ZACK AND MIRI MAKE A PORNO - REVIEW
I mean, it's not like the subject matter was a big surprise, after all, the title is pretty darn clear!
That said the movie I got was very different from what I had imagined. For one thing: they don't actually make a porno. We're teased early on with the possibility of Jason Mewes and co. taking on "Star Whores" but that just crashes and burns and the film becomes about making a porno in a coffee shop but then it turns out the film's not about that all but in fact is all about the Seth Rogen/Elizabeth Banks romance. This would work had the film been substantial enough in various domains (laughs, heart, smarts) but this is a bare movie which... I guess fits the porno theme in a way.
The problem is apparent very quickly: there's too much dialog and about 10% of it moves the plot forward. The jokes, of which there are many, are completely hit-and-miss and what we're left with is the charm of our two leads and their quirky friends. Unfortunately, though Rogen gets some laughs, it's hard to warm up to this "couple". The whole premise rests on one guy suggesting to his supposed best friend that they start making porn, this never feels genuine or necessary. I mean, how poor could they possibly be that they would turn to this lifestyle overnight? Who would get excited about the prospect of screwing a friend who's been like a brother/sister to you for years in front of a camera and a bunch of strangers? No one in their right mind would agree to this, even if the idea does comes from a friend. Rogen comes off as selfish and perverted more than anything. The rest of the guys: Mewes, Jeff Anderson, Craig Robinson, all do well to keep us interested and entertained but in the end I found it near impossible to like the leads or care about them. There was a sweet, heartfelt story in there but the way it was told made it feel completely misguided. It leaves a bad taste in your mouth, a real shame when the cast is this fun.
It could and should have been so simple: our group of idiots, led by two friends, decide to make a porno called Star Whores but along the way something crazy happens and in the end, after a falling out, the friends fall in love and get together. Instead, we're left with a movie which wants to be gross-out and hilarious but also a cute and heartfelt rom-com: the former just about works, the latter not at all. Still, when there are good jokes, they're good and Seth Rogen is always watchable. Shame the movie doesn't deliver the right tone at all, it could have been a fun Hot Tub Time Machine-style farce.
As it stands, that's one to miss I think. Whatever it tried to do, There's Something About Mary managed to do years ago so you're not missing too much.
Disappointing.
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