ulgar satirist Kevin “Silent Bob” Smith lives for guffaws. His late 1990s efforts, in particular “Chasing Amy” and “Dogma,” made comic mincemeat out of sexual and religious taboos. Yet fleshed out characters usually dwelled in the nooks of the obscene. Judging from this wince-fest of a romantic comedy, the 21st century makes no such flesh and blood demands. Spoof voyeurism, throw in porn, and add anal leakage and, well, you’re half-way to true love.
Overweight Zack Brown (Seth Rogen) and bathroom-door-open Miri “Stinky” Linky (Elizabeth Banks) are Pennsylvania buddies who share a house but can’t pay the utilities. A little stumblebum video (yes, her ass) and a high school reunion (including gay sex stars) gives postmodern Zack the bright idea of making a porn flick for fun and profit.
Since sweet Zack (no Cary Grant) secretly adores shy Miri (no Katie Hepburn) we’re off and running into a parodied world of sexual gags and teenage one-liners (“Where’s the clitoris again? Is it in your ass?”). Verbal defecation assaults romance and comedy. Sweetness is subtracted from.
Why make a porno in the first place? Zack has it covered: “Because other people have options — and dignity — which we do not have, which puts us in an amazingly advantageous position!” To Smith’s indiscreet credit, he supplies a romantic comedy first: A man pledging his love to a woman while she’s sitting on the toilet
