Sunday, November 23, 2008

Zack and Miri Make an Excellent Movie


First off let me start by saying Zack and Miri Make a Porno is a fantastic movie. There, that was one of my easiest reviews yet. No, I’m not done actually done yet, you’re not that lucky. I am one verbose motherfucker. And you puny humans are driven by your insatiable curiosity and also by the hope that somewhere in at least one of my articles there might be some modicum of insight or accuracy. However none of this changes the fact that Zack and Miri Make a Porno is an excellent piece of cinema. If you like hilarious, entertaining movies, breasts, helping orphans, democracy or breasts then you will love this movie. Of course I do come to the table with a slight bias towards Kevin Smith, the visionary director who helmed this project and produced such modern classics as Clerks, Mallrats, and Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back.

To me Kevin Smith is truly one of the best writer/directors working in Hollywood and hands down one of the funniest people alive today.  For those of you who don’t already know this movie follows the misadventures of the titular characters as they try to make a pornographic movie in order to solve their financial woes. And of course hilarity ensues. Every new Kevin Smith movie is a real treat for me, not just because it reinforces my own proclivity towards using the fuck-word, but it’s very fascinating to see Kevin mature as a director and to see how the themes running through his movies change with his maturity. I think one of the reasons Kevin is able to connect with audiences is because we can relate to the down-to-earth scenarios and characters he presents us with. Some kids hanging out at a mall. Two dudes working at a fast food restaurant. A couple of junkies trying to stop a movie from being made about them. Heh, heh. Good times.

The movie starts off at a high school reunion where Seth Rogen (Zack) and Elizabeth Banks (Miri) reluctantly show up and meet and reconnect (read: handjob in the bathroom) with their old classmates. Miri is trying to fuck her high school crush played by Brandon “Superman” Routh who turns out to be gay. His life partner is a gay porn star played to perfection by Justin Long. This is where the idea originates for Zack who subsequently tries to convince his roommate and lifelong platonic friend to make a porno with him. And of course they find they mean more to each other than they thought.

The acting was good, and everybody seemed to having a lot of fun. Now I’m not a huge fan of Seth Rogen, but even I couldn’t dislike him in the capable hands of Kevin Smith. Even though I’m not a huge fan of the Rogenator, he has playing the lovable loser down to a tee. This is really the first time I became conscious of Elizabeth Banks and she seems like a very good actress. The one scene that stuck out to me was when Zack and Miri finally do the deed (ie. Fuck) it’s Elizabeth Banks who really sells it. I mean there is a lot of complex emotions going on in the scene and she manages to get it all across all the while having an orgasm. Kudos. Craig Robinson also stood out for me. I’m really starting to enjoy this guy on the screen. Then there were the Kevin Smith regulars Jason Mewes as Lester (Zack: What's your name? Lester: Lester... Lester the Molester Cockenschtuff. Zack: Wow. That's a great porn name. Lester : I get to pick a porn name?... Then I want to be called... Pete Jones.) and Jeff Anderson as Deacon whose best scene involves a face full or shit. Fantastic.

The strength of Kevin Smith’s movies has, in my opinion, always been the superb dialogue. I get kind of irritated when people refer to his films as “vulgar” or “crude.” While these monikers are accurate in a sense they have a kind of negative connotation. But these characters speak how most regular dudes speak in the real world. Or maybe I just really like to fucking swear. Ass. The dialogue is finely crafted by a master wordsmith and I bow to you in honour, Mr. Smith. I also kind of got irritated when people were telling me about the new Seth Rogen film Zack and Miri Make a Porno. I would reply to these people “You fucking idiot. Go eat shit and die.” A bit extreme, but it’s a Kevin Smith film that happens to star Seth Rogen. All due to respect to Rogen and the “Apatow crew” but they are not the comedy kings of Hollywood that all these idiots in the media make them out to be. They’re like the default kings when Kevin Smith is in between movies. While their films are mildly amusing, they pale with the hilarity and the heart in any of Kevin Smith’s masterpieces. Now maybe I’m biased because I love Kevin Smith, or because I love good, quality movies, but any of you communists who hated this movie can lick my balls. And you can quote my on that. Over all I give this movie a 10 out of 10 = One Shit-Covered Porn Film Maker’s Face.