She's Out of My League was a very formulaic, but decent enough comedy that had more laughs than you might expect.
THE STORY
Kirk is the sort of sad-sack you see all the time, except in a way, a little worse. Yes, he's got a decent job with some loyal (if weird) friends, but his ex-girlfriend now lives with his family while she dates someone else. If that's not a kick in the pants, I don't know what is. One day, while working his job as a TSA Agent, he finds a phone belonging to the girl of every man's dreams. For some reason, the two of them hit it off and things are going along well, except Kirk never believes he deserves someone like Molly. To make matters worse, his friends don't think so either. And Molly's best friend wants to know why she's slumming. Throw in Molly's handsome ex-boyfriend and you've got all the makings for a relationship ready to explode.
THE REVIEW
You can pretty much guess how She's Out of My League is going to end. This isn't some kind of downer indie film, so it's not giving away much to say there's a happy ending. It's the route they take to get there that's hit or miss. There are some legitimately funny moments in the film, most of them too R-rated for the commercials. One involves the absolute worst-case scenario when meeting parents for the first time, and the other involves a bit of man grooming. Both scenes went on for just the right amount of time and had enough laughs to make you think this movie isn't so bad. And Kirk's friends, especially Stainer, were pretty funny too. Molly was the ideal girl-next-door who was beautiful, but not so hot she felt unattainable. Kirk's family was completely idiotic and over-the-top, although they did provide a couple of funny moments. Jay Baruchel is an unlikely leading man but for this kind of role he sort of works because he's likeable enough to root for but not too annoying that you don't want him to get the girl. However, he's not in the same league as someone like Joseph Gordon-Levitt who also looks geeky but has the acting chops to back it up. If you're into awkward humor, this movie has enough of those situations to keep you entertained. If you're looking for a movie that breaks new ground, then this isn't for you.
Which then leads to the downside of the film. There wasn't a whole lot of conflict. There wasn't much of a reason why these two shouldn't be together except what was going on inside Kirk's head. And even that didn't come across all that much. Yes, his friends (Stainer in particular) kept saying he shouldn't be with a woman that hot, but Kirk always just seemed to blow it off and keep moving forward. It never appeared to really affect him until the one scene in the film that it did. And while Jay Baruchel is likeable enough, even right to the end of the film he never felt comfortable in his own skin so you wonder how long that relationship would actually last. Yes, it does give all geeks hope that a hot blonde will love them someday, but the story wasn't anything nearly special enough, even in a standard romantic-comedy way. Even the typical hot ex-boyfriend didn't do anything to try and derail the relationship. He was under the impression that Kirk was gay, but the second he knew he wasn't, he stepped aside. He even offered a word of advice that had Kirk listened, would have helped. The whole idea that the major conflict was in Kirk's head is much too cerebral for this kind of movie. Throwing in stereotypical romantic-comedy conflicts would have helped out considering this movie didn't try and reach too far in general.
THE BOTTOM LINE
So overall, I enjoyed She's Out of My League more than I thought I would. It had some genuinely funny moments, although the story wasn't anything special. It's nothing that you need to pay $12 to see, but as an afternoon rental, you could do worse.
Which then leads to the downside of the film. There wasn't a whole lot of conflict. There wasn't much of a reason why these two shouldn't be together except what was going on inside Kirk's head. And even that didn't come across all that much. Yes, his friends (Stainer in particular) kept saying he shouldn't be with a woman that hot, but Kirk always just seemed to blow it off and keep moving forward. It never appeared to really affect him until the one scene in the film that it did. And while Jay Baruchel is likeable enough, even right to the end of the film he never felt comfortable in his own skin so you wonder how long that relationship would actually last. Yes, it does give all geeks hope that a hot blonde will love them someday, but the story wasn't anything nearly special enough, even in a standard romantic-comedy way. Even the typical hot ex-boyfriend didn't do anything to try and derail the relationship. He was under the impression that Kirk was gay, but the second he knew he wasn't, he stepped aside. He even offered a word of advice that had Kirk listened, would have helped. The whole idea that the major conflict was in Kirk's head is much too cerebral for this kind of movie. Throwing in stereotypical romantic-comedy conflicts would have helped out considering this movie didn't try and reach too far in general.
