To be honest, the most shocking thing about “Zack and Miri Make a Porno” was that Seth Rogen appeared in a movie that didn’t involve Judd Apatow. Despite most people’s assumptions, and the slightly misleading way the trailers and advertisements made it seem, this movie was actually the product of Kevin Smith.

“Zack and Miri” is a fairly simple idea: Two best friends, desperate for money, try to make a movie. The logic behind this strange premise is that they are part of a graduating class of more than 900 classmates who will buy it out of curiosity just because they used go to school with the people in it. The rest of the movie follows the cast and crew Zach and Miri bring on as they try to get this movie made with no budget.

Despite what the trailers showed, this movie is just as romantic as it is raunchy. Kevin Smith yo-yos between pure comedy and pure romance with incredible ease, following the most disgusting and laughable scenes with the most heart-wrenching. His direction made this movie work where it almost shouldn’t have. Rogen and Banks give pretty good performances, but don’t leave much of a lasting impression. Craig Robinson, finally in a substantial role, plays his role fantastically, but it is nearly indistinguishable from his other roles. The only memorable characters who make you laugh whenever they are on screen are Justin Long’s Brandon and Jason Mewes’ Lester.

Although it can be a bit tedious at times, cycling through love story, comedy, love story, comedy, but never having both at the same time, “Zack and Miri” is still a gross, warmhearted movie.