Being a good actress entails powerful adaptability – the capability to jump from the part of a Stepford wife in the 50s to an underpaid waitress in the 80s, without any trace of your last role visible in your current one. Another important aspect is being able to immerse yourself in the character you want to portray and to be able to leave it behind just as fast. Being easy on the eye has also proved to be an important asset, but an interesting face with captivating features is always preferable for a multitude of roles – how many times can you play the hot nanny or the kinky nurse?

Elizabeth Banks makes just such a transition, in a very short time. Her last part was that of Laura Bush, admittedly not in a documentary, but in Oliver Stone’s recount of George W. Bush’s childhood, adolescence, maturity and road to the White House, an epic tale bearing the name of “W.” From a movie that asks for a bit of sobriety and drama, Banks jumps to the indicatively-named comedy “Zack and Miri Make a Porno”.

The movie shows Banks as Miriam “Stinky” Linky, the high school loser. Out of cash, Miriam and her friend/roommate Zack decide to film a homemade porno flick. Their X-rated flick has a to-die-for cast, among which real-life porn stars such as Traci Lords and Katie Morgan.

The porn stars were also hired because of the very explicit and highly awkward porn scenes in the homemade movie. Any amateurish delivery would have hit the movie where it would have hurt most – comedic and entertainment value.
Banks was a bit irritated by the fact that they initially got the NC-17 rating for what she calls “stuff you could see any time of day on cable TV”. The movie, however, got rated R in the end.