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Web-Exclusive Review: Zack And Miri Make A Porno

Steven Robertshaw on 10/27/08 @ 12:42 PM

COMEDY
Zack And Miri Make A Porno (THE WEINSTEIN CO.)
STARS > Seth Rogen, Elizabeth Banks, Craig Robinson, Jason Mewes, Jeff Anderson, Brandon Routh, Traci Lords, Katie Morgan
DIRECTOR > Kevin Smith
OPENS > OCT 31
RATING > 4/5



It was only a matter of time before writer/director Kevin Smith made a movie about making a porno. In fact, his original plan was to use the cast from 1997's Chasing Amy--Ben Affleck, Jason Lee and Joey Lauren Adams--to spoof the professional skin-flick biz. But the moment passed and times have changed. Thus, Smith re-envisioned his concept for the Internet Age and brings us a story about two platonic roommates, Zack (Rogen) and Miri (Banks), who decide to make an amateur porno to pay their long-overdue utility bills. Considering the subject matter and the supporting cast--Jason Mewes (aka Jay of Jay and Silent Bob) and Jeff Anderson (aka Randal from the Clerks films)--Zack And Miri Make A Porno could've easily been set in Smith's New Jersey-based View Askewniverse, but instead it's set in Monroeville, Pennsylvania (notably, the site of George Romero's Dawn Of The Dead), in the throes of winter.

Despite its lurid title, Zack And Miri contains more raw language than physical rawness--in fact, the only actual nudity we see is provided by real-life porn star Katie Morgan's significantly enhanced chest. (Former underage VHS sex queen Traci Lords also appears, albeit as a fully sheathed dominatrix who can blow bubbles with her vagina.) More startling than the lack of skin is Smith's ingenious casting of Brandon Routh (aka Superman) as the boyfriend of a gay porn actor played by Justin Long. Elsewhere, Mewes repeatedly steals Rogen's and Banks' scenes (wait till you see the soon-to-be-infamous "Dutch rudder" exchange) and Craig Robinson (Pineapple Express, The Office), nails it as Zack's fellow coffee-shop employee who serves as the porno's "producer." Truth be told, the entire cast shines, but Smith's script is what ultimately makes Zack And Miri his funniest flick since the original Clerks. --J. Bennett

For more on Zack And Miri Make A Porno, check out our exclusive interview with director Kevin Smith here.

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cclark89 Posted 11.03.08 at 10:55PM
There is more "actual" nudity than just the chest shot of Katie Morgan. There is also the full frontal of the girl during the "titty auditions" as well as a full male frontal later in the movie.



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