Sometimes you really need nothing more than a title to know what you are getting in a film. Though sometimes a really good title leads you into believing the film is going to be really good, the same applies for a really bad title.

So needless to say a movie with a title like Zack & Miri Make a Porno sort of by title alone sets a low expectation when it comes to the quality of the film that you are about to watch. But if the title itself is not a dead giveaway that the film is going to be substantively lacking, actually watching the movie leaves the viewer with no doubt that this film certainly is not going to go down in history as being one of the all time best.

Directed by Kevin Smith, Zack & Miri Make a Porno is a sort of film that just about anyone might be able to write the storyline to after a good night of drinking to excess. Two roommates, plenty of vulgarity, a porno and a twisted love story all come into play in this film and the creativity that is needed when making a movie.

Zack Brown (Seth Rogen) and Miri Linky (Elizabeth Banks) have always been basically best friends. Having gone to high school together, the two now are living the early adult lives renting an apartment together and scraping to get by whatever way possible. Miri is the attractive blond woman and Zack is a sort of grubby overweight fellow who is perhaps complacent enough in his belief that pouring coffee is about as good as he is going to ever do.

When the going gets tough and the debts start increasing for both Zack and Miri, the two come to a belief that all avenues to hack it out have been exhausted and that the only logical thing left to possibly do is to put their friendship on the line and film a porno, distribute the porno and then watch the money coming rolling in. Ah yes, the ever so popular film an adult film and sell it routine tends to be one of Fortune 500's recommendations for people to help their financial outlook. Brilliant!

The two employ Zack's coffee shop co-worker Delaney (Craig Robinson) to help produce the video and serve as not just the producer but also as one of the main financiers. Delaney who himself has a debt of affection issue of his own graciously takes one of the team and signs on to the project. His sort of dark humor is perhaps one of the only bright spots in the entire film.

Of course any good adult film cannot just have one scene with one couple, so at Delaney's direction they need to find some other cast members to sign onto the Zack and Miri's idea. Two real-life adult film stars Katie Morgan and Traci Lords each play a willing participant to the film ideas of Delaney and Zack and Miri, but their real life acting in this film is about as poor as it can get. It certainly becomes abundantly clear why we don't hear more of adult film stars making the crossover to mainstream movies.

Intertwined in the plot is this cheesy love story that proves to be boring and predictable and it would have been better if they just left that entire portion of the film out.  Seriously, the was a banal little love plot thrown into the movie in the hopes of salvaging this film? Was there a hope that perhaps the demographic that might watch the film with a little romance plot mixed in would grow by leaps and bounds?

The impression that the viewer gets of Monroeville, Pennsylvania is that the town is bleak and perhaps a bit depressed. Pretty much as perfect as a setting one could hope to have for this film. The plot and story line of Zack & Miri Make a Porno is about as bleak as it can get and the acting in the film leaves no doubt in your mind that this film is simply put: awful. The depression really sets in when you realize that you just wasted an hour and a half of your life that you will never get back and have absolutely nothing to show or speak about from the loss.

Recommended:
No

Viewing Format: DVD
Video Occasion: None of the Above
Suitability For Children: Suitable for Children Age 13 and Older