Zack and Miri Make a Porn (2008)

Directed by: Kevin Smith | 102 minutes | drama, comedy, romance | Actors: Elizabeth Banks, Seth Rogen, Jason Mewes, Brandon Routh, Justin Long, Anne Wade, Tom Savini, Traci Lords, Katie Morgan, Craig Robinson, Gerry Bednob, Edward Janda, Nicholas Lombardi, Chris Milan, Jennifer Schwalbach Smith, Kenny Hotz Jeff Anderson, Jim Norton, Jean-Pierre Nutini, Alice Eisner, David Early, Mattt Potter, Ricky Mabe, Lena Cheney, Marie Blanchard, Deanna Betros, Danielle Fortwangler, Katelyn Hoffman, Ashley Kunich, Katie Morgan, Craig Robinson, Milos Milicevic , James W. Smith, Tyler Labine, Tisha Campbell-Martin, Lauren Anne Miller

In ‘Zack and Miri Make a Porno’, Zack (Seth Rogen) and Miri (Elizabeth Banks) are two old school friends who have a platonic friendship and share a house. Both have simple jobs, their meager income is barely enough to pay the rent, the unpaid bills are piling up. Zack is the above-average overweight type of young man, Miri is the humble blonde type of humble origin. They clearly haven’t made it in life so far. In order not to have to go to a reunion of their former school alone, they go together out of necessity. There Miri meets an old flame, Bobby Long (Brandon Routh). She unabashedly imposes herself on him, but then it quickly becomes clear that Bobby is gay. Bobby is accompanied by his friend, Brandon St Randy (Justin Long), who turns out to be a star in gay porn movies. When Zack and Miri go home, the electricity is cut because Zack hasn’t paid the bills. They are also at risk of being evicted.

In the cafe they drown their worries, but then come up with the bright idea to also make a porn film. After all, that must bring in a lot of money! Delaney (Craig Robinson), a colleague and friend of Zack, lends them money that was actually meant to buy a TV. Auditions follow and a motley crew of actors who have to act in the film is summoned, including an actress from porn films. Zack and Miri will star themselves and vehemently emphasize that the sex they will have in the film is only a technical act for the film, it should not affect their platonic friendship. It is clear that this agreement will not stand.

The film story that then develops contains no really big surprises and is actually relatively conventional. Zack and Miri have a soulful sex scene as part of the shoot. Then it turns out that, deeply hidden, they still harbor romantic feelings that they obviously don’t want to admit. The plot of ‘Zack and Miri Make a Porno’ itself is in fact less important. Of course, such a history does not have to have great depth, but must have the momentum and the many jokes. The film is a mixture of comedy and romantic love story (running according to the formulas that apply to such a genre) with the type of film where sexually tinted jokes are regularly made in a relatively flat way.

The casting is well done, especially the title roles. Seth Rogen is a great actor for such comedic films and there is a clear chemistry between the two protagonists. The other roles are also adequately filled. In this parody there is regularly nice make-up. Director Kevin Smith has deliberately opted for an over-the-top form of pranks and jokes. It is unabashedly thick on top of it. That effort is not always successful, there are moments with hilarious humor that can be laughed (under the hood). ‘Zack and Miri Make a Porno’ does not contain any real confrontational sex scenes, because it is above all a comedy and not a porn movie.

‘Zack and Miri Make a Porno’ isn’t vulgar, but one scene turns out to be distasteful. Still, one person will be able to roar about that scene, but the other may be embarrassed. Not a film for sensitive souls, therefore. If you look through the somewhat harsher exterior of the anal and oral jokes and don’t bother too much with the linguistic fuck and suck content and can appreciate the appropriate sometimes somewhat coarse humor, there is plenty to laugh about. You know what to expect and that’s what you get!