Zack and Miri Make a Porno

First Hit: This film held my interest and was actually pretty funny at times.

Elizabeth Banks plays Miri and Seth Rogen plays Zack who are lifelong friends. They graduated high school together and although they never thought of having a romantic relationship, then ended up living together because of their friendship and acceptance of each other’s behavior.

They are both in dead end jobs and because of some foolish spending habits end up not having enough money to pay the water bill, utilities, and the rent. In a panic about how to create some income they decide to make a porno film.

They figure that by doing this they can make enough money to pay their outstanding bills. They recruit some friends and have auditions and end up with a motley crew to shoot and act in their made up story. One of the things they decide on, in their planning, was that they would have sex with each other and they each would have sex with someone else in the cast as well. This leads us into the development of the broader story.

Both Banks and Rogen are fine as their respective characters. Craig Robinson has some great scenes and is funny as Rogen’s coworker Delaney. Some of the scenes at their high school reunion were funny and each is given a story line representing their past history in school in a funny way. Kevin Smith the writer and director made the story entertaining and I’m sure some of the outtakes of this film are even funnier than what was on the screen. It was also nice to see Kevin’s friend Jason Mewes in the film playing Lester, one of the porno stars.

Overall: It was an amusing film and at times very funny with the audience bursting out in loud guffaws.

Sex Drive

First Hit: Some funny bits, but mostly more inane stupid bits than funny ones.

By watching a couple of previews, I knew this would be a B level film, and it was.

The premise is that Josh Zuckerman (playing Ian) is a young 16 year old boy who fantasies about having sex. He believes that most everyone else he knows has “done it” and he is an outcast. He really likes his best friend Felicia (played by Amanda Crew) but she likes one of his friends.

She is afraid that making their friendship more will kill the friendship. Ian uses the internet to attract a young woman in Nashville. Part of the attraction is that Ian falsely portrays himself as a football player and owner of a 1969 “Judge.”

The picture he posts on the internet is his brothers as is the car he says he owns. His brother decides to leave town with the rest of his family so Ian steals the car to meet with this internet beauty. On the way, they meet Amish and other characters.

When he meets his internet date, despite her beauty and willingness to have sex with him he says he can’t because I cares about someone else. However, this internet girl is really just a front for a car theft ring. Anyway, everything works out in the end but getting there is convoluted. I did learn one thing though there is a tradition in the Amish church called Rumspringa when young kids are allowed to experience the outside world.

Almost 80% of them come back to the church after experiencing the outside world for a while.

Overall: This was a dumb film although I loved seeing the car of my dreams back in 1969; “The Judge.”

What Just Happened

First Hit: What made this film likeable was that it put forth a version of Hollywood, and how it works, from a producers point view. And although the producer is on a down slope, watching him maintain a level and illusion of power is stressful and funny in a dehumanizing way.

Robert De Niro plays Ben a producer who at one point in time was powerful in the Hollywood Studio world. The film begins with a pre-test of his latest film by a young wacky avant-garde director.

The film that is being previewed stars Sean Penn who likes the edgy and horrible ending. Because he is tied to the film it is getting a preview at Cannes. The pre-test reviews and data say this film isn’t any good and the studio head wants to pull it from Cannes unless the director re-cuts it. The ending simply makes the film unwatchable.

The meeting with studio head (played by Catherine Keener) where Ben and the director (played by Michael Wincott) must hear how the studio wants the film changed brings out the best in these three characters. Robin Wright Penn plays Kelly the second of Ben’s ex-wives.

Ben still has feelings for Kelly (played by Robin Wright Penn) the second of his ex-wives. So he still tries to see her outside of their “breakup therapy”. The first ex-wife, with whom he has a daughter named Zoe, is getting $30,000 a month. That along with the two children he has with Kelly means he has a lot of pressure to keep making films and good ones because there is a lot of money owed each month.

Additionally, each of his wives lives in a really nice home while he is living is a very modest apartment. He is very nervous because his next film is about to be cancelled by the studio because the talent, Bruce Willis playing himself, is being rebellious. Bruce is supposed to play a romantic lead in this film but he doesn’t want to shave his huge beard and is challenging the studio.

The studio says “no way” to the beard and, therefore, is threatening to cancel the film because they don’t think that an overweight bearded Bruce in a romantic lead can be sold to the public.

The scene of with Ben, the studio reps, and Bruce’s agent waiting for Bruce to walk out of his trailer with or without beard is priceless.

De Niro is better in this film than he was with Pacino in “Righteous Kill” (reviewed earlier). It is clear he knows the character and the script. Willis is great as Bruce. Robin Wright Penn is good as conflicted ex-wife that still has some feelings for her emotionally detached ex. Barry Levinson directs this with an even hand and his knowledge of both the business and his directing craft make this film work.

Overall: I enjoyed the premise. It does transcend Hollywood because there are millions of businessmen who also have huge obligations and bend and BS their way through situations just to make others happy and the situation work. In the end we sometimes end up in mediocrity.

Nick and Nora's Infinite Playlist

First Hit: I enjoyed this film because I sensed the main characters were kids other kids could relate to and it felt real.

This is a story about a boy, Nick (played by Michael Cera) who loses his first love and is pining over this loss. He makes woeful playlists on CDs and gives him to his old girlfriend. She just laughs at the CD cover art and drops them in the waste can without ever listening to them. Michael plays Nick perfect. He is accessible, honest, open, and believable.

One night he joins his band members (The Jerk Offs) for a set at a club in downtown NY. During the set, he sees his old girlfriend with a new guy. He’s heartbroken but Nora, whom he doesn’t know but his old girlfriend does, walks over to him, kisses him and asks him to help him take her drunk girlfriend home before they head out to find a hot band called Fluffy.

The story, although unbelievable at times, is never unbelievable when it comes to the interaction between Nick and Nora.

Michael Cera is great as Nick and Kat Dennings is wonderful as Nora. Their interaction is spot on, touching, real and endearing. Peter Sollett does a great job of keeping their story on track, although the other characters weren’t as lucky. On a personal note, to see inside Electric Lady Studios was very moving.

Overall: This was an enjoyable light film because Michael and Kat played their parts very well.

Choke

First Hit: This is a very uneven film, and didn’t seem to know if it was a comedy or a drama.

One of the impressions this films left me with is: If during an airplane ride I go to the restroom, leave the door unlocked, get naked and sit there, the next person who enters will have sex with me.

Just don’t think this is true. Victor (played by Sam Rockwell) works at a historical theme park and has a sex addiction. He goes to his SA meetings and bangs the woman he is sponsoring during the meeting. His best friend is also a sexual addict but really wants to work the program and eventually succeeds in creating a relationship.

Sam goes to a nursing home to visit his mother Ida (played by Angelica Huston). Ida suffers from dementia and rarely recognizes her son. Victor meets her new doctor Paige (played by Kelly Macdonald) and wants to have sex with her.

However, as he spends time with her he thinks he likes her and when she proposes sex in the nursing home chapel, he can’t perform. Victor pays for the expensive treatment at the nursing home by choking himself in restaurants and finding the right person who will perform the Heimlich maneuver, feel sorry for him, and give him some money.

The director Clark Gregg never clearly decided what kind of film he wanted to make. There were some wonderful touching and insightful spots in this film that were wiped out by too many scenes that were way too long, didn’t add to the story, and were poorly executed. And it just wasn't that funny.

Overall: There was a smattering of a good and quirky film lying inside this story, but overall it played out very poorly.