Certainly this movie has lowered the bar on what is acceptable in an R-rated film when it comes to sex, dialogue, and gross out humor. It's amazing how far standards for decency can fall in a person's lifetime. When I was born, 1986, the most crass mainstream movie was probably National Lampoon's Animal House. You see that today and it looks incredibly tame. When movie history recognizes Kevin Smith, the writer/director of this film, it will surely be not about his talent as a director (mediocre at best), maybe as a writer (he's has had as many flops as well done stories), but as a main player in the critically acclaimed debasement of modern entertainment. In other words, he proved that good films could accompany complete and utter raunch. How about a history lesson:
On the same year, 1994, that Tarantino's bleep prone masterpiece 'Pulp Fiction' came out, Kevin Smith made 'Clerks.' Both represented a divergence from the past. They were made dirt cheap. Clerks was made for $27,000. The black and white is not a style choice. Smith couldn't afford color. And they reveled in extreme verbal profanity. Defending the obscenity Smith and Tarantino merely said 'this is how real people talk.' People seemed to agree, both films have been widely seen. The MPAA didn't like it though and actually initially gave 'Clerks' a NC-17 rating based solely on dialogue. 'Clerks' is the only film in the history of films to get such a rating in a movie that had no sex or violence. (What a great anecdote for cocktail parties, your welcome). The MPAA relented and what has followed for the past decade and a half should definitely make them pause and wonder if they made the right decision. In 1998 Cameron Diaz combed her hair with Ben Stiller's jizz in the Farrelly brother's "There's Something about Mary." In 1999, Jason Biggs screwed a pastry in "American Pie." Then brand Apatow surfaced and all hell broke loose. Now what was an automatic NC-17 rating, full frontal male nudity, has suddenly become okay, the best example being Jason Segal's member in "Forgetting Sarah Marshall." The camera is even following women into the bathroom in Oscar contenders like Juno. It makes one wonder exactly how far the envelope can be pushed, and if it should be pushed that far. (I complained about the aggressive dialogue in "Knocked Up") The answer I think: Just as long as the comedy is funny, the drama is dramatic, and it's presence isn't incredibly distracting.
As I said "Zach and Miri make a Porno," lowers the bar and I'm not even talking about the sex (Which I'm pretty sure is not simulated). I'm talking about a porn star's constipation. (No, I won't tell you what exactly happens. I run a clean blog for the most part.) Suffice to say I hope I never see a film lower the bar from this one. I shudder to think how anyone will try to do it. Now I've seen it all.
But other than that one scene, I liked "Zach and Miri Make a Porno." It was a great idea to team up Seth Rogan's delivery with Kevin Smith's writing. Rogan plays the exact same character you've seen him play in all his movies. It's a good character and consistently funny but I wonder how far he can stretch that guy before he starts making some really bad films. (See Adam Sandler) There's a strong supporting cast here including Smith stalwarts like Jason Mewes and Jeff Anderson. There are two real porn stars, Katie Morgan and Traci Lords. (Katie Morgan is not a terrible actress by the way.) Justin Long provides a small bit as a gay porn actor that in any other hands would simply be a cameo. Kevin Smith makes a funny cameo to as a drunk Steelers fan who walks into the coffee shop and doesn't seem to notice people are making a porno. The best though is Craig Robinson, best known for 'The Office.' My favorite thing about Craig is the way he delivers his lines in sighs, mumbles, and asides. As far as black comedians go I've never seen anything quite like it. Insert a Eddie Murphy, Chris Rock, Martin Lawrence, or Robert Downey Jr. into this role and it simply wouldn't work as well. Robinson is a true original. This is his first substantial role in a movie. He should get more. The only person who seemed out of place is Elizabeth Banks. She's just too damn pretty and because of that the self-deprecating humor doesn't seem to ring true. I think her part could have been filled with someone who looked more equitable with Seth Rogan. Or maybe that's just Jiminy Cricket telling me I shouldn't like this movie.
Do you know what the weird thing is. I felt more uncomfortable when real drama surfaced in the story. The movie is actually a love story between two people who have known each other all their lives but have never consummated the relationship. When Jason Mewes interrupted with really disgusting things to say, I felt safer. Maybe that says something about me, I don't know. The attempt to establish romance into a movie about making a porno to pay the bills just didn't come off entirely right. Is it realistic? The scary thing is that it just became a heck of a lot more so since the economy cratered. Funny right.
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