Guess what "Zack and Miri Make a Porno" is all about? Bingo, it's about Zack and Miri making a porno. Very good answer. The two late-20s roommates, played by Seth Rogen and Elizabeth Banks, discover that having sex on camera in order to pay the rent will change the temperature of whatever room they're in together. When the two show up for a high school reunion, they learn that the answers to their aforementioned woes may lie in adult films. As the plan to shoot their own low-budget porno slowly comes to fruition, the two discover that they don’t exactly dig the idea of watching the other have sex with someone other than them.

But despite the fact that we have seen this kind of approach on a subject before, at least coming from Smith, it’s actually worth watching this film. Smith is able to capture some brilliant performances from some of the movie’s more unlikely characters. Justin Long’s over the top portrayal of male adult film star ‘Brandon’ is a definite highlight. Brandon’s onscreen partner Bobby Long is played by Brandon Routh, who appears to be attempting to stifle his laughter at Long’s performance the entire time the two are onscreen together. Also great is Jason Mewes, who appears freakishly comfortable as the adult film star ‘Lester’. Nevertheless Rogen and Banks make a good comic pair, despite their not having much chemistry. Standard Rogen character, a surprisingly articulate slacker, while Banks makes Miri believable as a former ugly duckling turned hot swan.

However the rather superficial message of the film is surprisingly dull: Sex isn't sexy without love, commitment, and fidelity.
Kevin Smith, the celebrated director of such independent hits as "Clerks” and "Chasing Amy,” has always had a penchant for scenes featuring raw discussion of sex ("Chasing Amy"), and Porno takes that predilection even further. But the love story turns out to be as generic as Nights in Rodanthe. Though Rogen and Banks have some chemistry, Rogen is playing a very familiar character, bordering on overexposure.

Fans of Kevin Smith’s previous films will definitely go to see “Zack and Miri Make a Porno,” and they are likely not to be disappointed. The film certainly has its moments of shock humor, rapier-sharp dialog and even a few more digs at the Hollywood film industry. However, the movie never completely feels like it belongs in the same universe as “Clerks” and “Mallrats,” two of Smith’s most revered films. Porn is always funny because it makes the watcher feel so awkward. If any director is going to talk about porn in films as opposed to shooting porn, it should be Smith and his potty mouthed scripts.

To cut things short, "Zack and Miri" also reflects the sweetness that has crept intermittently into Smith's movies in recent years as he's settled into his real-life roles as husband and father. The film leaves us wondering whether it's supposed to be mostly a touching love story or a crude comic romp. Nevertheless no one will be left indifferent.