Zack and Miri Make a Porno (2008)

Lifelong platonic friends Zack and Miri look to solve their respective cash-flow problems by making an adult film together. As the cameras roll, however, the duo begin to sense that they may have more feelings for each other than they previously thought.

Director:

Kevin Smith

Writer:

Kevin Smith

Stars:

Elizabeth Banks, Seth Rogen, Craig Robinson

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Elizabeth Banks	...	Miri
Seth Rogen	...	Zack
Craig Robinson	...	Delaney
Gerry Bednob	...	Mr. Surya
Edward Janda	...	Customer
Nicholas Lombardi	...	Teen #1
Chris Milan	...	Teen #2
Jennifer Schwalbach Smith	...	Betsy (as Jennifer Schwalbach)
Kenny Hotz	...	Zack II
Brandon Routh	...	Bobby Long
Anne Wade	...	Roxanne
Justin Long	...	Brandon
Tom Savini	...	Jenkins
Jeff Anderson	...	Deacon
Jim Norton	...	Auditioner (as Jimmy Norton)

Storyline

Zack and Miri are two lifelong platonic friends who make an adult film to pay the rent of their apartment. With their friend Delaney, the couple set out for auditionees for their porn film, but in the process of filming, they realize they feel more for each other than they had before.

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Plot Keywords:

friend | actor | reunion | coffee | coffee shop | 

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Taglines:

What would you do to get out of debt?

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Genres:

Comedy | Romance

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R on appeal for strong crude sexual content including dialogue, graphic nudity and pervasive language

Details

Official Sites:

Official site [us]

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

31 October 2008 (USA)

Also Known As:

Untitled Kevin Smith Minnesota Project

Filming Locations:

Monroeville Mall - Business Route 22, Monroeville, Pennsylvania, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$30,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

£798,205 (UK) (14 November 2008)

Gross:

$31,452,765 (USA) (23 January 2009)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Blue Askew, Weinstein Company, The, View Askew Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

101 min

Sound Mix:

SDDS Dolby Digital DTS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Kevin Smith:  [The number 37]  A recurring theme in all View Askew films, it appears near the end of the movie when the film is paused in Delaney's basement. It is paused at 37 minutes.

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Goofs

(At 14.30) There is a scene in Zack and Miri's apartment where they're sitting around their trash can fire. Zack complains that they're living "like a couple of STENO bums" instead of "STERNO bums".

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Quotes

Brandon: I can't keep my hands off him, I'm so sorry.
Bobby Long: You've had one too many cosmos.
Brandon: You know although he does most of the eating in the sack if you know what I mean. In the sack and of the sack.

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Crazy Credits

At the very end, after all the credits, Jason Mewes says "Way to f*** Zack"

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Connections

References Lawrence of Arabia (1962)

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Soundtracks

"My Assistant Will Take Notes"
Written by Frank Bongers, Stefan Wellens, and Peter Van Tichelin
Performed by Forbidden Ensemble
Licensed courtesy of PoSoTra and INgrooves

User Reviews

Rude, ribald insults and put-downs make queasy bedfellows with Smith's idea of romantic sentiments...

Seth Rogen and Elizabeth Banks play platonic roommates in Pittsburgh, best friends since grade school who think of each other practically as brother and sister, who can't afford to pay their rent and utilities on their measly salaries. Hiring a buddy to finance a sex flick, they hope to get into the lucrative porno business--but discover to their surprise they share deep-rooted romantic feelings for one another after having sex for the first time. Written and directed by Kevin Smith, this is a modern-day, plain-spoken comedy of no particular merit, but a great many profane, politically-incorrect put-downs and sight-gags. Smith has concocted a funny set-up--and with willing players--but "Zack and Miri" is a one-act comedy with nowhere to turn after the first forty or so minutes. Just when the audience expects the comic ideas to be heightened, the film comes crashing down in a sea of character implausibilities and uncomfortable sentiment. Gross-out jokes can certainly be partnered with sweet sensibilities if the handling is right, but nothing in the film's first-half prepares us for what transpires. Rogen and Banks end up portraying completely different people, a couple who don't even need to appear in their own production (they've already hired a cast). When a comedy makes no logical or emotional sense, nothing else in it has a hope in hell of succeeding. *1/2 from ****