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Zack and Miri Make a Porno (Review)

Zack and Miri Make a Porno (Review)

Rogen continues to Knock Up Hollywood
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Feb 15, 2009
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Zack and Miri Make a Porno (Review), reviewed by Anders Wotzke on 2009-02-15T20:21:42+00:00 rating 3.0 out of5

Don’t try and deny it; you’re only considering seeing this film because it has the word ‘porno’ in the title. Either that or you’re hoping to see Elizabeth Banks in the nuddy, even if it means having to look between Seth Rogen’s crown jewels to do so. If I was right about the last reason, unfortunately for you both Banks and Rogen don’t bare it all in this comedy about two friends who attempt to make a porn flick in a desperate bid for cash. But don’t despair too much; Zack and Miri Make a Porno – a title which takes after Snakes On A Plane in being a self-proclaimed plot summary – features its fair share of nudity, dirty sex jokes and a 70′s porno soundtrack that will have you saying  “bow-chicka-wow-wow” at anything remotely sexual for the next week.

Yet even with a premise loaded with comic potential, the film still manages to go limp when it comes time to deliver the laughs. Many of the running jokes lose their steam prematurely, but are still ran dry for the entire duration of the film. Zack’s (Rogen) quest to find a dirty title for their porno becomes tedious, even if there are a few hilarious ones such as ‘Star Whores’. No prizes for guessing what the lightsabers are in this adult remake.

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Maybe I’m just bitter that the Neanderthal looking Seth Rogen continues to get with beautiful women on screen; first he Knocked Up Katherine Heigl and now he’s Elizabeth Banks’ milk delivery guy. To his credit, Rogen is on top this time around and is perhaps the funniest he’s been in a while, which isn’t saying too much considering his co-stars are often the primary source of comedy (such as James Franco in Pineapple Express). That being said, Justin Long’s brief but hilarious role as a gay porn star still manages to steal the show and Craig Robinson is well cast as the porno’s producer, who ‘selflessly’ sacrifices time away from his wife to oversee the auditions.

Hopefully you’ve noticed that this review is riddled with sexual innuendo. If you’ve enjoyed this, then you’ll also probably enjoy what this film has to offer. If you didn’t find it at all amusing, then the formulaic romantic subplot tacked onto Zack and Miri is unlikely to be enough to keep you entertained.

Zack and Miri Makes a Porno opens Australia wide February 19th.

See here for Katina Vangopoulos’ review on Zack and Miri Make a Porno.

Follow the author Anders Wotzke on Twitter.

  • http://www.themoviebanter.com Craig

    Justin Long did have a solid but brief cameo. It was a good comedy, what you would expect out of the Rogan and Banks comedies of late. A lot of funny rants, sex jokes and you expect the corny romance endings to come full around. If you don't mind that, this movie is for you and you will definitely enjoy it. I thought it was great, looking forward to seeing it again.

  • http://www.themoviebanter.com Craig

    Justin Long did have a solid but brief cameo. It was a good comedy, what you would expect out of the Rogan and Banks comedies of late. A lot of funny rants, sex jokes and you expect the corny romance endings to come full around. If you don't mind that, this movie is for you and you will definitely enjoy it. I thought it was great, looking forward to seeing it again.

  • http://intensedebate.com/people/Katina Katina

    Lol, I just wrote out a review for this and then I see you've beaten me to it! Were you at the marion session last night then?

    I seem to have liked it a bit more than you did… I found it to be a more accessible film character-wise from Smith and as a result a more accessible film to a wider audience (than say, Clerks – although it's a shame more people haven't seen that, I enjoyed that a lot). I do agree, Long's cameo was solid (I thought Brandon Routh's was too, good to see him in something post-Superman) but the supporting cast all had something to give.

    I think Smith as a director knows how to use camera movement and music really well, and with Rogen and Banks (who's in everything right now) there was little chance of this totally tanking. A bit more schmaltzy than I expected, but in a really weird way I thought it fit. And the laughs weren't that thin, it's more the awkward cringing stuff that makes it funny. I'll say 4 stars because Smith pulls off the vulgarity as a director probably better than anyone else. And Rogen showed difference to his other roles.

  • http://intensedebate.com/people/Katina Katina

    Lol, I just wrote out a review for this and then I see you've beaten me to it! Were you at the marion session last night then?

    I seem to have liked it a bit more than you did… I found it to be a more accessible film character-wise from Smith and as a result a more accessible film to a wider audience (than say, Clerks – although it's a shame more people haven't seen that, I enjoyed that a lot). I do agree, Long's cameo was solid (I thought Brandon Routh's was too, good to see him in something post-Superman) but the supporting cast all had something to give.

    I think Smith as a director knows how to use camera movement and music really well, and with Rogen and Banks (who's in everything right now) there was little chance of this totally tanking. A bit more schmaltzy than I expected, but in a really weird way I thought it fit. And the laughs weren't that thin, it's more the awkward cringing stuff that makes it funny. I'll say 4 stars because Smith pulls off the vulgarity as a director probably better than anyone else. And Rogen showed difference to his other roles.

  • http://intensedebate.com/people/Anders Anders Wotzke

    I just felt that the potential for laughs with such a daring premise was never quite there, or consistent enough, especially when the romantic sub-plot came in…although Smith did do an admirable job, a film like this could have gone so incredibly south and been totally tasteless. For that, he deserves credit.

    Oh and Katina, feel free to post up your review!!! The more diverse the opinions, the better.

  • http://intensedebate.com/people/Anders Anders Wotzke

    I just felt that the potential for laughs with such a daring premise was never quite there, or consistent enough, especially when the romantic sub-plot came in…although Smith did do an admirable job, a film like this could have gone so incredibly south and been totally tasteless. For that, he deserves credit.

    Oh and Katina, feel free to post up your review!!! The more diverse the opinions, the better.

  • http://intensedebate.com/people/Katina Katina

    If you say so! Will do tomorrow before work, have a slow connection right now. Plus I need sleep :)

  • http://intensedebate.com/people/Katina Katina

    If you say so! Will do tomorrow before work, have a slow connection right now. Plus I need sleep :)

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  • record

    lol:) nice post…