A charming comedic love story about a porno
By Saurabh Muzumdar
Seth Rogen is quickly becoming what Will Ferrell was a few years ago -- funny, self-deprecating and unafraid to take his shirt off.
Like Ferrell, Rogen has been in a slew of comedies and his characters are all similar.
But just when you start to feel like you have seen his act before, he reinvents himself.
In "Zack and Miri Make a Porno," which was released last week, Rogen is, well, making a porno. You're probably thinking this is a skin flick, but it's actually a love story.
It's an unconventional, verbally -- and at times visually -- filthy take on Cupid's prowess.
Meet Zack and Miri, a couple of long-time buddies who live together in order to ease their financial burdens.
They have always had feelings for each other, but they are covered up by the façade of a platonic relationship.
Money problems have led to dire circumstances for the pair, and soon they find themselves making a porno film in order to pay the bills.
Still, every problem they face, they face together.
When Zack and Miri hatch their plan, Zack's coworker Delaney, played by Craig Robinson from "The Office," becomes their financier and producer.
This makes it sound like an R-rated Disney movie and, in many ways, it is.
Rogen and his affable buddies take the viewer on a wild and sometimes sexually explicit journey through life.
Zack learns to believe in himself and Miri learns to let go of herself -- please tell me you have heard this before.
The irony of it all is that they discover their feelings for each other in front of the camera. Who says porn isn't an active representation of love?
While the plot might seem simple, it is the most effective part of the movie. It makes the humor tangible and the characters larger than life.
You're not overexerting yourself by deciphering what concoction of theories the director is coming up with, because there are none.
Rogen, once again, delivers a stellar performance. He is a content loser who you would both love and hate to be best friends with.
His verbal battles with Delaney are filled with racial epithets and riffs involving body parts and bodily fluids, and that's putting it mildly. This is the tone of humor which the whole movies encapsulates.
While some movies cross the line of appropriate humor, this one prefers to closely ride the line, given the fact that Zack and Miri are making a porno.
The movie tries to represent pornography as a more believable manifestation of fantasy. At the same time, it tries to envelop a traditional love story in the realms of a porn flick.
Miri is cute but lacks depth as she plays second fiddle to the more energetic and charismatic Zack.
Director Kevin Smith, whose past movies include "Chasing Amy" and the "Clerks" movies is back to doing what he does best: documenting failure.
The supporting cast consists of Justin Long -- the Mac guy -- Brandon Routh from "Superman Returns," a former porn star and a couple of Kevin Smith regulars, making an ensemble that execute the sidesplitting dialogue to perfection.
The lewd title for the movie is misleading. The romance is palpable and almost sweet.
It's easy to forget that Zack and Miri are in the middle of producing a porn movie. While morality might have taken a backseat, humor gladly steps in and steals the show.
Grade: A-
Contact Saurabh Muzumdar at smuzumdar@scu.edu.