This is topic Zack and Miri Make a Porno (2008) in forum Film Handlers' Movie Reviews at Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE.


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Posted by Kurt Zupin (Member # 2751) on 10-31-2008, 08:33 AM:
 
I've always been a fan of Kevin Smith, while he has done some films that just don't always work on all levels. I really have to say that this one does, this is probably one of his best films since "Dogma" People thinking that this movie is nothing more then a buch of T and A are going to be sadly disappointed. There is a truly good love story buried under the laughs, and LAUGHS there are. I watched this with a packed house at an advanced screening we held at our theatre. I havn't watched a comedy in a while where the laughter was so loud that you couldn't hear the movie. "Zack and Miri" is going to be a hit with the 18-28 range which is what they are shooting for.

5 out of 5 on the comedy scale and 4 out of 5 on the movie scale go check it out folks!
 

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Posted by Mike Schindler (Member # 1309) on 10-31-2008, 12:47 PM:
 
In my mind, Kevin Smith has never made a bad movie. In fact, I would say that all of his movies are worthy of four stars. ZACK AND MIRI MAKE A PORNO continues that trend.

Smith has always been known for his brilliant dialogue, and this movie features his best yet. It's sharp as a tack. This is due in no small part to the actors, who give the movie a very loose, believable quality.

From a technical standpoint, the movie actually feels like a real movie, which was shot with a camera and stuff. And over the past few years, Smith has grown leaps and bounds as an editor. I'm very excited to see what his plans are for his next movie, the supposedly humorless horror flick, RED STATE.

ZACK AND MIRI is very funny and sweet, and easily one of the year's best.
 

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Posted by Joe Redifer (Member # 3) on 11-01-2008, 08:31 PM:
 
Alright I finally saw the majority of this movie (with sound) and it is pretty damn funny. There is some great dialog and lots and lots of cussin' (which makes it more funny). Seth Rogan is hilarious in this and Mac Guy and Superman are friggin' awesome. It's not tremendously explicit if you've seen a naked person before. It makes fun of porn more than anything. There is a bit of sentimentality in this, but it is handled fairly well. Kevin Smith and Seth Rogan make a great team. Won't buy it on Blu-ray or DVD, but it is definitely worth checking out.
 

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Posted by Sam Graham (Member # 2889) on 11-01-2008, 10:30 PM:
 
CINEMA: 13th Avenue Warren, Wichita, KS
AUDITORIUM: 11
PRESENTATION: 16...no, 35mm/Mystery Meat Digital/THX
PRESENTATION PROBLEMS: None
RATING: Three stars (out of four)

IN REAL PORN NEWS: CALIGULA comes to Blu-ray exclusively from Amazon next week. Just thought you should know.

For those making wagers, the marquee actually read "ZACH AND MIRI MAKE A PORNO". They put the whole thing up. But that's not a typo...They spelled Zack "ZACH".

3:55pm: I hand my ticket to the ticket taker, who points me to a line. "We have a line for Zack and Miri. The previous showing hasn't finished yet." Scheduled start time of previous showing: 1:30pm. How long IS this movie, anyway? The showing I'm going to is at 4:10.

So I stand in line, snacking on the worst popcorn I've ever had in this building.

While in line, two girls looking very much around the age of 13 present their tickets for Zack and Miri. They are soundly denied. "But our parents aren't picking us up for two hours!" they whined. Couple in front of me: "You'd think they'd have cell phones to call them, wouldn't you?"

THE PLOT: Zack and Miri make a porno. Wackiness ensues.

The first part of the movie is hysterical. They could have done a whole movie around the reunion. The middle is...to borrow a phrase from the movie...a reimagining of "Bowfinger". It kind of drags compared to the first part, but not enough to kill the movie. The end is kind of formula for a Kevin Smith movie, yet unusually solid for a Kevin Smith movie.

There are some really serious laughs. Off the top of my head, it's the funniest movie I've seen this year. Exceeded my expectations.
 

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Posted by Chad Souder (Member # 343) on 11-06-2008, 08:33 PM:
 

quote: Kurt Zupin

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this is probably one of his best films since "Dogma"

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He's only made 3 other movies since Dogma and two of them were sequels. So, out of 4 movies, two of which were "original" ideas, this was probably one of the best. Sounds like you loved it... I kid.

Does it seem to anyone else like Smith's movies would be much better if he used better actors? I know he probably doesn't get much of a budget, but seriously. I understand if he's old buddies with Jason Mewes and Jeff Anderson and all, but come on, they're horrible. If you want to throw a friend or two a bone, fine, its your movie, but don't give them prominent roles. You've already got the acting talent of real porn stars and whoever that Barry guy was sucking all the funny out of the room. You don't need to add to the misery. Did anyone else get the sense the real comedy talents like Craig Robinson had a tough time getting anything going with some of those others around?

Maybe if Smith wrote better scripts (especially dialogue) he would get better talent signing up for his projects and they would actually be funny. Judd Apatow seemed to figure it out. If it isn't obvious, I didn't find Zack and Miri very funny. It had a couple good parts, but it ended up being a very mediocre romantic comedy with some raunchy stuff thrown in for shock appeal. I wasn't impressed.
 

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Posted by Chris Slycord (Member # 4239) on 11-06-2008, 09:42 PM:
 

quote: Chad Souder

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Maybe if Smith wrote better scripts (especially dialogue) he would get better talent signing up for his projects and they would actually be funny. Judd Apatow seemed to figure it out. If it isn't obvious, I didn't find Zack and Miri very funny. It had a couple good parts, but it ended up being a very mediocre romantic comedy with some raunchy stuff thrown in for shock appeal. I wasn't impressed.

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