Seth Rogen: 5 Awesome Performances And 5 That Sucked
3. Zack - Zack And Miri Make a Porno
When Seth Rogen made a name for himself, his agent asked him what type of movies he wanted to participate in. For Seth, the answer was acting in a Kevin Smith movie. Sure enough, his wish was granted almost immediately. Story has it that after Kevin Smith watched The 40-Year-Old Virgin, he knew he wanted to put Seth Rogen in one of his movies right away. He saw the talent and the potential that this guy had and quickly banged out a script that would become Zack and Miri Make a Porno.
Shortly after, Knocked Up became a super huge smash as well as Superbad shortly after. Kevin Smith thought Seth would be unreachable now after having achieved all of this sudden fame. Turns out, Seth was completely on board for whatever Kevin had planned. The result would be a small comedy centered around two best friends who decide to make a porno after being unable to pay any of their bills.
Given the economic downturn, it was a timely story premise. I think we can all relate to having to come up with creative ideas to pay the bills. Elizabeth Banks adds some real soul to her character but Seth Rogen seems to be the weakest of the bunch in another underwritten role that ultimately gave him nothing to do. It's about as mundane a leading man role as you can get, there wasn't anything for him to sink his teeth into and it shows. You can really feel the actors just showing up on set and going through all of their lines instead of truly believing in everything you see. The spark isnt there, the magic is absent and it gets a little repetitive as the film goes on.
The blame of course falls on Kevin Smiths writing... this was one not even Rogen could salvage.