This is where Kevin Smith started believing his own press and got lazy. I can see him chuckling to himself as he came up with the title.
“You guys think I’m gross and only do fluid and fart jokes? Well how about I make a movie about the porn industry and just go balls out (literally and figuratively) to do exactly that?!?”
The previously banned poster. Edgy…
Zack and Miri are 2 late 20-something losers. They have dead end jobs, no cash and live in a shared squalid apartment and share a shitty old busted car.
They are not together, have never been “together” and basically share a lifelong friendship of convenience, but no side-benefits.
After a school reunion that shows each of them how far they haven’t come, and the fact that zero cashflow has resulted in their house losing water and power, and that they will be evicted if they don’t come up with the rent, Zack suggests they make some quick cash…
So we get the inevitable jokes from coming up with a title for the porno, casting, setbacks to production, low budget techniques to save money, costuming and the fact that many people will be having sex in front of others on camera.
All hilarious right? This thing writes itself.
Well it must have done, because apart from some chuckles and the compulsory gross-out bits there just isn’t much that separates this from the pack.
I was fully on board when this was released, I thought Kevin Smith would make this hilarious and show that he isn’t just a hack with a knack for low-brow humour and clever erudite dialogue, then I watched this…
Then he made Cop Out. Now I just can’t be sure.
Still there are things to take away from Zack and Miri:
Elizabeth Banks can play, cute, sexy, funny, serious and smutty and you like her at all times. Not a bad effort for someone who before this was “the chick in the g-string in The 40 Year old Virgin”.
Seth Rogen is Seth Rogen, for good and bad, I am positive his shtick and eadearingly annoying laugh will get old. Soon. I have the over/under at two more films, and I am betting on under.
Justin Long is a better actor than he gets credit for, but eventually he will be in some great films, he’s just not good looking enough to headline most of them though.
Kevin Smith has fallen for the “name recognition” trap. He is now a big enough director to make calls to actors and get them to agree to appear in his films, he unfortunately then thinks that is enough and forgets to write them good dialogue or create memorable scenes and situations for them to appear in.
Final Rating – 6.5 / 10. If you think the title is funny you will chuckle a few times and laugh a couple. If you think the title is crass and you won’t like it you are already right. This is a potty-mouthed rom-com with clumsily done rom and not enough com.
