Zack and Miri Make a Porno - DVD Review

Writer/director Kevin Smith has a long history of putting comedians in his films. His 1999 film Dogma featured prominent performances by both Chris Rock and George Carlin, both of whom he used again in his follow-up film, Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back -- to which he added Saturday Night Live's Will Ferrell. Carlin went on to his best dramatic performance as an alcoholic father in Smith's Jersey Girl. Perhaps the best scene of 2006's Clerks II came courtesy of stand-up comics Wanda Sykes and Earthquake.

Now, with the 2007 film Zack and Miri Make a Porno, Smith has finally cast a comedian in the lead role: one Seth Rogen. Sure, Rogen (who got his start in stand-up comedy and plays a comic in director Judd Apatow's Funny People) has had leading roles before, but this marks his first collaboration with Smith, who previously has relied heavily on his own repertory company. Rogen's performance is the best thing about the film, helping shape all of the dialogue and some of Smith's most childish tendencies into something that works. He isn't able to salvage the film entirely, but it's his performance that makes the film worth recommending at all.

Rogen stars as the titular Zack, and twenty-something guy working at a coffee shop and struggling to pay the rent and utilities on his apartment. His lifelong best friend and roommate, Miri (Elizabeth Banks, Wet Hot American Summer, is getting buried under bills alongside him. After a disastrous evening at a high school reunion (where Miri throws herself and the school's former hunk, who turns out to now be gay), the two finally hit rock bottom. To dig themselves out of their dire financial straits, Zack hits on an idea: why not make a porno film starring the two of them? Enlisting the help of Zack's co-worker (comedian Craig Robinson) as producer and a cast of "talent" including Jason Mewes, Traci Lords and real-life adult film star Katie Morgan, Zack and Miri attack their cinematic undertaking with gusto. But what the pair didn't count on is that mixing sex with friendship may bring to the surface romantic feelings they weren't aware of, making both realize that they may finally be ready for more than friendship.

The overriding themes inherent in Zack and Miri Make a Porno are pretty standard stuff for a Kevin Smith film: it's about immature boys who use dirty language and talk alot about sex to cover up their own insecurities and romantic desires. The only difference here is that this time out, one of those characters is a girl -- though Smith hasn't done anything to distinguish the way he writes a female character from any of his males. But more so than usual, Zack and Miri relies on sex talk and obscene language to score laughs. For as much as he wants to tell a more mature romantic story -- and there are aspects of Zack and Miri that are genuinely sweet and sort of romantic -- he can't help himself from dirty talk and cheap sex jokes. Just saying bad words isn't enough; you have to have some kind of attitude about them.

The saving grace, of course, is the cast -- particularly Rogen. Banks is funny and likable, and supporting roles from comedians like Craig Robinson and Gerry Bedknob help fill in the corners, but it's mostly Rogen's show. He has a natural gift to make even Smith's dirtiest, most mannered dialogue sound natural, unforced and improvisatory. He proves that he deserves to be a movie star even outside of Judd Apatow's canon.

If Smith's films tend to be uneven, the DVDs of his films are always worth checking out; his commentary tracks are often more entertaining than the movies. Unfortunately, there is no commentary on the DVD of Zack and Miri. It's a huge missed opportunity, as I'm sure the combined forces of Smith and Rogen chatting about the film would have been really, really funny. There are still some solid extras, including a nearly feature-length making of documentary and a bunch of alternate takes and jokes (Rogen is good for 20 possible punchlines for every one that makes the movie). Rogen and Smith are still funny all over the supplemental features, but a commentary track is still sorely missed.

Fans of Smith's films will want to check out Zack and Miri, and fans of Rogen won't be disappointed. Everyone else -- particularly the easily offended -- can easily steer clear. Here's hoping Kevin Smith is able to grow up a little the next time out.

DVD Details

• Release Date: February 3, 2009
• Running Time: 101 Minutes
• 1.85:1 Anamorphic Widescreen
• Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround (English)
• Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround (French)
• Spanish Subtitles
• English Captions

DVD Bonus Features

• Deleted Scenes
• The Making of Zack and Miri Documentary
• Comic-Con 2008 Footage
• Outtakes, Ad-libs and Bloopers
• "Seth vs. Justin: The Battle for Improv Supremecy