REVIEW: Zach and Miri Make a Porno

STARRING: Seth Rogen, Elizabeth Banks View Trailer RELEASE DATE: 10/22/2008 DATE SCREENED: 10/31/2008 The Verdict OK - Wait for the DVD

The commercials for Zack and Miri Make a Porno leave you with the feeling that this is the latest Judd Apatow comedy. Instead, it’s the latest from writer/director Kevin Smith. Kevin Smith is a very likeable guy who showed a lot of promise in early films like Clerks and Dogma. His more recent films like Jersey Girl and ClerksII have been disappointing. It makes you wonder if he’d rather be an actor when you see him in films like Live Free or Die Hard. But Zack and Miri has been well received on the Film Festival circuit, so I hoped it would be a return to form.

The plot of Zack (Seth Rogen) and Miri (Elizabeth Banks) Make a Porno is very simple. They are roommates who have been platonic friends since grade school. When their electricity is cut off and they can’t pay the bills they come up with a novel idea. They want to produce an amateur porno and sell it. Miri is already a YouTube sensation, as teens had filmed her changing and posted a video of her in her “granny panties”. With the backing of a friend, who is willing to give up the money he was saving to buy a new big screen TV, Zach & Miri assemble an odd cast of characters to make this film. The assembled cast includes former porn star Traci Lords and current porn star Katie Morgan, along with Kevin Smith’s pal Jason Mewes. A funny thing happens when it’s time to start shooting. Zack and Miri really don’t want the other to have sex with anyone else. And when they have sex for the first time on camera, the emotions they had denied start to flow. What started out as a raunchy sex comedy quickly turns into the typical romantic comedy.

Zack and Miri has a few funny sequences and female nudity (not form E. Banks), but is a disappointment overall. Funny early scenes are forgotten as the movie drags on to its predictable conclusion. Zack and Miri’s 10 year high school reunion is a highlight, as Miri hits on her high school crush (Brandon Routh) who turns out to be attending with his gay lover, played hilariously by Justin Long. They originally attempt to make a film called “Star Whores”, a pornographic version of Star Wars. I have no idea how they got George Lucas to allow even the suggestion of a Star Wars porno, but they eventually go in a different direction and make the movie in the coffee shop where Zack works. Seth Rogan does his usual shtick as Zack, and Elizabeth Perkins is likeable enough as Miri. But the film is basically a romantic comedy. It does seem like an original idea to take the making a porno and turn it into something romantic, but I don’t think that’s what the audience of this film really wants to see. It’s certainly not what I wanted to see. There seems to be no reason as to why Miri would fall in love with an overweight slacker like Zack. An awful gross out gag thrown in out of nowhere towards the end is the movie’s low point. A good first half makes the film worth seeing, but wait for the DVD.

- Ade
Black Belt Theater

REVIEW: W.

STARRING: Josh Brolin, Richard Dreyfuss View Trailer RELEASE DATE: 10/17/2008 DATE SCREENED: 10/14/2008 The Verdict GOOD - See it in the theater

At this point many of us have probably wondered how George W. Bush went from being a ‘C’ student and an alcoholic to the President of the United States. A President who had an approval rating of approximately 90% in 2001, but now has one of 23%. Oliver Stone attempts to answer that question with the film “W.”. It’s surprising that this film is being released while Bush is still in office, as the final chapter of Bush’s Presidency is still being written. But unless he captures Osama Bin Laden on his last day in office, it’s safe to say that his Presidency will end being considered one of the worst.

“W.” covers George W. Bush’s (Josh Brolin) life from the time he pledged a fraternity in college until the Iraq war is basically extended indefinitely. He attended Yale and Harvard Business School, thanks to the influence of his father. Bush wandered from job to job after school, trying to find his niche. Along the way he weds Laura Bush (Elizabeth Banks). He eventually ends up as the owner of the Texas Rangers. When Bush Sr. (James Cromwell ) becomes President, he has high hopes that Jeb would be the son to follow in his legacy. But Bush Jr. eventually decides to quit drinking and get into the family business. He loses his first election, but that only serves as extra motivation. In his next election he becomes the Governor of Texas. While Governor, Bush believes that he receives a message from God to run for President. Once President, Bush’s approval rating reaches its peak after the terrorist attacks of 9-11, due to Bush’s strong response to go to war on terror. Bush’s assembled team of advisors includes Vice President Dick Cheney (Richard Dreyfuss), Deputy Chief of Staff Karl Rove (Toby Jones), Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld (Scott Glenn), General Colin Powel (Jeffrey Wright), and Condeleezza Rice (Thandie Newton). The war on terror started out as an attempt to squash Al Qaeda and capture Osama Bin Laden. It quickly moved into an attack on Iraq. Bush himself always told his father that he should have taken out Saddam Hussein. He seems determined to do what his father would not, regardless of the opinion of the countries of the United Nations. Cheney wants to attack Iraq because they control so much of the world’s oil. Colin Powel is the lone voice of reason, preaching patience and saying that a preemptive strike on Iraq is not a good idea. Bush knows that the American public will not approve of going to war based on personal reasons or oil, so they must show that Iraq has weapons of mass destruction (WMDs). The strike on Iraq is approved with the slightest bit of “proof”. Saddam is captured and the Bush Administration declares victory. But chaos continues to reign in Iraq, soldiers continue to die, there is no exit strategy, and Bush is eventually forced to admit that there are no WMDs. This is ultimately what will define Bush’s Presidential legacy.

“W.” is a very interesting portrait of George Bush. The father-son relationship is a big part of the film, as Bush is always trying to prove himself to his father. Bush feels that Jeb was always his father’s favorite son. Despite his rich upbringing, Bush is the kind of guy that a lot of America felt they would want to sit down and have a beer with. He never comes across as the rich Ivy League educated man that can not relate to the common person. His brother is the one who comes across that way, and although his brother did eventually become governor of Florida, he doesn’t have that charisma to win the Presidency. Bush’s personality, combined with Karl Rove shaping his views on the issues and debate strategies, are the main factors to his successful Presidential campaigns. Unlike his father, Bush makes his decisions based on gut feelings or “messages from God”, as opposed to thinking things through. As president, this makes it hard for him to sift through all the advice from his advisors and pick out the best course of action.

Josh Brolin IS George Bush in this movie. He does a brilliant acting job. Richard Dryfuss is also great as Dick Cheney. All the actors do good work except for Thandie Newton. She seems to be doing a caricature of Condelleza that is more appropriate for Saturday Night Live. Oliver Stone does his best to cut back and forth between the different periods of Bush’s life, but the movie does still drag in spots. I do think this movie should have been made next year, as opposed to this year. It ends without feeling like you’ve seen a complete story arc. With a movie like this, I do wonder how much of it is completely accurate. With Bush still President, who is leaking stories about what went on in the meetings with his advisers? But the film is an engaging enough portrait of the man to be worth a trip to the theater. I’ll end with a quote from comedian Chris Rock, “A black C student can't do sh__ with his life. A black C student can't be a manager at Burger King, meanwhile a white C student just happens to be the President of the United States.” No wonder this county is in such a dire situation…