For years now, I have been a huge fan of writer/director Kevin Smith. Most people will not recognize his real name, but they do know him as Silent Bob from the Jay and Silent Bob movie duo. A lot of people will also recognize his behind the camera and writing work in such films as: Clerks, Dogma, and Chasing Amy. His movies are always so well directed, but his writing is what has made me a fan. His dialogue is so witty and quick and funny. Then, he also knows just when it's funny to slow things down. He is truly one of the most prolific writers in the business today. And he has proven his craftsmanship once again with Zack and Miri Make a Porno, which opens tomorrow in theaters.
The title characters are played by Seth Rogen and Elizabeth Banks as Zack and Miri, two life-long friends who have been living as roommates since they graduated high school. In the middle of winter, naturally, their power and water is turned off because they haven't been paying their bills. This doesn't come as much of a surprise seeing as how Zack works at a coffee shop and Miri...well, I don't think we ever see what Miri does for a living. They are in dire straits and decide that the best and quickest way to get the money they need for their bills is to make a porno (I love it when movie titles are simple and straight-forward). They enlist the help of their friends to help finance and shoot the film. Naturally, Zack and Miri will be two of the stars of the movie and they are sure that their scene together will not make things awkward between them. Right.
The film succeeds on the performances of Seth Rogen and Elizabeth Banks. They come across as very natural people that any of us could have gone to high school with. The dialogue and jokes feel unforced, as if a camera just happened to be following these two friends around and captured their everyday interactions. A lot of comedies today try to force feed you gags and punch lines. Not Kevin Smith and his actors. They allow the jokes to develop to the point that you really believe a particular character would make that joke because that's who they are, not because it's in the script.
Rogen and Banks also sell their love story extremely well (yes, this movie is about love). When their characters have to "perform" for the first time in their movie, you can feel their hesitation and their anxiety. You can also sense the jealousy in their eyes when they know the other will have to have a sex scene with someone else. By the time the scene has ended, they have not had sex. They have made love, and, in all honesty, it is one of the most touching and moving love scenes that I have ever scene in a movie. As one of the porno's actresses says: "It was pretty!"
Now, one of the biggest concerns audiences will have about this movie is its vulgarity. The MPAA originally gave the movie an NC-17 rating, which would not allow anyone under the age of 17 to see the movie whatsoever. On an appeal from the cast and director, however, the MPAA revised their original rating to an R. In my opinion, the MPAA could not have been blamed for leaving the NC-17 rating on the film. I do applaud their decision to revise the rating, though. Kevin Smith's work is incredibly intelligent and the vulgarity is not there just to make the movie vulgar. There's a method to Kevin Smith's madness. Although, there were a couple times when I found myself saying "Gross!" out loud.
I have recently read that there are theaters in Utah that are refusing to show Zack and Miri Make a Porno at their theaters because it is too vulgar and graphic. Shame on them. First, the MPAA would not give a movie a rating below what it deserves; in fact, a lot of times they give movies ratings that are too high for the material (like an R when a PG-13 would have sufficed.) Second, just by having a movie playing at your theater complex does not make you responsible for who goes to see it. That kind of responsibility lies on individuals and parents. There is enough information out there about this movie for everyone to make an informed decision about seeing it. It is also worth noting that the owner of these theaters also refused to show Brokeback Mountain when it was released, but, now, has no problem booking the extremely violent Saw V.
After tossing it around in my head for a few days, I've decided to give Zack and Miri Make a Porno three and a half stars out of four. Go see this movie. It will make you laugh and it might make you queasy a time or two, but trust me when I say that it's worth it. And I doubt you'll look at Starbucks the same way ever again.
No comments:
Post a Comment