Viewed in
2011
Formats
Cable TV
Premise
Seth Rogen and Elizabeth Banks star as two roommate buddies who decide to shoot their own porn to pay the bills.
Thoughts
It was an OK Kevin Smith comedy.
There were some hilarious moments, mainly from Craig Robinson in a supporting role. He usually had the best lines about the tiresome aspect of marriage, and his delivery was always on the mark. I also loved Justin Long's performance (a phrase rarely uttered) in his cameo as a gay porn star. Somehow he managed to make it over-the-top but sublime at the same time.
As expected, there were plenty of appearances from Smith's stable, including a perpetually naked Jason Mewes, and Jeff Anderson, who had the "honor" of being the butt of a scat-tacular joke that I wished I could un-watch. There were also some porn stars as part of the cast. I was going to say that I don't watch enough porn to know who they were, but you wouldn't believe me anyway. Though I have heard of Traci Lords.
The biggest flaw was that underneath all the gags, the plot was still a standard romantic-comedy, with typical character behavior. Having said that, I was impressed how well Elizabeth Banks sold it. Also, I was glad that when the movie veered into obligatory chick-flick-ville, it pulled out as quickly as possible, straight to the climax. Kudos to Smith for some creativity with the love confessional scene, which involved someone taking a dump and a naked Mewes.
Compared to Smith's earlier works, I would have to say I was kind of underwhelmed. While the premise of porn is risque, I felt like his writing and directing was not edgy enough, aside from the sex scenes and "that scene". Mix in some typical slap-stick, the predictable plot, and it felt rather odd and forgettable. I usually love Kevin's dirty word-Smith-ing, but for some reason, this time it didn't work for me. Am I taking him for granted?
On paper, the premise with Kevin Smith directing seemed like a good idea, but sadly, it was not funny or interesting enough to overcome its predictable flaws.
What I would change
Not sure.
