It has taken me a while to get around to watching this film, probably because it actually isn't one of the easiest films to find. Mind you, it did receive a lot of harsh criticism, but despite the name that this film bears, you don't actually see all that much, or at least nothing more than what you would see in your typical MA rated movie (using the Australian rating systems).
Well, maybe, because we need to remember that this is a Kevin Smith film, so while what we see on screen may not necessarily be all that bad, the language is absolutely atrocious. Look, I can get away with saying that because I have seen most of his films, or at least his foundational films, and do quite appreciate him as an artist. Having said that, this certainly isn't one of his best films.
Basically the film is about these two down and outers - Zack and Miri. They live together so that they can afford to pay the bills, and have known each other since kindergarten. However, as far as life goes, they really haven't amounted to much - they basically work in a coffee shop. The funny thing is that it seems to run like those films where they go to their school renunion as realise that, unlike their school mates, they haven't amounted to all that much - except they don't care, they don't care at all. They don't go into the porn business because they want to impress their school mates, and are upset that they are no hopers, they do it because they need to pay their bills, and after talking to the partner of one of their friends, realised that there is money in porn (or at least there was back when this film was made - I doubt there is anymore).
Actually, this is basically a romance, or at least it is a romance in the way that Kevin Smith makes a romance - pretty gritty actually. Still, what happens when a couple who are friends decide to make a porno, and then begin to realise that maybe they are more than friends, and start having issues about simply sleeping with any old person - in a way it seemed to be easy at first, but as the movie progresses they start to realise that maybe, just maybe, there really isn't such a thing as empty sex. Anyway, as most romances end up, this pretty much does so as well.
Which is why I didn't think that it was one of Smith's better films. It really didn't have that depth that films like Chasing Amy had, nor did it have the wit that films like Clerks had. Really, it was basically a lot of swearing that really wasn't all that funny. Sure, there happened to be a couple of the really way out things that seem to only come from the mind of Kevin Smith, or at least normal people like me only learn about them from people like Kevin Smith (such as the Dutch Rubber), but honestly, this film really doesn't sit up there all that much. In a way, I guess that is probably why we haven't see, or heard, all that much from Kevin Smith beyond his more mundane media appearances.
Well, maybe, because we need to remember that this is a Kevin Smith film, so while what we see on screen may not necessarily be all that bad, the language is absolutely atrocious. Look, I can get away with saying that because I have seen most of his films, or at least his foundational films, and do quite appreciate him as an artist. Having said that, this certainly isn't one of his best films.
Basically the film is about these two down and outers - Zack and Miri. They live together so that they can afford to pay the bills, and have known each other since kindergarten. However, as far as life goes, they really haven't amounted to much - they basically work in a coffee shop. The funny thing is that it seems to run like those films where they go to their school renunion as realise that, unlike their school mates, they haven't amounted to all that much - except they don't care, they don't care at all. They don't go into the porn business because they want to impress their school mates, and are upset that they are no hopers, they do it because they need to pay their bills, and after talking to the partner of one of their friends, realised that there is money in porn (or at least there was back when this film was made - I doubt there is anymore).
Actually, this is basically a romance, or at least it is a romance in the way that Kevin Smith makes a romance - pretty gritty actually. Still, what happens when a couple who are friends decide to make a porno, and then begin to realise that maybe they are more than friends, and start having issues about simply sleeping with any old person - in a way it seemed to be easy at first, but as the movie progresses they start to realise that maybe, just maybe, there really isn't such a thing as empty sex. Anyway, as most romances end up, this pretty much does so as well.
Which is why I didn't think that it was one of Smith's better films. It really didn't have that depth that films like Chasing Amy had, nor did it have the wit that films like Clerks had. Really, it was basically a lot of swearing that really wasn't all that funny. Sure, there happened to be a couple of the really way out things that seem to only come from the mind of Kevin Smith, or at least normal people like me only learn about them from people like Kevin Smith (such as the Dutch Rubber), but honestly, this film really doesn't sit up there all that much. In a way, I guess that is probably why we haven't see, or heard, all that much from Kevin Smith beyond his more mundane media appearances.