There is a misunderstanding out there that the Cap'n "turned his back" on Kevin Smith. Okay, I can't remember exactly how it was phrased, but word got back to me that some of you were lamenting my separation from the View Askew-ites. That I strayed from the flock or something like that, which is not entirely accurate.
Let me clear the air a little bit here: I would not consider myself a blind Kevin Smith acolyte anymore. That is fair to say. And it wasn't actually Jersey Girl; I just realized that I didn't find Mallrats very funny anymore. Or Chasing Amy, or Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back. I think Dogma is a total mess of a movie*.
I don't think anyone would argue that these films represent a "writer's" movie. Clerks works because it's not trying to impress you in any other way than how it's written. When Smith tried to add concept to the films (a John Hughes homage, a Religious-Comedy, a proto-Meet the Spartans reference movie), it fell apart. I'll leave Chasing Amy out of this, because it just doesn't work for me.
When many of you hated Clerks 2 and said it was Kevin Smith getting defensive about Jersey Girl tanking, I disagreed. I think that while his initial instincts were to go "back to the well", he ended up making a movie that's less about licking your wounds and more about getting on with life. It was different from Clerks but had the same characters, and the story was a little more important than the snarky people saying things you wished you'd thought of.
Look, I think Juno is a lot like Clerks: both are films from a writer who saved up their best material and put it all together in case there was no "next movie". Had I seen Juno at the age I saw Clerks, maybe I would've loved it. But I didn't, and I don't. But this is not about Kevin Smith fifteen years ago. This is about Kevin Smith now, having grown up a bit and moving on. Strangely, it's also about Judd Apatow.
Apatow's name is nowhere near Zack and Miri Make a Porno, but you're going to be hard pressed not to draw comparisons in your mind. Since it stars Seth Rogen and Elizabeth Banks, it's really going to be hard, but maybe that's not such a bad thing. This is not the Kevin Smith movie you're used to, but it may be the best thing he's done in years, even if he borrows from the Judd-supporting cast roster**.
If you have access to the internet, you know what Zack and Miri is about. If you didn't, the film was probably very confusing since the MPAA made it quite difficult to discern without the "Make a Porno" part of the title. I saw many a confused middle-aged couple buy tickets at the multi-plex not realizing what they were getting into.
Speaking of which, don't get tricked by the "Star Whores" conceit, as it's more of a bait-and-switch on the part of the Weinstein Company. It doesn't figure into the movie nearly as much as you'd think.
What works for me about the movie is not that it's an Apatow-type movie made by the dude from Jersey who loves Star Wars and comics. Or the fact that it's not in Jersey and only has two Smith regulars (Jason Mewes and Jeff "Randall" Anderson). Those are all nice breaks from the Askew-niverse and help with the "not going back to the well", but Zack and Miri actually find balance between story and writing.
Kevin Smith always struck me as a very personable guy who told great stories, had good one liners, and clever references. Unfortunately, all of that tended to dominate his films instead of the plot. Plot was incidental as long as someone had a really good joke every five minutes. Or just a reference for the audience. Zack and Miri incorporates those into the story in a way that you're not being spoon fed clever pop culture witticisms for their own sake.
For example: the film takes place in Pittsburgh and Monroeville. Monroeville as in where Dawn of the Dead takes place Monroeville. The hockey team that Zack plays for is called the Monroeville Zombies, but it's not the subject of some big joke. It's just what's on his jersey and if you don't notice it, no big deal. Tom Savini has a brief cameo but not in some "hey look, it's Tom Savini who did the makeup in Dawn of the Dead!" way. He just rents them the garage so they can shoot the movie. If you didn't know who it was, it would go right over your head, no harm no foul.
In Mallrats or Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back those would merit their own freeze frames to make sure you got the shout out. In Zack and Miri they just happen and the movie continues. He's integrated his ability to make clever references with the ability to tell a story cinematically. It's a welcome shift for a more discerning audience.
But is it funny? Yes, and not just in a "if you like Seth Rogen" way. He sells Smith dialogue in a natural way, so that you could believe it was something Zack would say not not the writer of the movie, but Rogen and Banks aren't the only good parts. Craig Robinson (Pineapple Express) almost steals the show, were it not for Jeff Anderson and Jason Mewes, who are playing completely different characters than Randall or Jay. Smith also figured out how to utilize Katie Morgan's non-porn charm in a movie and gives Traci Lords the best supporting role she's had since Cry Baby.
Oh, and a great cameo from Tisha Campbell. Believe me, if you only remember her from Martin, you're in for a nice surprise. Justin Long and Brandon Routh also get a nice, if overlong, scene during the "high school reuinion" that sets up the movie.
The movie is dirty, yes, but in a way that reflects what Smith fans would enjoy and taking a few chances beyond that. The "lay it all out" scene is also more believable than Chasing Amy, but to say more might spoil parts of the movie. It has some shaky patches but nothing that derails the movie.
Anway, I don't want you thinking I reject all Kevin Smith. I still enjoy Clerks and his "Evening with.." series. I just don't like the movies that come in-between Clerks and Clerks 2. Being a fan (like us) and making a movie (unlike us) are two different things, but it seems like the two are coalescing for Smith. This is a plus. If Zack and Miri Make a Porno is any indication of what Smith is capable of outside of Jay and Bob, then I'll check out his next movie. Just not blindly.
* I didn't know quite where to put this footnote, but it's also not because people thought I looked like Smith when I wasn't trying to. There are enough people who try to, so it was really weird just being me and having 20-somethings say "Hey, weren't you in Jay and Silent Bob's Adventure?" True story. Seriously.
** speaking of which, would it be too much to ask to get Paul Rudd in a Kevin Smith movie? watch Rudd's coffee shop scene in Role Models and tell me he shouldn't have Smith dialogue in his maw.
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