Kevin Smith must believe in truth in advertising. Well, that or he didn't trust marketing to accurately present his latest movie to the public. Seriously, why else would you call your movie Zack and Miri Make a Porno? I mean, he had to realize this would cause issues come time to advertise the release. What makes it even more amusing is that the original poster did not get MPAA approval, causing them to use a back-up plan they had only joked about: use stick figures. I guess we should be thankful as it resulted in one dang funny poster.
The story is pretty simple. Zack (Seth Rogen) and Miri (Elizabeth Banks) have been friends since they were kids. After graduating high school the two moved in together (just as friends). It is now ten years since they graduated and neither one has gotten very far in the world; they're living in a small apartment where the bills are piling up. Neither makes enough money to keep going; the water and electric services are turned off, leaving them to burn their bills for heat.
So, to take care of their money problems they decide to make a porno. Seems like an easy enough way to score some quick coin, right? That is what Zack and Miri think as they rope in their friend Delaney (Craig Robinson) to bankroll the project, find an old classmate, Deacon (Jeff Anderson), who can work a camera, and commence filling out their cast, which includes former porn star Traci Lords, current porn star Katie Morgan, and Kevin Smith pal Jason Mewes.
Again, the plot sounds pretty simple, no? In a way it is. However, it also goes to show just how difficult it is to put together any film project, porn or otherwise. They run into difficulties regarding getting a cast, a location, a script, costumes, funding, and pretty much anything else you can think of. As interesting as the technical issues are, it is not what the film is about, nor is it what makes the movie as successful as it is.
It is not the plot that makes the film work so much as the dialogue that Kevin Smith has given his characters. The screenplay is peppered with all manner of vulgarities—you can probably count on one hand the number of lines that do not include a vulgarity of some sort. To some it may seem to be just a touch gratuitous, but I do not. I am reminded of a line from A Christmas Story: the older Ralphie is speaking of his father when he says, "He worked in profanity the way other artists might work in oils or clay. It was his true medium; a master."
Smith paints the screen in vulgarities in such a way that he may still believe they are shocking. Of course, they aren't. Now, I do not actually believe he still thinks they are shocking, but he brings them together in such a way and at such a rapid fire pace as to elevate them beyond mere words, almost to the level of poetry. There are few writers and/or directors that can paint the screen in profanity and raise it above the shock level to a more artistic level. He takes the F-bombs (and its multitude variations) and injects them liberally into a story that has a high emotional quotient. Yes, at the core of Zack and Miri Make a Porno is a big heart.
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