ZACK AND MIRI MAKE A PORNO (2008) - Kevin Smith

Kevin Smith’s career took a knock when he released the pretty awful Jersey Girl. It became clear that outside his Jersey saga, Smith seemed to flounder. After the lukewarm reception for that film, Smith went back and wrote a sequel to his massive first time success, Clerks. Now, his follow up film once again abandons the safety of his home state, as Smith jumps on that wagon that carries many a band- Judd Apatow’s. And the result is the controversially titled Zack And Miri Make A Porno.

Zack and Miri are friends from childhood. They live together in a pretty dire flat, scraping a living and barely paying their bills. When their last utilities payment goes unpaid, their electricity and water is shut off. Looking for a quick way to make a buck, the friends turn to porno. It’s quick, easy and will sell enough videos to make them money to pay their bills. But sex is never just sex and they find their relationship pushed when they have to bump uglies for money.



Smith’s main ability over the years has been his ability to write pop-culture thick dialogue. His Jersey films, filled with nerds and comic-fans has thrived on this ability. Yet when Smith steps away from this, he finds himself floundering somewhat. The same applies here. By no means is Zack and Miri as bad as the reprehensible Jersey Girl. But is shows little of the ability Smith once had.

One of the main things that puts people off the film is the starring role for Seth Rogen. But I don’t really have a problem with the guy. Sure, he plays pretty much the same role in every film. And maybe he’s running out of steam. But in this film he does his schtick well. Elizabeth Banks, the actress who is appearing everywhere is once again very solid. She’s the heart of the film and plays off Rogen surprisingly well. The real star of the show is Craig Robinson. The actor, who’s become a familiar face thanks to The Office (US) has real comedy talent and shows it here. Also pretty good are Smith regular Jason Mewes and real life porn star Katie Morgan.



While Zack And Miri Make A Porno isn’t terrible, it will piss off some people. The majority of the laughs are in the first 45 minutes and there is one surprisingly funny moment in the second half of the film. But it’s nowhere near as good as Smith’s Chasing Amy. Though it does show he can do something outside Jersey.


6/10

W. (2008) - Oliver Stone

History was made in the last month for two reasons. The first saw the election of the first black man to the seat of President of the United States. The other reason was the beginning of the end of George W. Bush’s tenure as president. He remains the most controversial president since Nixon and arguably one of the worst presidents in US history. But this isn’t a political discussion. It’s a review of Oliver Stone’s biopic of the man, W.

W. is released at a strange time. It’s too far into the Bush’s last term to have any impact on his legacy. And it’s too soon to fully judge Bush’s impact. However, the film attempts to understand Bush’s motivations by looking at some of the key moments in his life that made him the man he is now. Starting while Bush is in college, we trace his life, through the many jobs he held until he became governor of Texas, helped get his father, George H.W. Bush elected as President of the United States and then W.’s own election to the same office.



It’d be very easy to label George W. Bush as an idiot and fool who was, and is a front for big oil and similar shady interests. And while I’m sure that’s not entirely inaccurate, there’s no denying that it takes some brains to get to be president. It doesn’t just happen. And despite these assumptions that a lot of people have about Bush, Stone’s film is somewhat gentle on the guy. The easy thing would have been to make a complete farcical comedy about Bush. There’s enough footage of Bush gaffing to make a pretty funny comedy that is steeped in reality. But Oliver Stone instead looks at Bush as a man who’s constantly living in the shadow of his father. It’s somewhere he despises being. He wants to out-do his father while making his individual mark on the world. And in an attempt at being fair to Bush, you can’t help feeling that there’s also something missing from the film.

The performances are pretty good for the most part. Josh Brolin is excellent as George W. Bush. Stone’s film creates a Bush with a lot of charisma, and Brolin carries this across very well. It’s difficult to watch a film like this without seeing some of the performances as charicatures. And is some cases, this is true. Thandie Newton’s Condaleeza Rice does seem like it stepped out of a Saturday Night Live sketch. Yet in other cases, particularly Richard Dreyfuss as Dick Chaney and James Cromwell as George H.W. Bush, the performances are spot on. But over-all, the performances are generally pretty entertaining.



There are some funny moments in W. A few of the famous Bush-isms are featured, although they are shifted in context to fit in with the drama of the film. One particularly outstanding scene is set in the ‘war room’ where Bush and his cabinet discuss the strategy of Iraq before the conflict begins. It’s like a cross between high-drama and Dr. Strangelove-esqe satire. As a document and comment of Bush’s time as President of the United States, Stone’s Bush isn’t that type of film. Subjects like that are more suited to documentary. But as a character drama, W. is quite entertaining. It does, however, feel unfinished. Had the film been made five, or even a year from now, I’d imagine it would have been quite different in many ways.


7/10