Zack and Miri Make a Porno

Two platonic roommates (Seth Rogen, Elizabeth Banks), assailed by overdue bills, make a desperate pact to use their meager resources producing a porn movie—strictly business, of course, and it won’t change their friendship. With this naughty concept (and a game, anything-goes cast), writer-director Kevin Smith shifts his flair for baroquely profane dialogue into hilarious overdrive; the movie is terribly funny and full of surprises. Smith can’t help pushing things to the max, and the surprises include some winces along with the laughs; the movie is rated a hard “R,” so parents should show due diligence, and the timid and prudish should steer clear altogether. For the rest, there’s a nifty tightrope walk between raunch and romance; the movie talks and acts dirty, but its heart is actually rather sweet.