Looking for raunchy comedy? Zack and Miri pull it off

MOVIE REVIEW

Whatever happened to selling plasma?

You lie down for a while, you get poked, you leave with a few bucks.

When roommates and lifelong platonic pals Zack (Seth Rogen) and Miri (Elizabeth Banks) wind up broke and without power in the middle of a Pittsburgh winter, they decide lying down and getting poked on camera is a better way to bring in cash.

With a title that would have given average moviegoers aneurysms just a few years ago, "Zack and Miri Make a Porno" comes out at a time when the zeitgeist could make it Kevin Smith's first major hit. Most people are feeling the effects of the economy going down the toilet, whether or not they're turning to porn. More significantly, even though writer-director-editor Smith has been slapping his raunchy-talking comedies onto big screens since 1994's "Clerks," it took Judd Apatow's ultra-crude, warmhearted hits such as "Knocked Up" and "Superbad" to loosen up audiences larger than Smith's cult base. And with Smith borrowing Apatow's star, Rogen, it's an ultramegacrude, funny, escapade almost guaranteed to score.

There isn't much by way of a plot that would have made Stanley Kubrick jealous, and what's there is predictable once you're inured to the relentless outrageousness of language and subject matter. A motley crew of goofballs — including Craig Robinson from "The Office" and Jason Mewes with a full-frontal — stumble their way through their first skin flick, while the two leads discover to their shock and surprise that sex tends to change a friendship — in other words, "When Harry (!@#$%^&) Sally."

Even if you're not a Smith fan, his no-holds-barred approach is infinitely preferable to the other recent big-screen stab at this, the nauseatingly folksy "The Moguls" from 2005. As juvenile as the humor is, Smith wants us to grow up about, and get over, words.

He makes Miri act and talk like a guy — notably trying to hook up with high-school-crush Brandon Routh ("Superman Returns"), who happens to be the boyfriend of gay porn star Justin Long. But Banks, who can also be seen as Laura Bush in "W," has the comic timing and delivery to pull it off.

Rogen is the same amiable, pudgy, furry slacker he usually plays, which helps tip the movie's scale from sleazy to funny. But it does require a willing suspension of belief to buy him getting it on in a porno flick, not to mention with a beauty like Banks. But what about Ron "The Hedgehog" Jeremy, you ask? First: He's an exception to the rule. Second: I have to eat lunch soon, so please. Funny and likable as Rogen is, he's more suited for the type who's into "bears."

It's been said that eventually we'll see legit actors engage in full intercourse on screen in mainstream movies. That doesn't happen in this one, but some of the supporting cast has experience in the field: Infamous ex-underage-porn-star Traci Lords plays an actress with a special talent. And Katie Morgan has lent her own talents to such films as "Dancing with the Porn Stars," "Desperately Horny Housewives" and "The Sopornos 5." For the record, making dirty titles out of regular movie and TV titles will always yield comedy gold.

To that end, the crew's first attempt is called "Star Whores" — "Star Wars" being a favorite subject of Smith. Other fodder from pop-culture geek Smith includes "Dawn of the Dead" shoutouts and an appearance from that movie's Tom Savini. It's all vintage Smith — if you can say that about a 38-year-old — just pushed a little further.

Mark Rahner: 206-464-8259

or mrahner@seattletimes.com