I am a Kevin Smith fan.

I remember watching Mallrats for the first time when I was 13 years old. Perhaps the alcohol had something to do with it (yes, I was a little drunk), or maybe I was really striving to relate to something, but I found myself connecting to Brody Bruce, T.S. Quint, Jay and Silent Bob. Wasn’t I, after all, a little bit of all four of them? I loved comic books; I pined for the affections of my lady-friends; I liked getting drunk/high; I had a rather filthy mouth. Before that night, I had never connected so much to a film, and more specifically, its characters.

But I digress. This is not an essay on the works of Kevin Smith, especially not a movie as imperfect as Mallrats. This is a review of his new film, Zack and Miri Make a Porno. It tells the tale of two best friends, the slightly overweight and loveable Zack (Seth Rogen) and the absolutely gorgeous and loveable Miri (Elizabeth Banks), who have done very little right except be roommates. They both work rather lackluster jobs (Zack is a barista at a coffee shop called Bean-And-Gone, Miri works at the mall) and they haven’t really done anything in life at this point.

Courtesy of chud.com

The duo’s sheer lack of success comes smacking them in the face when their water and electric get shut off at home. This traumatizing event coincides with their 10-year high school reunion, that most dreaded event where everyone who judged you a failure in high school gets to judge you a failure in your late 20s. Miri has plans to hook up with the guy who wouldn’t give her the time of day back in the day (Brandon Routh), and it is revealed that he is actually a gay man with a gay lover who works in adult films (a priceless cameo by Justin Long). This gives Zack the idea of making a pornographic film starring him and Miri to pay the bills, the rationale being that “everybody wants to see anybody (expletive).”

But won’t that complicate their old friendship? That doesn’t stop Zack and Miri, who go full steam ahead with their plan, from casting to coming up with a clever porno-rrific title. Lawrence of a-Labia? Edward Penis-Hands? What is smutty and timeless enough to sell DVDs? By the end of a montage, the cast is set, featuring some new faces to the View Askew fold (Craig Robinson, Traci Lords) and some familiar ones (Jason Mewes, Jeff Anderson), and the production is off and running, titled Star Whores.

Do I properly understand my bias to Smith films? I absolutely do. The simple fact that I didn’t outright despise Jersey Girl should indicate that I have a predilection toward the man’s work. However, I can put that aside and recognize when a good film has actually been made. And Zack and Miri Make a Porno is funny flick.

I don’t even have to take my own word for it. The audience I viewed the film with laughed a whole lot, to the point where the laughter from one gag would drown out the next. Smith has always had a knack for dialogue, and the cast delivers these lines with a certain legitimacy that hasn’t been felt in his previous flicks. That might be because A-list actors were cast this time around.

The film rides on the backs of Rogen and Banks, and they do an exceptional job at being the most adorable best friends ever. When time finally comes for them to do their on-camera work, it turns out to be one of the sweetest scenes I can think of in recent film.

I have heard some rumblings about how there is no way a girl like Miri would get with a guy like Zack, and the double standard in this new age of male-driven romantic comedy is a despicable lie. But I’m afraid I’m going to have to call BS on that. And all you beautiful ladies out there, with your slightly heavyset men in tow that bothers and bewilders the rest of us who want a piece, can call BS with me.

However, Zack and Miri’s has its weaknesses, and those mostly come from the film’s four-act style storytelling. Something extra seems like it was thrown into the works, and it causes everything to feel like it takes longer than it should, followed by the ending feeling overly rushed. And I should also mention that, like previous Smith films, it isn’t the most wonderful movie to look at. But the writer/director is a writer first, and I would even argue his cinematic lack-of-style adds an extra bit of homegrown flair to his films.

Also problematic is the film’s ending, which is plotted such that it almost hammers you in the face with its point. We know Zack and Miri will end up together from the first scene (if they didn’t, you would cry), but I have to wonder if Smith spent too much time with the porno-shtick and not enough building to his inevitable conclusion.

The films of Kevin Smith like to pretend that high school never ended. How true might that be? After graduation, we all continue to fight with our friends over trivialities, make questionable decisions with the intention of improving our status, and complicate our human relationships with sex. If you think that sounds interesting, and you like very funny dialogue, go see Zack and Miri Make a Porno. I’m seeing it again, but like I said, I’m a fan.