few to say that Jersey Girl, despite all of it's flaws, was Smith's last consistently good movie.