Kevin Smith's ear for raunch is as piquant as ever, but he's moved beyond his usual unconvincing leads to Judd Apatow regulars Rogen and Craig Robinson.
Smith may have pioneered this kind of upfront sex chat, but the Apatow team refined it. 'Zack and Miri' feels uncomfortably like a gruesome game of filth-talk oneupmanship, and it's hard to care who comes out on top.
Kevin Smith's latest offering provides a constant stream of laughs throughout its duration, but crucially fails to nail the emotional realism it tries so hard to achieve.
Kevin Smith turns out to be reverent after all: he wants to separate true love from mere copulating for money, but his story mixes romance and porn so inextricably that he seems confused, and the movie trips over its own conceits.
Everyone on screen seems to be having so much fun.
NPR.org
July 06, 2010
Married, a father and pushing 40, Smith is no longer a trustworthy chronicler of 20-something slackers. He still can devise an impressively gamy set piece, but he's misplaced the humanity of his best work.
Some may tire of Smith's template of toilet humour and tits, but to others, those very same qualities are a guarantee of entertainment. Love him or hate him, Kevin Smith isn't afraid to hit new lows to get new laughs.