Zack and Miri Make a Porno

Editor's Note: This review was originally written for Malone University's student newspaper. Steve didn't bother to write a non-Malone centric version for criticinema.

STEVE - As I was sitting in the theater, watching Zack and Miri make a (word I can’t repeat at Malone) I quickly began to wonder, “How I will I review a movie like this for Malone?” With words like “Bleep” and “Bleep” and other “Bleeps” I questioned if such a “Bleeping” review could be written without being “Bleeped.”

I should begin this review with the world’s largest disclaimer. Zack and Miri make a (word I can’t repeat at Malone) does indeed involve Zack and Miri making a (word I can’t repeat at Malone), so viewer be warned. This movie stretches the bounds of the MPAA R rating, leaving little left unseen, including the stretch marks.

Of course it’s hard to imagine anything less from writer director Kevin Smith (Clerks, Dogma, Clerks 2). His films have always pushed the limits of sex on screen in terms of its lewdness and sheer shrewdness. Where Judd Apatow mixes smut with charm, Smith mixes sex with…well… anything and everything. However, Smith’s potty-mouth freshman humor that he heavily incorporates into each of his films does aid in creating some of the most heart warming moments on screen.

The plot is simple, and could easily be found in any fare of romance. Zack (Seth Rogen) and Miri (Elizabeth Banks) are best friends. They went to high school together, they live together, hang out together, do every thing together… except have sex together. So when their water and electricity gets shut off, and they have no money left to pay the bills, they do what no dignified person would do. They make a… well you know. And when it comes time to do the dirty deed, instead of having sex, they do what any couple who have been together that long do, they make love.

Like I said, the story is as conventional and formulaic as they come, but Smith puts on his own unique spin that makes it become something special. Smith is a poet of vulgarity. His dialogue is as masterful as it is shocking. And the performances of his dialogue are exceptional. It should be pointed out that Craig Robison (Darryl from The Office) is especially hilarious.

All said and done, I have never seen as shocking nor raunchy a movie as Zack and Miri Make a (word I can not… aw screw it) Porno. It’s rude and crude and social unacceptable. But beneath the offensive coarseness and bad manners lies a witty story about two people being in love.