Zack and Miri Make a Porno

While there’s little doubt that Kevin Smith’s frustrating penchant for sentimentality is in full-force here (particularly in the film’s almost laugh-free third act), Zack and Miri Make a Porno does possess more than enough genuinely hilarious one-liners and sight gags to warrant a hearty recommendation for fans of the filmmaker. The storyline follows longtime friends Zack (Seth Rogen) and Miri (Elizabeth Banks) as they decide to collaborate on a porn film after falling into dire financial straits, with the bulk of the movie revolving around their efforts to motivate their ragtag crew (which includes Jason Mewes’ Lester, Craig Robinson’s Delaney, and Traci Lords’ aptly named Bubbles). It’s an admittedly irresistible premise that’s generally used to positive effect by Smith, as the writer/director does a nice job of setting up not only the two central characters but also the myriad of periphery figures (ie Rogen and Banks’ expectedly solid work is certainly matched by the superb supporting cast, though it’s Justin Long’s scene-stealing cameo appearance as a gay porn star that inevitably stands as the film’s highlight). It’s only with the increasingly prominent instances of melodrama that one’s interest starts to wane, as Smith has infused such scenes with an eye-rollingly predictable sensibility that almost derails the entire production. And while Smith does tend to punctuate such sequences with hilarious bits of nonsense (eg one particularly egregious argument is followed by a brilliantly conceived gross-out gag), Zack and Miri Make a Porno ultimately does feel as though it would’ve fared a whole lot better had the sentimental shenanigans been kept to a minimum.

**1/2 out of ****