Zack and Miri Make a Porno: A sweet, sappy comedy

Anyone can make a porno. All one needs is an old, high school buddy to serve as cameraman, a stripper, an odd man with the keen ability to have an erection on cue, and two lifelong friends-who are both secretly in love with each other-in desperate need of cash. At least that is what writer and director Kevin Smith would have us believe in Zack and Miri Make a Porno, a good-natured romantic comedy that is, however, filled with an abundance of nudity and vulgarities that would make a sailor blush. The film stars Seth Rogan, Elizabeth Banks, Jason Mewes, and Traci Lords. Zack and Miri Make a Porno is rated R and currently playing locally at Hollywood Theaters and Cinemark Mall del Norte.Set in Monroeville, Pennsylvania, the film is about two cash-strapped friends, Zack Brown (Rogan) and Miriam Linky (Banks), who suffer with a mountain of unpaid bills. When they find themselves at the brink of being evicted from their rundown apartment, Zack decides that the easiest and fastest way to make cash is if they make a porno. Zack even has a list of potential buyers: the people from their high school graduating class. In spite of the titillating title, the movie is rather typical of romantic comedies. Zack and Miri are platonic friends who share everything, from the sordid details of their sexual escapades to their most sincere of feelings, yet they secretly love each other. And as most romantic comedies go, after some ups and downs, they eventually reveal their feelings and all ends happily for them. What makes the movie more than a simple love story is that the entire premise of the movie revolves around the making of a porno, which is something much different from such atypical movies of the genre as 50 First Dates, The Wedding Planner, and the classic Sleepless in Seattle. Despite a rather strict adherence to the romantic comedy formula, it does appear that Smith wanted to create a film that parodies the rather mundane genre. After all, this movie is a love story that revolves around the making of a porno, a genre that is anything but about love. However, love does flourish. Juxtaposed with the hardcore scenes between Bubbles (Lords) an adorable stripper and Lester (Mewes) is the scene between Zack and Miri, which is described by Bubbles as “romantic and sweet.”The sex between Zack and Miri leads to the eventual climax-no pun intended-and another plot device constantly used in romantic comedies: Zack and Miri quarrel and in fits of anger say things each doesn’t mean. For example, Miri rejects Zack’s claim they made love; to her, they just “f—ed.” This rushed climax leads the movie to abandon its key premise: the making of the porno. Throughout the film, Zack and Miri desperately need cash, yet when Zack and Miri part ways, nothing is ever mentioned of the porno. Zack ends up in Los Angeles (how he had the money to move out there is never explained) while Miri still remains in the rundown apartment, only now she sleeps in his old room because she misses “his smell.”In spite of the rather loose ending, the film is quite enjoyable. However, it isn’t for everyone. If one is looking for a sentimentally sweet romantic comedy, he or she should look elsewhere. This film is ultimately for the slackers with hearts of gold and shows that even the most sweetly vulgar of people can get the beautiful girl.