Mini movie review: Red State

I would call myself a casual Kevin Smith fan.  I love Clerks and Dogma; I like Mallrats, Chasing Amy and Zack and Miri Make a Porno; I don't much care for Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back or Clerks II, and didn't bother to see Jersey Girl.


Red State, the little horror/thriller that debuted at Sundance last year is a departure for Smith: a new genre for him and a movie that is not super-saturated with self-consciously clever dialogue.  Three teenagers, out looking to raise some hell, run afoul of an extremist fundamentalist Christian preacher and his cult/family.  The preacher is scary as hell: eloquent, charismatic and madder than a hatter.  We are told that a neo-nazi group gave a recent statement clarifying that they have no affiliation with this guy - when the neo-nazis are nervous, you know it's bad news.  The ATF gets involved and the situation quickly (the whole movie is only about 88 minutes long) disintegrates into a friggin' bloodbath, because the crazy religious folk have got themselves a whole bunch of machine guns.

The cast is way impressive:   John Goodman, Melissa Leo, Anna Gunn and Matt L. Jones ("Skylar" and "Badger" from Breaking Bad), Michael Angarano (Sky High), Kyle Gallner (Veronica Mars and Jennifer's Body), Stephen Root (News Radio and True Blood), Kevin Pollack,Kevin Alejandro ("Jesus" from True Blood), Mark Blucas ("Riley" from BtVS), Patrick Fischler (most recently from Grimm).  The preacher is awesomely played by Michael Parks, whom I didn't recognize but who has a fairly long works list on imdb.com.

I'd rank Red State up there in my "like" category.  Part of that is because the subject matter is just not pleasant enough for me to want to watch over and over again, like Clerks and Dogma.  But it's a tight, fast-moving, disturbing, bloody, well-acted little movie that surprised me - good job, Kevin.

Zack and Miri Make a Porno - mini-review

I've already got two Kevin Smith films on my Fifty Favorite Movies list, the original Clerks and Dogma, and while I don't think Zack and Miri Make a Porno will quite make the cut - Clerks is there because it was shocking and funny and from out of nowhere; and Dogma is damn smart (and funny) - Smith's latest opus is very, very funny and has a lot of smutty warmth to it.

Zack (Seth Rogen) and Miri (Elizabeth Banks) are two slackers (I'm not sure she even has a job and he's a cranky barista at a local coffeeshop) who live together in a crummy apartment and have been friends forever. Their unpaid bills are stacking up and their utilities are being shut off one by one. Clearly in dire straits, they decide that the only way they can make enough money to avoid eviction is to make a homemade porno flick. They enlist Delaney (Craig Robinson), Zack's coworker who actually has some cash, as producer; cast some erstwhile sex-actors (Jason Mewes (f/k/a "Jay"), Traci Lords, Katie Morgan) and crew (Jeff Anderson - f/k/a "Randall," now "the middle aged guy," per Mr. Mouse); and let 'er rip. In between the money shots, however, Zack and Miri realize that friends aren't all they're meant to be.

All of this movie is full of Smith's trademark rapid-fire real-life dialogue, much of it filthy. Most of this movie is laugh-out-loud hilarious, especially during the filming of the porno and extra-especially whenever Justin Long is on the screen as gay porn actor Brandon St. Randy. Where it slows down is during the romantic bits, when Zack and Miri try to figure out their feelings for each other. It's fine, and none of those scenes last that long, but they do drag a bit.

Aside from the plethora of cusswords and the simulated porno-style sex, there's some porn star boobs on display and a full-frontal of Jason Mewes (who is looking better than he ever has - and I don't mean just 'cuz he's nekkid - and actually looks younger than he did in the original Clerks ... that's what clean livin' will do for you, I guess). So, probably not a movie you want to see with your parents or your in-laws. But if you've got some good, unoffendable friends, Zack and Miri Make a Porno is great fun.