It seemed inevitable that the Judd Apatow-verse and the View Askew-verse headed by Kevin Smith would eventually merge. Smith himself has even credited Knocked Up with showing him not just that Seth Rogen was MADE to star in a film co-starring Jason Mewes but that the ceiling on his brand of raunchy humor wasn't as low as he suspected. If they could make a blockbuster out of a schlub who smokes pot all the time, has a career goal that involves celebrity nudity, and is terrified of adulthood, why couldn't Kevin Smith have a bonafide hit? Seth Rogen's style of comedy and acting practically comes straight from the Kevin Smith playbook. Well, sorta. There's an element of heart and realism in the Apatow movies that Smith has yet to fully capture, although he comes closer in Zack and Miri Make a Porno than he arguably ever has before. Zack and Miri may not be perfect, but it does show a filmmaker reinvigorated by his own writing and the potential of the raunchy comedy to be more than just a niche audience product.

In the best performances of their careers, the great Rogen and Elizabeth Banks star as the two title characters, a pair of old friends stuck in an increasingly dire recession. When the water gets turned off and then the power, the two realize that they may have to go drastic measures to make ends meet by making some other body parts "meet". Zack gets inspired to make an adult film after running into the gay porn star lover (Justin Long) of an old crush of Miri's (Brandon Routh) at a reunion. The great idea is that Zack and Miri could sell the porn to all of their old classmates (who wouldn't want to watch old classmates doing it?) and that would be the extent of the venture into the world of adult entertainment. They gather a ragtag team including Zack's co-worker at Bean 'n' Gone (Craig Robinson), a talented stripper named Bubbles (Traci Lords), and, of course, Jason Mewes (although not his classic character Jay, not far down the character spectrum). As the ragtag gang writes and prepares to shoot "Star Whores," Zack and Miri realize that their impending on-camera action may have more to do with love than just straight-up banging.

Zack and Miri Make a Porno rises above Smith's recent filmography and even a lot of recent adult comedies for one major reason - it's damn funny. Rogen, Banks, and Robinson have an easy-going chemistry that actors don't always have in front of Smith's camera. These are the best leads that Smith has ever had and the power of likable leads with perfect comic timing goes a long way in making a film successful. Rogen and Banks make no wrong decisions and have a believable chemistry as old friends, and more importantly, eventually lovers.  It's damn-near ridiculous to say and you probably won't believe me, but the best love scene of 2008 is in Zack and Miri Make a Porno. It's more intimate and emotionally believable than anything I've seen in the so-called romantic dramas or comedies of the year.

I also get the sense that Smith is going for more than just another dick joke. Sure, there's plenty of those (too many actually), but there's also something real about the ideas of how friendship, sexuality, and the need for money can blur over time. I may be giving Smith too much credit, but I think he's actually written something interesting here about how easy it is to fall in love with someone when you're not just friends but financially co-dependent. What is love but a variation on need? Zack and Miri need each other in every way, just not physically, until they make a porno.

Smith the director still needs a better editor. There are ten to twelve minutes that any one of us could cut out. If a scene consists of the characters sitting around coming up with porno movie names, Smith will almost always go for nine or ten when five or six would be funnier and keep the pace moving more quickly. He also doesn't quite have the heartfelt stuff down on a directorial level, almost as if he's unsure how to handle the "deep" scenes and would rather go back to the screwing. With the Apatow movies, you get the impression that the raunchy jokes are in service of a heartfelt story, but Smith movies still sometimes feel like the emotions are just there to glue together the nasty stuff.

In the end (no pun intended), Zack and Miri Make a Porno is a mostly clever comedy with charming, likable leads. Not only did the Apatow-verse explosion teach Kevin Smith that Seth Rogen is a better mouthpiece for his dialogue than Ben Affleck but it has clearly inspired this often very-talented writer to do his best work in years. Let's hope this is the start of something consistent and not just a quickie.

Rating: THREE BONES

Reviewed by Brian Tallerico (MovieRetriever.com Film Critic)

Release Date: October 31st, 2008

Rating: R

Starring: Seth Rogen, Elizabeth Banks, Craig Robinson, Jason Mewes, Traci Lords, Brandon Routh, and Justin Long

Director: Kevin Smith

Writer: Kevin Smith