That saying about things happening in threes has gotten a bit of an X-rated revamp over the weekend, as a threesome of images popped up on my Internets involving porn star actresses in mainstream comedies. To be sure, a few of the men and women who have had sex in pornographic films (or even simulated intercourse in softcore Skinemax flicks) already have managed to graduate and upgrade their careers to network, basic cable and Hollywood big studio movies. Traci Lords and Ron Jeremy come to mind first, so to speak. HBO's Entourage has cast a bevy of porn beauties in previous seasons. Boogie Nights was about the porn world of the late 1970s, and as such, included some adult stars, but that played it heavy (despite some comical scenes).
This is different. Starting with 2007's Superbad, and continuing with last year's Zack and Miri Make a Porno, we're seeing more broad comedies with roles for porn actresses. And now there's news of another new big-budget comedy movie about porn, this time starring Christina Ricci. It's called "Born to be a Star," with Adam Sandler as a co-writer, and Nick Swardson as a co-producer, about a small-town nerd from the Midwest who discovers his parents were 1970s porn stars and decides to go to Hollywood to get into the family business. But who will play the nerd? Swardson? Perhaps Ricci's fiance, and Swardson's buddy, Owen Benjamin?!?