Zack and Miri Make a Porno
If you feel like you're watching a Judd Apatow comedy while viewing Zack and Miri Make a Porno, that's exactly what Kevin Smith would like you to think. After all, just about everything from Apatow Productions has been enormously successful, and Smith knows a good thing when he sees it. Make no mistake, however: while the formula and cast of players may be Apatowian (Apatowish?), the tone and content are all Smith.
It may not seem like Apatow has limits, but compared to Smith, he's clean as a whistle. There are levels of vulgarity uniquely Smith in Zack and Miri, almost all in service of the story, of course; but I'm getting ahead of myself.
Zack and Miri, roommates and lifelong platonic friends, are in serious trouble. It's another cold, miserable Pittsburgh winter, the bills are due, and both of them are flat broke. After meeting a former classmate at their high school reunion who is now doing gay porn, the two come home to find the power and water shut off, and all bets are off. With a friend's funding, they recruit a cast and crew and set out to make Star Whores, a parody you can figure out on your own, and hope the proceeds get them back on their feet.
What they don't expect is the flood of emotions that pour in when sex is thrown into a platonic relationship built on trust and mutual respect. Despite the rather vulgar road Smith takes, insightful romantic comedy is actually a strong suit of his. A veritable pornucopia of mishaps and gross-out moments naturally plague the production, while Zack and Miri try and fail to sort out the confusing feelings that have overcome them and threaten to make a moot point of their crisis as roommates.
Within all the porn-related comedy, Smith sprinkles just the right amount of humanity to create a genuinely felt dilemma for these lovable losers. We laugh at their follies and wish the best for their relationship. Sure, they forget to finish the porn movie and leave a handful of other subplots unresolved, but it's the story of Zack and Miri which matters most, and Smith never looses sight of the real money shot.