Issue date: 2/12/09 Section: The Verge

From a distance, it appears as if Kevin Smith doesn't like to put much time into the titles of his movies.

His first film was called "Clerks," which was exactly what the movie was about.

Other obvious titles are "Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back" and "Chasing Amy;" Jay and Silent Bob are striking back, and Amy is being chased.

So, it is no surprise that Smith's new film, "Zack and Miri Make a Porno," is exactly what the title suggests.

The film was released on Blu-ray and as a double disk DVD set on Feb. 3.

But not only is "Zack and Miri Make a Porno" about literally filming their own version of a porno, but Smith actually tries to fuse in a love story.

Smith, the film's director and writer, is once again using his formula of struggling individuals barely getting by to set up a last, desperate attempt to overcome their financial shortcomings.

The film's stars, Seth Rogen (Zack) and Elizabeth Banks (Miri), play a couple of life-long buddies who have all of a sudden ran into some money troubles.

After getting the power and the water shut off at their apartment, the duo decide to create their own porno.

The plan is launched after a trip to their high school reunion, where they meet the gay porn star combination of Bobby Long, played by Brandon Routh ("Superman Returns") and Brandon St. Randy, played by Justin Long ("Dodgeball").

Zack's original plan to make a porno version of "Star Wars" falls through after their homemade sets are destroyed because of a deal gone bad.

Zack then decides he is going to shoot his porno at his place of business - a coffee shop.

After enlisting the help of fellow co-worker Delaney (Craig Robinson of "The Office") to fund the skin flick,

Zack then auditions and hires a stripper (porn star Katie Morgan), Jason Mewes (Jay from that other Kevin Smith movie) and a woman with a very unusual talent (Traci Lords).

The problem for Zack and Miri is that they believe that having sex in their movie won't change their relationship.

During their slow and sensual sex scene, while Delaney is complaining about the lack of "titties" being shown, Zack and Miri realize their feelings for each other.

Soon their relationship is strained because their script calls for the two to have sex with different people, and the movie is quickly put on hold.

I'll let everyone guess on how this one ends up.

Overall, Smith does a good job of combining the silly aspects of porno sequences and the politics of relationships.

The film has its moments of hilarious antics with larger than life jokes, but it also has dry spells that bring down the tempo of the film.

A final bright spot to the film is the naughty and nice relationship of Zack and Miri; Rogen and Banks form a nice combination in the midst of their problems.

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