Zack and Miri Make a Porno (R, 2008)

Zack and Miri Make a Porno is a prime example of what happens when a filmmaker creates a movie based solely on a premise without thinking about plot or plausibility or personality. As Zack and Miri strive and struggle to film their money-making porno, they tackle their feelings for each other; at the same time, we're not given much reason to care about them. Kevin Smith's films (Clerks, Chasing Amy, and more) have always wrapped personal connection in potty talk and pop-culture references, but the mix feels off in Zack and Miri Make a Porno. It's as if he felt that throwing around more graphic sex and explicit language would make up for a paper-thin plot. (If Zack and Miri really need money, why not just get better jobs, or a loan? If Zack and Miri are directing and creating the film with other actors, why do they have to have sex at all?)

There are a few high points in the movie -- or at least points higher than the sex scenes and scatological humor. Rogen is still a likeable screen presence, and he manages to convey how Zack's filmmaking adventure brings out a sense of ambition and personal effort that his normal life working as a coffee barista lacked. Banks doesn't get as interesting a character arc -- we're never even told what Miri does for a living -- but her natural charm still shines through. But moments aren't movies, and Zack and Miri Make a Porno seems awfully self-satisfied; Smith has never filmed a script he didn't write, and -- like many writer-directors -- it's possible he may not be the best judge of his own work. Zack and Miri may be selling itself as a sexy, crazy, controversial comedy, but there's no steak to go along with the sizzle.