Zack and Miri Make a Porno2008

Zack and Miri has a bright, chipper look to it, thanks to cinematographer Dave Klein, a frequent Smith colleague. Wintertime in Pittsburgh never looked so good.

Pretty much what I expected it to be, no more and no less. Kevin Smith had been deeply entrenched in what I like to call his "mullet years" for some time at this point, making movies that want to be hip and sharp-witted for his hardcore fans, but also warm-hearted and dumbed down for a broader audience. It's not a recipe for success, or at least for consistently entertaining flicks. Most directors only stumble across something like Chasing Amy once in their careers, and as much as it disappoints me to realize, Smith just doesn't seem good enough to catch that lightning again. He's bound and determined to try, though, and lukewarm feature-lengths like this one are the end result. It's better than Clerks 2, at least, and was on a good roll during the first act before it veered off in more dramatic directions.

The film is clumsily unfunny at times--particularly when Smith makes tone-deaf efforts at gay-and black-themed comedy--and it's occasionally gross just for the sake of being gross.