ViewGuide

Created Nov 16, 2008 06:25PM PST • Edited Nov 16, 2008 06:25PM PST

1. Quality

2. Summary

   Really Great 4.5

   I’m a fan of Kevin Smith’s and have been since the first Clerks. I don’t think he’s an incredibly gifted film maker by any means (as far as the technicalities go), but what he has to say always hits me. Whether its serious or not, this is a guy I like listening to. His latest movie is no different for me. This movie is dirty. VERY dirty. Perhaps even more so than any of his previous efforts. But as with all his films, there is a bit of heart to it. I think Zach and Miri actually pulls off that heart better than his others (except Chasing Amy) by a long shot. In Jersey Girl, the heart was lost because of Affleck. The dialogue was good and the story was good, but Affleck didn’t really deliver. Rogan and Banks, however, absolutely have the chops to pull this off and actually get you to feel something. Is this movie or its message gonna change the world? Not by any stretch of the imagination. But it is funny as hell and at the end you feel good about it.

   The plot is basically this: Two friends haven’t changed since high school (kinda like Clerks) and during a 10 year reunion the idea of sex with classmates is brought up. Zack comes up with an idea of making a porn as at least everyone in their high school will pay to see it, then they’ll have money. Its a little out there, but he’s right. If one of my old classmates was in a porn I’d buy it. Now they are forced to deal with their feelings for each other and it happens so fast that they both kinda screw things up. Hilarity ensues and we come out the other side entertained.

4. Acting

   Really Great 4.5

   Unlike Smith’s other movies, Ben Affleck and Jason Lee are nowhere to be found. Nor is Brian O’Halloran (the schlub from Clerks and Clerks 2) or Smith himself. For the most part, this is an all new cast to the View Askewniverse and it feels different. It feels less like a dude making movies with his friends to screw around and more like a serious effort. I know the term “serious effort” seems very out of place on this film, but having Rogan and Banks as leads feels like a step out of his comfort zone for Smith.

5. Male Stars Really Great 4.5

   I love Seth Rogan. I love his timing, I love his delivery and I think his look is something schlubs around the world can relate to. Is this character that much different than Knocked Up? Not much. Just different enough to keep you interested. His friendship with Miri is completely believable to me and I’m with him the whole way. If I looked like that (and believe me that I’m not too far away) and my best friend was Elizabeth Banks? I would have given up thinking I would ever get with her long ago because she’s just out of my league. But she’s fun and pretty so you bet your sweet bippy I’m gonna live with her for as long as I can.

6. Female Stars Perfect 5.0

   Elizabeth Banks is one of my favorite female leads. She is very gorgeous, but her personality is such that she feels like she could be one of your friends. Its a clever trick that makes you think you might actually have shot with a pretty girl like that. You don’t, but it makes you think you do. As Miri, Banks is the emotional core of this film. You feel what you feel at the end largely because of her. She delivers a great performance and outside of the dialogue, you actually follow and feel what happens between her and Zack.

7. Female Costars Great 4.0

   Traci Lords is not a terribly good actress, but she brings in some street cred and experience. She feels like a veteran of the industry and offers some solidity to what they are doing. She’s one that actually knows what she’s doing. She’s also the side of the story that realizes that sex can’t always be separated from emotion. She’s kinda like the Obi-Wan of fornication.

   Katie Morgan as Stacey also seems like she has some experience in porn, but more in the fact that she’s a dumb, pretty blonde that probably has a lot of sex. She’s the side of the story that thinks sex and emotion can be separated.

8. Male Costars Perfect 5.0

   Craig Robinson is woefully underused on the Office, so its nice to see him take up such a huge chunk of time. His timing is great and he’s perfect as the “guys, should we really do this?” voice of reason. But you know he wants to make a porn just as much as anyone else, but feels he can’t say it out loud.

   Jason Mewes was hilarious. Having Smith write him as someone other than Jay was nice to see. Its still pretty much the same guy, but a much more toned down version. Still very funny, still very inappropriate and possibly gay – or at least bi.

   Jeff Anderson is a great smart ass and is always welcome. I can’t ever see him as a leading role, but as the guy who comes in, says something sarcastic, gets pooped on and leaves, he is classic.

   Justin Long is hilarious and steals the scene when he’s on camera. Brandon Routh, however, just looked uncomfortable the whole time.

10. Film

    Very Good 3.5

    I won’t go into the details on this one, but its a good comedy. Its not flashy or action filled and there’s no incredibly daring or artistic shots. Its straight forward and lets the characters and the jokes run the show. Smith is the master of filming dialogue and his ability to catch the physical jokes has come a very long way. The big laugh at the end with Jeff Anderson is expertly crafted for maximum guffaw. It may actually be the best poo joke ever committed to film.

11. Direction Very Good 3.5

12. Play Very Good 3.5

13. Music Very Good 3.5

14. Visuals Very Good 3.5
15. Content

16. Edge

    Sordid 3.5

    As I said before – VERY dirty. This one is a step up from previous films because its no longer just talking about it, you actually get to see a lot of it. In addition to the dirty words and the sex jokes, you also have full frontal nudity and sex scenes. More poo jokes and naked people has always been what’s missing from Kevin Smith movies and this one delivers both.

17. Sex Lewd 4.5

    I’ll put this one up right under explicit because the sex scenes are there, but are tame. You get topless girl and guy behind her doing the motions, but its obviously fake and there is a bit of a disconnect because of it. Mewes finally gets his nude scene, so anyone who has always wanted to see Jay naked – here’s your chance.

18. Violence Gentle 1.0

    No violence.

19. Rudeness Vile 5.0

    Dirty, dirty, dirty stuff. Funnier than most else that I’ve seen this year, but very dirty.

21. Reality

    Glib 1.5

    The idea of two people knowing each other and living together for that long and the feelings for each other never coming up is a far fetched one. Its the casting and the personalities of the characters that makes it work for me. If I saw Zack and Miri, I wouldn’t think that they were doin the nasty. I think they get each other and have the same sense of humor, but the idea of her underneath him just doesn’t make sense. She can do better than that. But these are two people that haven’t really taken anything seriously. They haven’t dealt with their feelings for each other the same as they haven’t really dealt with life and the reality around them. Two people working what appear to be full time jobs not being able to pay the monthly bills shows an obvious irresponsibility and lack of maturity. So it makes sense that until they start talking about having sex, they haven’t really gone down that road. And now they’re in a spot where they have to deal with it very quickly and that’s where the drama comes in.

22. Circumstantial Glib 1.5

23. Biological Glib 1.5

24. Physical Glib 1.5