'Zach and Miri' makes raunchy debut

11/13/08 - "Zack and Miri Make a Porno" is filthy, gross, romantic, sweet, and above all else, hilarious.Writer and director Kevin Smith is known for his clever and dirty dialogue that mixes pop-culture references with frank discussion of sex and relationships.

"Zack and Miri" probably take these aspects and amplifies them more so than any other Smith movie.

For starters, it's raunchier than most of Smith's films - especially visually. Due to its subject matter (pornography) there is obviously more in the way of visual gags and nudity.

One scene of note involves poop - and, be warned, it may be more disgusting than it is amusing... but it's still pretty funny.

The dialogue also treads territory that Smith hasn't really covered before. He hasn't done much in the way of racial humor before, but he goes for it here and does fairly well.

Another important change from the typical Smith fare is in the casting. The usual suspects aren't here for the most part. Jason Mewes, best known as Jay, and Jeff Anderson, best known as Randall, show up, but in small roles. Mewes stars as the amateur porn star Lester, and Anderson as the cameraman.

There is no cameo from Matt Damon or Ben Affleck, and Jason Lee never pops up.

Instead, the movie stars Seth Rogan and Elizabeth Banks. Rogan is great as the chubby slacker with good intentions. He's awkward, bumbling and offensive, while still retaining a sweet sincerity.

Rogan and Smith seem like a match made in heaven as far comedy sensibilities go, and hopefully this won't be the last movie that sees them work together.

Banks is even more impressive - she doesn't get as many funny lines as Rogan, but she gets plenty. She may even have more physical comedy bits, involving YouTube, two teens with a camera phone and her "granny panties."

Banks has to go through different emotions and thankfully is more than a one-dimensional female lead. She is not the wet blanket trying to ruin everyone's fun as females are in most comedies.

It's refreshing to see that at least Smith writes female parts that don't exclude the girl from the frank sexual discussions and the pop-culture riffing.

Craig Robinson (perhaps better known as Daryl from "The Office") has a prominent role as Zack's co-worker, and producer of their amateur porn, Delaney.

He steals the scenes he's in, whether through angry interactions with his boss and his wife, or just by sitting back and watching the sex scenes with a big, goofy smile on his face.

While Smith is great with writing dialogue, occasionally he has had a tendency to rely on lengthy monologues to move the plot forward or bring the film to its conclusion.

This, in past movies, was done by Smith himself. For example, when he comes on screen as Silent Bob and dispenses a few minutes of wisdom to wrap things up. Monologues of this sort sometimes were effective and heartfelt, but sometimes they seemed out of place and awkward.

No such monologues exist in "Zack and Miri" and that helps keep the flow and pace of the movie consistent and the characters realistic.

In a year with a number of great comedies like "Forgetting Sarah Marshall," "Tropic Thunder," and "Pineapple Express," "Zack and Miri" may prove to be the best of the bunch and takes a place as one of Kevin Smith's best films.