I consider myself to be somewhat of a misfit, which is probably why I enjoy the company of freaks, nerds and other social oddities. For some reason, whenever I meet a kid with anger management problems who obsessive-compulsively collects Post-it notes, I want to bake him a cake and make him my BFF.So, considering the fact that I like to surround myself with people like myself, it's no surprise that I like to watch movies about people like myself, too, particularly those by director Kevin Smith (Jersey Girl aside). Smith specializes in the creation of misfit characters, and, considering his tendency to conclude his films with themes like necrophilia, he's probably a bit of a freak himself.

Zack and Miri Make a Porno, Smith's latest offering, thankfully isn't devoid of the director's unique brand of humor. Or at least the majority of the movie isn't. During the first hour of the film, I actually thought I was watching the second coming of Clerks, not because the premise of Zack and Miri was unoriginal, but rather because the movie had the same wit and appealingly laid-back approach to plot as Smith's 1994 debut. Even as Zack and Miri documents the strife of two down-on-their-luck roommates who decide that the best way to pay their bills is by sexin' each other and recording it, the film concerns itself more with clever dialogue than producing a particularly meaningful plot, and that's what makes the initial hour of Zack and Miri and the entirety of Clerks so good.

However, Smith decides midway through Zack and Miri that this film is going to be deep, which wouldn't be such a terrible thing, except for the fact that the plot suddenly becomes so sickeningly sweet that I thought I was going to develop diabetes. Out of the blue, the act of making porn becomes "something special," and characters play matchmaker while preaching about "how grand love is."

Not only that, but whereas before the sexual aspect of the film was explicitly entertaining, after the film decides to be "serious business," watching certain characters bang is incredibly discomforting and akin to spying on your best friends doing it. These "heartfelt" sex scenes come after a point when the audience has come to view sex as something lighthearted and meant to be mocked, and the abrupt portrayal of characters being united through "lovemaking" makes you feel as though you're intruding on something incredibly personal. So when people start playing back awkward, extended portions of Zack and Miri's porn to demonstrate that, "Oh, hey, you guys are making love rather than f-cking, so you must be infatuated with each other," I wanted to bail faster than an experimental submissive from an overly enthusiastic sadist.

But even as this film enters a downward spiral the acting remains consistently good. Seth Rogen's and Elizabeth Banks' frequent disparagements of each other are spat out perfectly every time, and Craig Robinson is hysterical as a jaded husband who just wants to see a different set of breasts. And, of course, Jeff Anderson and Jason Mewes of Clerks and other notable Smith films are a welcome addition to the Zack and Miri cast.

However, despite these excellent showings, I have to say that my favorite performance was delivered by a viciously deadpan Justin Long during his five-minute stint as the boyfriend of Zack and Miri's former high school's quarterback.

If nothing else, this film is worth seeing for the hour or so of it that is reminiscent of Smith's glory days. Just keep in mind that Smith can't keep it up for the entirety of the film's 102-minute run time.