Disappointment, Part 2

How did I know all was not right with the world at my screening of Zach and Miri Make a Porno? I did not find one line worth writing down in my notebook.

I think most of my friends and family would say my love of Dogma and Chasing Amy remains a mystery to them, even though I posted a 1,000-word opus about the former in April. Maybe it's a Jersey thing (the only one I seem to have adopted), maybe it's the fact almost every guy I've liked and/or dated has been obsessed with Kevin Smith, but I am a Smith cultist. When the reviews for Zach and Miri said Smith was moving into Judd Apatow territory, I cringed but plunked down $8 anyway.

I miss the filth. I think it's time to watch Chasing Amy again.

Kevin Smith has left New Jersey! Unfortunately, that move, to Pittsburgh, produces in an uneasy marriage of f-bombs and generic rom-com in his latest writing/directing effort, Zack and Miri Make a Porno.

Seth Rogen and Elizabeth Banks play Zack (a schlub) and Miri (naturally, a hottie), broke best friends who make a skin flick for rent money and of course fall in love. Banks charms in her meatiest part to date, a dazzling smile delivering filth as easily as a Smith veteran; Rogen mostly revisits his Knocked Up role. The greatest guffaws come courtesy of Craig Robinson, Zach’s coffee-shop co-worker and “producer” - his awe during “casting” is one of the film’s few downright hysterical moments.

At his best (Chasing Amy, Dogma), Smith delivers a message even at his characters’ mouthiest. Here, as he tries to balance smut and heart, Smith creates an audition tape for the next Kate Hudson flick.