Comedy Pick: Zack and Miri Make A Porno
Kevin Smith’s brand of juvenile slapstick made its debut in his first feature, Clerks. Faster-than-Cary Grant dialogue delivery, necrophilia gags and a generous paw of smut, it didn’t appeal to all palates. Fools. Making a mark for himself as a pioneer of crude comedy mixed effortlessly with an introspective slant, his tastes matured through Mallrats, Chasing Amy, and even Jay And Silent Bob Strike Back – but the insular New Jersey depicted in his Viewaskewniverse series was replaced in favor of Pittsburgh for Zack And Miri Make A Porno.
That doesn’t mean his foul-mouthed gags and big, brash, loveable heart are gone. If anything, this last comedic offering upped the ante – the entire premise revolves around a porno, after all.
The story picks up on the lives of two twenty-somethings, Zack and Miri, ten years after graduating high school. Their once bright futures now a mish-mash of overdue bills, minimum-wage jobs and general disappointment with their lot in life. At their high school reunion, the pair feel inspired by their former classmates to take charge of their lives!
Of course, shooting a porno to make the rent is harder than it seems. Roping in a veritable cast of classic Smith supporting characters, the gang amble their way through a host of location issues while shooting their first draft; Star Wars parody – Star Whores. Based around Smith’s personal experience filming Clerks overnight at the convenience store he worked at, the porno gang shoot the flick after closing at the coffee shop Zack begrudgingly bumbles into everyday, changing the name to Swallow My Cockaccino. Brilliant.
What sets this romantic comedy apart from the usual PG dreck, is obviously, the inclusion of a frequent montage of rumpy pumpy, but a cast of characters who’re all funny in their own particular way. A glance at the title and you might think that Zack and Miri are dating – and expect your usual arguments, misunderstandings…. yawn. All of those rom-com go-tos thankfully, and unsurprisingly, stay retired in the closet. The titular pair begin as friends who contemplate the whole “Wait – what if you’re the love of my life?” thang without drawn-out sanctimony. It’s knob gags all the way.
That isn’t to say the pair don’t have experiences that are anything less than hilarious – come on, this is Kevin Smith we’re talking about! The man who had me blubbing, and still does, on my first viewing of Chasing Amy back in 1997 (Ben Affleck’s speech in the car, to be specific). There’s a ton of heart, a message that ain’t smothered in sugary schmaltz that normally makes me bow out of movies twenty minutes in, and the laughs come thick and fast. Err…. What? It’s about a porno.
