Toronto and Fantastic Fest. Zack and Miri Make a Porno.

Following screenings in Toronto and Kevin Smith's appearance at Independent Film Week, Zack and Miri Make a Porno officially opens Fantastic Fest tonight in Austin. Time to fire up an entry.

"The romantic comedy elements of Zack and Miri are by-the-numbers, but the romance is touching," writes Noel Murray at the AV Club, "and the scene where the two leads shoot 'the scene' takes some interesting turns, going from hilarious to something else. Maybe it's a case of grading on a curve, or maybe it has to do with Smith's return to underdog status after a decade of being beat up by irascible critics like myself, but I found myself really rooting for this movie by the end, and leaving the theater satisfied."

Updated through 9/21.

"[I]s the whole adult-industry shtick a dig at archrival PT Anderson's Boogie Nights?" wonders Fernando F Croce in Slant. "Either way, Orgazmo was funnier."

Online listening tip. Stephanie Zacharek talks with Smith for Salon.

Online viewing tip. Variety's Anne Thompson talks with Smith, too.

Updates, 9/19: In some ways a Mickey Rooney/Judy Garland 'let's put on a show!' movie with lightsaber dildos instead of a barn, Zack and Miri feels like a semi-autobiographical portrait of a nerd who figures out how to be somebody by turning on other nerds for a living," writes Karina Longworth at the SpoutBlog. "There are even patches of dialogue that seem like they could have been lifted from Smith's days preparing Clerks... their pornographic exploits opened them up to 'a world of possibilities, where plain old people like us could do something special.' Could there be a plainer reference to Smith's own charmed career path from suburban comic nerd to God of Suburban Comic Nerds?"

"In a way, Kevin Smith has something in common with Tyler Perry," suggests Scott Von Doviak at Screengrab. "It's doubtful that either one of them is ever going to progress as a filmmaker, but their loyal fans don't really care. If you like Kevin Smith movies, this is probably one of the better ones. If you don't, rest assured Zack and Miri is no quantum leap forward."

Updates, 9/21: "Zack and Miri may be, like many recent rom-coms, a film with characters who've seemed to have avoided self-examination all of their lives, but it's also guiltily, endearingly sweet despite all of the attempts to cut the syrup with anal sex jokes," writes IFC's Alison Willmore. "Smith, you big softy."

At the SpoutBlog, Kevin Kelly talks with Smith.

Posted by dwhudson at September 18, 2008 1:10 PM