Zack and Miri make a Porno (film) : I wasn't expecting much and that's exactly what I got

This film certainly isn't new and I would imagine that a great many people skipped it based on the poor performance it had in cinemas (supposedly - there is some controversy around this.) After the advertising budget is factored in it lost several million bucks.

I only decided to watch this because I was drunk at the time and was looking for something easy-to-follow and funny. I also have never really understood the allure of director Kevin Smith. He directed Clerks and Mallrats prior to this and both those films garner what I consider to be undeserved praise and cult status. I just think they are kind of dumb. He has other, later work that I also consider to be just "meh" such as Dogma and Jersey Girl.

I guess i was hoping that since I like Seth Rogan and think that Elizabeth Banks is "oh so pretty" that the combination would work out. I don't really feel like it did.

It shouldn't be too difficult to tell what the plot is here since it is in the title of the movie... it's just a question of how and why they arrive at doing so. Zack and Miri have been friends forever and are currently roommates facing eviction. After a less-than-flattering video of them showing some skin accidentally goes viral they determine they could possibly make some money by making a full length film while they are "famous"... well, we needed the plot to come from somewhere.

They come up with completely ridiculous scripts that are a bit cliche such as delivery-men getting lucky and what not and i have to admit that I found some of this funny. However, those were only "flash-in-the-pan" moments as a great deal of this film relies on fast dialogue and a lot of swearing, which is typical of Kevin Smith films.

They eventually decide to go with a parody theme for their film and it comes as no surprise that said theme ends up being Star Whores because Kevin Smith's earlier work always features some level of Star Wars involvement.

I did enjoy Craig Robinson's role in the film but to be honest, even he wasn't anything other than what he always is in a film (which is great, don't get me wrong, i like him) and I feel that Craig's best involvement in any film is probably a minor role... it doesn't give us a chance to get sick of him.

There are a number of actual porn stars in the movie, including the infamous Traci Lords (she's famous for falsifying her age to illegally enter the actual porn industry years before she was 18 and upon becoming very popular it was a pretty serious blemish that the most promoted porn star was 16 years old) Anyway, Traci was actually a much better actress than I expected.

Why did this movie do so poorly? I think it might have something to do with the fact that the word "porno" is in the title. Even if it is obviously not that there is something embarrassing about telling people you are going to the cinema to see a porno. This also would end up having negative consequences in Asian countries who refused to allow the film in cinemas based solely on the perception of what such a film would contain. Some countries insisted "make a porno" be dropped from the title and demanded a far more edited final cut. Others banned it outright.

There is some nudity in the movie, but not as much as you would think and there certainly isn't any X-rated material. Unfortunately it also doesn't have many instances that are going to result in making you laugh either.

Kevin Smith had a falling out with Hollywood after this film failed to produce results but there are rumblings that this situation had more to do with Harvey Weinstein being a dick rather than the world believing Smith was "washed up."

Overall I would say that this movie isn't terrible, but it also isn't very good. I feel when a film resorts to so much swearing that if you "bleeped" out all the curse words that the film would sound like Morse code, they might be overdoing it just a teensy bit.

If you are looking for a dumb, easy to swallow (haha) comedy featuring Rogan, I would look for Pineapple Express , Superbad, or maybe even something a bit more intelligent like Knocked Up. I don't think that Zack and Miri should be avoided, I just don't think there is any particular reason to seek it out.