|
Last Updated: Nov 14, 2008 - 12:49:26 PM |
** out of five
It’s been interesting to watch the evolution – or perhaps reverse evolution – of Kevin Smith as a filmmaker. Almost fifteen years ago, he revolutionized independent film with Clerks., his $50,000 debut that remains a staple of the raunchy comedy genre and his finest movie. And much of his work that followed in the late ’90s and early 2000s was excellent, like Dogma and the sadly-canceled “Clerks: The Animated Series.”
But in the past few years, his career has been sliding downhill fast. First there was Jersey Girl, then the absolutely abysmal Clerks II, and his latest directorial effort, Zack and Miri Make a Porno, is yet another disappointment.
The concept is a strong one. Lifelong friends and slackers Zack (Seth Rogen) and Miri (Elizabeth Banks) share a scummy Monroeville, Pa. apartment and haven’t paid their bills in so many months that their utilities are constantly being shut off. At their ten-year high school reunion, a gay porn star (Justin Long, who could easily have carried the show himself) gives Zack an idea for a quick and easy way to make money: homemade pornography.
Enlisting the help of Zack’s coworker Delaney (Craig Robinson) as producer, actors Lester (Jason Mewes), Stacey (real-life porn star Katie Morgan), Bubbles (Tracy Lords) and Barry (Ricky McCabe); and cameraman Deacon (Jeff Anderson), Zack and Miri prepare to get down and dirty for the camera. Meanwhile, however, the sexual tension between them that’s been simmering for years prepares to bubble over.
Smith has always been famed for his filthy screenplays, and Zack and Miri is no exception. If there’s a sentence in it that doesn’t contain profanity, I’m hard-pressed to remember it. But there’s an oddly tired feel to the dirtiness. In, say, Clerks. and Mallrats, the never-ending spew of profanity felt fresh and natural, but here, it just feels like Smith is going through the motions because his fans expect it of him.
And here, again, Smith bungles that uncomfortable balance between super-dirty comedy and over-earnest sweetness. When it comes to sentimentality, Kevin Smith’s writing has always been self-indulgent and sloppy, and here, as in Clerks II, he lets it run unchecked. I found myself squirming with second-hand embarrassment at these scenes more than I did at the actual shock value of Zack and Miri.
Still, the sloppiness of Smith’s more heartfelt scenes shouldn’t be too surprising, since the entire film is burdened down with plot holes, inconsistencies, and often feels rather underwritten. There’s not enough backstory – and absolutely no chemistry – to Zack and Miri, and their antics strain credibility far too often and too much for the “well, it’s just a movie” excuse to work. Instead, the majority of events feel poorly planned and thought out, as though the finished product is a filmed version of the script’s first draft.
This may be due to the fact that Smith had a long battle against the MPAA to get Zack and Miri down to an R rating, rather than an NC-17. Scenes that might have helped the film hang together better could be lying on the cutting room floor, perhaps to be seen on DVD. But no matter what the reason, one fact remains: the theatrical release of Zack and Miri Make a Porno remains another step in the downward spiral of the Kevin Smith oeuvre.
Zack and Miri Make a Porno runs 101 minutes and is rated R on appeal for strong crude sexual content including dialogue, graphic nudity, and pervasive language. Viewed at Southpark 16.
ereel@villagepublishing.com | 751-0421
© Copyright by Village Publishing
Top of Page Comment
on This Article
The
Village News office is located at 4607 West Hundred Road Chester
Mailing address is PO Box 2397 Chester, VA 23831
Phone: 751-0421 Fax: 751-9155
Office hours are 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday - Friday call ahead for
other hours.
Statement
of Journalistic Ethics
|
