Zack and Miri make a porno...

...and it's good!

So yes, Smith uses some of the Apatow company for his main cast, with Randal and Jay and a couple of actual porn stars thrown in for good measure. But this is a Kevin Smith movie, in dialogue, character, and construction.

The Good

• Plenty of laugh-out-loud funny moments, especially from Craig Robinson in his biggest film role yet. And Brandon Routh trying no to laugh in about every one of his scenes as the consort of Justin Long's gay porn actor. I might actually watch Superman now...
• Plenty of good-natured dirtiness. Smith and David Milch should have a swear-off. No one can string profanities like these guys.
• Rogen and Banks are actually quite sweet and funny together. If ever a foul-mouthed hot blonde and schlubby stoner belonged together it's these two.

The Bad

• Oh, Kev, when are you going to release that obsessive death grip on your work and let someone else edit your films! Too many montages for too long. And the music! Too many songs thrown onto scenes, overpowering your precious, precious dialogue. (The only music cue that helped a scene was when Zack and Miri consumated on camera and the music cut in and out denoting their 'moment' and the disinterest of their film crew. But, Live, Kev? Really?)
• A bit of sentimentality never hurt anyone, but the last third of Zack and Miri is just so hokey and obvious it kinda kills the climatic happy we should get when our titular heroes reunite in their love (observed by a naked Jason Mewes and heard by Elizabeth Banks on the can, which was funny but, again, overlong).

Both of these problems plagued Jersey Girl, which seemed almost desperate in its need to be a mainstream rom-com. And certainly, Smith is looking for some of that sweet Apatovian coin. But the whole reason Kevin Smith was Kevin Smith is because he threw something unique into the film comedy ring: wordy geeks, the smart sassy women who loved them, and their painfully awkward relationships. Endings weren't The Player-esque 'traffic was a bitch,' carry the lady off into the sunset cheese, but could be ambiguous, a little tragic, while still retaining the positive. Why be hacky? Are you hacky now, Kev?

Despite these flaws, I am not sorry I spent $8, in this economy, to see this movie in a crappy suburban Jersey mall theater. The bit that pops up during the credits alone was worth the price of admission.