Paramount Pictures | USA | 104 mins
Romantic comedies, of the R-rated raunchy varietal, are nearly a dime a dozen these days. The hero comes in with some handicap that increases the difficulty of capturing the eye of the heroine and we watch as the R-rated don’t-watch-this-with-your-grandmother jokes walk us hand in hand towards the inevitable outcome — the girl finally discovers “it” in the guy. While the underdog “she is too good for me” trope is unfortunately one of the few, and I mean few, possible plot scenarios for these types of films, She’s Out of My League takes the standard recipe and reverses it. The guy, who is clearly a “hard 5”, is being chased by the girl who is clearly a “hard 10.” The final product is what was advertised as a forgettable check-the-box romantic date movie bringing the audience consistent laughs, a sweet and unexpected sentimentality along with fresh new faces to break up the monotony of the increasingly stale raunch comedy genre.
The charm of the film is held single-handedly by leading role underachiever and underdog hero Kirk, played by Jay Baruchel (Knocked Up, Tropic Thunder) in what is more than likely his most gawky role to date. Kirk comes complete with the crew of friends consisting of all of the stereotypical male personalities to evenly round out the group. Kirk has come to terms with the constant deprecating jokes from his friends, his less than glamorous job as a TSA agent at the airport and his far from satisfying life. Acceptance is key in the reality of mediocrity and Kirk had no allusions of stepping outside of his caste. Until Molly, played by Alice Eve, stumbles into Kirk’s security line and finds herself going after the “safe bet.” Deciding to go after a guy “like Kirk,” that would be less likely to break her heart, she breaks Kirk out of the “no way can a 5 date a 10,” ramblings of his friends and bumps him up to the big league.
There are no names that will really stick out to the average movie-goer on the filmmaking team with a British director (Jim Field Smith) and the relatively unknown screenwriters of 2008’s Sex Drive and the upcoming Hot Tub Time Machine, Sean Anders and John Morris. The names may be relatively unknown, but are welcomed additions to the relatively shallow talent pool of successful male comedy filmmakers.
She’s Out of My League has some great laugh out loud moments and a really unexpected sweetness and heart to the story, but none of these positive remarks would have been possible without the charming awkwardness of Baruchel. His awkward mannerisms and convincing sentimentality along with the screenplay’s ability to allow him to usher the film along with genuine heartfelt moments in between the F-words and penis jokes easily sets this film above of its peers. Maybe not that classic R-rated romantic comedy that you will pop into the DVD player every time you get drunk, but still a hilarious and touching effort worth checking out.
8 out of 10
Did you check out She’s Out Of My League this weekend?