Zach and Miri Make a Porno

Kevin Smith has made some terrible movies, but I find that I've seen most of them (I've yet to see Mallrats or Clerks II, but I think I've seen the rest). I was keen to see his latest, Zach and Miri Make a Porno, because having some knowledge of what the real world of adult films is like, I'm interested to see how that it is translated into the mainstream.

I was surprised to find that Zach and Miri may be Smith's best film (it's in competition with Chasing Amy). Much of this is due to a sweet yet gleefully profane script that is often genuinely funny and enlivened by Seth Rogen's performance as Zach, but the key may be that Smith lays off his usual indulgences. Many of his films, notably Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back and Dogma, appear to have been made for Smith's friends.

Zach and Miri doesn't have Smith's stock character. Jason Mewes, who plays Jay in several other films, shows up, but actually plays a different character, and Smith's Silent Bob character is absent. I don't know what accounts for Smith reining in his ego, but it's entirely welcome.

As for the porno angle, it's largely irrelevant, as this is not a film about the professional world of porn. Zach and Miri are two childhood friends who share a house but are barely above water, financially speaking. Working in marginal jobs (Zach is a barista, I'm not sure what Miri's job is, but it can't be too prestigious), they are late on the utilities and the water and electric gets shut off. Zach comes up with the idea of making a porno film, and after enlisting the aid of some friends, they're off and running.

Elizabeth Banks plays Miri, and she's an appealing actress, but she'll never be good enough to convince me that she could be such a loser. The script paints her as some sort of slut (she's slept with a lot of guys, but not Zach, because she says it would be like sleeping with her brother) but I kept wondering how her character went so wrong. Banks is simply miscast, but she's still a pleasure to watch. Rogen, on the other hand, is perfectly cast. We're used to seeing him as bearish slackers, but he outdoes himself here.

The spine of the film is that Zach and Miri are secretly in love with each other, and when they film their sex scene they actually make sweet love, even though it's on top of sacks of coffee beans and a crew is watching. The game playing (Miri gets jealous when Zach is going to have a sex scene with another actress) is nice if not predictable, and the ending is easily foretold. The path to the end is where the film sings.

The supporting cast is notable for having current and former porn stars (Katie Morgan and Traci Lords) and a very funny turn by Craig Robinson (who is terrific in The Office and was very funny in Pineapple Express). The film is not set in Smith's New Jersey, instead in suburban Pittsburgh, but the director has a sure hand in depicting the lower middle-class environs of his characters. He also approaches David Mamet status with his expletive-laced dialogue. I found most of it hilarious, but don't expect to see this one on an airplane, unless it's Hooters Air.