She"s Out of My League - Movie Review

About.com Rating

There are several performances that are winning and likable in the new romantic comedy She's Out of My League -- so many that it's a shame that the movie really doesn't work. Jay Baruchel, the film's lead, is goofy and gangly and awfully sincere, and it's difficult not to root for him (in much the same way as it was back on Undeclared, the short-lived FOX series that gave Baruchel his start). Alice Eve is, as the movie never lets you forget, very pretty with a big, toothy smile that puts anyone instantly at ease.

The two are very pleasant together, even though they're never all that convincing as a couple, and make a decent enough distraction during their screen time together.

The Story

Unfortunately, they're trapped in a romantic comedy that's contrived and often lazy, forced to push their way through scene after scene that doesn't work. Baruchel plays Kirk, a nice-guy airport security guard who one day recovers the IPhone of gorgeous party planner Molly (Eve). They make plans to exchange the phone back to its owner, and she's charmed by him -- plus tired of dating superficial jerks -- and asks him out. The remainder of the movie follows their courtship as Kirk is forced to overcome his own insecurities (why would this girl be interested in him?) and the vocal doubts of his family and friends to make a romance happen.

There's a sweet enough story at the heart of She's Out of My League, but it's buried under an endless series of bad scenes (like one in which Kirk has a premature accident in his pants just as he's meeting Molly's parents, or another in which he decides to groom his private area) and repetitive plotting.

I like that Kirk and Molly's problems come from a genuine emotional place, and that -- for the most part -- they communicate openly. Unfortunately, She's Out of My League won't get out of their way and let them be happy until the final minutes (spoiler), because that's the way romantic comedies work.

Thankfully, comedian and actor T.J. Miller, playing Kirk's best friend (the unfortunately-named "Stainer"), redeems just about every scene he's in. Any laugh in the film comes courtesy of Miller, who creates a character that's both sublimely obnoxious yet still believable and sincere. A number of the actors in the movie lapse into caricature, which would have been easy for Miller to do -- he is, after all, saddled with the thankless role of foul-mouthed slobby best friend (a role that rarely works in any romantic comedy). Instead, he makes Stainer a real person who speaks and acts according to his nature -- not simply as dictated by the machinations of the script. And contrary to what the filmmakers might think, it's Miller's emotional arc that drives the last act of the movie; he's the only character that really changes -- or, at least, the only who who does so convincingly. It's a role that could have gone way wrong, but Miller winds up stealing the movie.

She's Out of My League wants to be smarter than the average romantic comedy, but the way it's executed winds up saddling it with the same baggage and almost every other genre entry. That's too bad, as the performances from Baruchel, Eve and especially T.J. Miller deserve a better movie.