Zack and Miri Make A Porno: DVD Review

Zack and Miri Make A Porno: DVD Review

Zack and Miri Make A Porno

Starring: Seth Rogen, Elizabeth Banks, Jason Mewes, Traci Lords
Rating: M
Roadshow Entertainment
Cult director Kevin Smith makes a smutty return to the screen with Zack and Miri Make A Porno, a tender love story with some porn thrown in for good measure.
Seth Rogen and Elizabeth Banks are Zack and Miriam, a pair of roommates who've been friends for years but who are struggling to make ends meet and find themselves upto their necks in debt.
On the eve of their high school reunion, the pair find their water cut off - and after a conversation with some former classmates, they hit on the idea of making adult films to get some quick and easy cash.
Unsurprisingly though they start to realize they have feelings for each other and a spot of the green eyed monster begins to rear its ugly head during the filming of some of their spoof movies.
Smith's put together a good cast (although Rogen is playing yet another variant of those loser roles he excels so much at) but it just doesn't work as well as it could have done.

Granted, Craig Robinson (warehouse boss Darrell from the US version of The Office) is perhaps one of the best things in the whole film - he steals every scene he's in.

And there are some pretty funny laugh out loud moments scattered throughout - though honestly, that's because of a lot of fairly gross humour.

Smith carries on his Star Wars obsession - Zack and Miri's first attempt is Star Whores, complete with the characters Darth Vibrator, Hung solo et al - although rumour has it that version already exists.

The problem with ZAMMAP is that it veers so violently into stereotypical rom-com schmaltz at the end that you actually end up feeling cheated out of the film's original premise. It's a shame because the whole relationship between Zack and Miri is sweet and well played with a tenderness about it.

Elizabeth Banks starts off being a likeable character but ends up being annoying as she falls into moping for Zack mode - Rogen's Zack is, as mentioned earlier, a variant on all the roles he plays - although he does have some comic moments (sadly a lot of that is due mainly to crudity), they are few and far between.

There are funny one liners (which won't work by my quoting them out of context) and various pop culture moments - the team discuss what's actually going on on TV2's Lost while Zack and Miri have sex - but overall, Zack and Miri Make A Porno is lacking the money shot.
Extras include the now obligatory Deleted scenes.
Disappointing from someone as great as director Kevin Smith.
Rating: 5/10