REVIEW: Profanity-laced ‘Porno' surprisingly sweet

"Zack and Miri Make a Porno" is a parody of a chick flick. Despite its unquestionably bad manners, it is, at its core, a sweet and innocent tale of two people who discover love in the most profane of situations. However, to get at that core, don't be surprised if you want to wash out the mouths of every actor in the film with soap. "Zack and Miri," while genuinely hilarious from start to finish, as - raunchy as anything you've ever seen this side of actual pornography.

"Zack and Miri" is a classic story of two people who are perfect for each other but just don't realize it (think "When Harry Met Sally"). Like all Kevin Smith comedies ("Clerks," "Chasing Amy"), this one is about a couple of working class stiffs cursed with Peter Pan syndrome. Zack (Seth Rogen) and Miri (Elizabeth Banks) have been best friends since elementary school and now live together platonically.

With their rent overdue, bills piling up and their utilities shut ofl in the middle of a freezing winter, Zack and Miri have to come up with a plan to make some money fast. That's when Zack gets a crazy idea - what if he and Miri make ... well, you've seen the title of the film. The two desperate friends decide to shoot a shockingly low-rent sci-fl spoof titled "Star Whores." But what starts off as strictly business between friends morphs into something far more complicated more meaningful.

Churches warn teens of the dangers of premarital sex and the inexplicable yet palpable bond that is formed between two people who decide to share a human being's most intimate act.

If it weren't for "Zack and Miri's" blitzkrieg of profanity and nudity, this film would be tailor-made for just such a discussion. Smith not only has a sweet, romantic side, he has the observational prowess of a conservative minister. Much of the film centers on whether the best friends can bring themselves to have sex.

Smith argues that sex creates a bond not easily or painlessly broken. Luckily for our protagonists, sex with each other is the epiphany that leads them to realize that they were destined for each other all along.

Initially, the Motion Picture Association of America gave "Zack and Miri" an NC-17 rating. Smith later appealed and won an R. But it is a hard R. This is the sort of film that would make director Judd Apatow ("The 40-Year-Old Virgin," "Knocked Up") blush. You know those Web sites that count every instance of profanity in films? Their reviewers must have stumbled out of "Zack and Miri" with carpel tunnel syndrome. The "Zack and Miri" screenplay supplies one vulgarity after another. In fact, there is so much foul language that you become desensitized to it after a while. Although there is also plenty of nudity, what is said is far more explicit than what is shown.

Director Smith has stripped out his usual rambling monologues about religion and pop culture, converting his sentiments into shorter, pithier punch lines. He is less interested in showing off this time around than in making us laugh.

His sugar-coated leads deserve the lion's share of the credit.

Rogen, whom Smith pilfered from the Apatow factory, is the perfect teddy bear. You can't loathe Rogen, even when he's muttering the most shocking obscenities.

Not that his co-star can't give as good as she gets. Banks, currently in "W." as first lady Laura Bush, is radiant, and the pair's chemistry is nothing short of luminous.

Wherever you settle on the film - as an endearing sexual farce or a gleefully earthy love story - the jokes come from places beyond left ffeld, places you never saw coming, places you never even knew existed. While the second half of the fllm, mired as it is in all that sentimental stuff, slows down a bit, there is enough bawdy energy and rude oomph to carry the weight.

DETAILS
Zack and Miri Make a Porno

Cast: Elizabeth Banks, Seth Rogen, Jason Mewes, Gerry Bednob, Edward Janda, Nicholas Lombardi Director: Kevin Smith
Playing at: Chapel Hills, Cinemark, Hollywood, Tinseltown
Rated: R (for strong crude sexual content including dialogue, graphic nudity and pervasive language)
Running time: 1 hour, 41 minutes

GRADE: B+