From the vulgar mind that is Kevin Smith, we are blessed with the film Zack and Miri (Make a Porno). I put the latter part of the title in parentheses because it seems as though "porno" is still too risque for the mass public viewing market. "Sex Drive", however, works just fine. Oh hypocrisy in the media, how I love thee. But as much as I have a beef with the censorship laws in this country, it has no place in this review. Or does it? We'll see as I spin this thing off the cuff.
First off, I have to state that I love me some Seth Rogen, so this review may come off a little bias. In my eyes, he can do no wrong - but I will try and focus on the movie. Overall, compared to recent comedies (I'm looking at you, Apatow), this film could be a short. It was just the right length with just enough time spent on the "love epiphany" toward the end that no one ever really cares about. When people go to see a comedy, they want to see comedy - even in the lovey-dovey scenes. I find this delicate balance hard to come by in recent romantic-comedy flicks.
To my surprise, there wasn't as much nudity as I was led to believe by some of the earlier reviews. Some quick full-frontal shots, male and female, and some boobs, but not nearly as many as I expected. I've seen more balls in the past year than the Detroit Tigers. Interestingly enough, full-frontal is becoming so mainstream in most comedies nowadays, I can't believe the MPAA was trying to tag this with an NC-17 rating. I hadn't heard nearly as much outrage over Forgetting Sarah Marshall or Clerks 2. Most of the raunch in Zack and Miri comes from implications and language. Classic Smith. It took me back to the days of Clerks.
As for the acting, like I said, I think Seth Rogen is brilliant and Elizabeth Banks has had enough practice over the past year (W., Zack and Miri, Meet Dave, and Role Models in the past 6 months alone) to have established her self as the actress that no one can typecast. Supporting actors come from past Smith favorites in Jason Mewes and Jeff Anderson, a couple real-life porn actresses, and the sometimes scene-stealer Craig Robinson (40 Year-Old Virgin, The Office).
I have to say that I thoroughly enjoyed this movie, as there were some absolutely HYSTERICAL scenes where I almost died laughing. I don't know why it was so refreshing to see Smith create such a touching moment in Zack and Miri's earth-shattering sex scene, but it was. I would absolutely recommend it, especially to your in-laws. Cheers!