Zack and Miri Make a Porno

Long before we met Judd Apatow, we had Kevin Smith - helmsman of Clerks, and, one imagines, probably a bit ruffled by the challenge to his slacker-king crown by that whippersnapper Mr Apatow.

So, here again he rises, this time roping in slacker-prince Seth Rogan as our pale, podgy hero Zack, who seeks to pay the bills by making an amateur porn flick with his best friend Miri (Elizabeth Banks).

Actually, the crudest thing about Zack and Miri Make a Porno is its title. Yes, there's a fair bit of lewdness, potty-mouthing, references to numerous sexual proclivities and squelchy bodily functions, but essentially this is a love story. Somehow in the decidedly unromantic environs of a porn-shoot, Zack and Miri are destined to realise that they are, in fact, stupidly in love with one another.

However, the sweet and the tawdry do not make altogether comfortable bedfellows, and while this is in many ways a charming lil' movie, it's hard to overlook Smith's attempts to make light of the porn industry, which, lest we forget, is in no way sweet or romantic or lovely. ·