"She's Out of My League"

Have you ever heard something to the effect of “A one doesn't get a ten”? If you haven't, it basically means that the ugly dork doesn't get the hottie, and it's true. There are ways of making your score go up or down, being rich, being in a band, having a nice car, etc, but there is only a certain disparity that can exist between you and your mate. It is this concept that backs up the plot of the new movie “She's Out of My League”.

“She's Out of My League” (which shall be referred to as SOML from here on, as I am too lazy to keep typing it) is the story of Kirk (Jay Baruchel: “Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist”), a TSA screener at the Pittsburgh airport who cannot get over his ex-girlfriend, Marnie (Lindsey Sloan), although it probably doesn't help that she works at the same screening station, and that his family seems to like her more than they do him.

Even though he is a bit of a loser, Kirk still has his close circle of friends. There's a the jerk, Stainer (T.J. Miller: “Cloverfield”), the almost cool guy, Jack (Mike Vogel: “Cloverfield”), and the nice guy, Devon (Nate Torrence: “Get Smart”). They work together, they hang out together, and they alternately jeer and cheer Kirk on for the decisions he makes and has made with his life.

So Kirk is living his craptastic life until the day that Molly (Alice Eve) comes through his checkpoint and loses her iPhone. Molly's bitchy friend, business partner, and airplane seat mate, Patty (Krysten Ritter: “Breaking Bad”) calls the phone and Kirk answers. Molly sets up a time for Kirk to return the phone to her at an event she is organizing, where they hit it off, and the rest of the story is set in motion.

SOML is equal parts gross-out guy humour and romantic comedy, and is more reminiscent of films like “Meet the Parents” or “There's Something About Mary” than it is “The Hangover”. This makes for a decent date movie (although probably not a first date movie) as it never spends too long on either movie type at a time, and it is equally funny while in either mode.

I only had a couple of problems with this film. The first was that when we Molly enters the airport at the beginning every guy's head turns to her as if she were the hottest woman on Earth. I'm not saying she's not attractive by any stretch here, but I honestly thought that Patty was better looking, although she is a bitch which would lower her a point or two, but you're not going to get that just from her walking into an airport terminal. Clearly your mileage may vary on this based on your own likes and dislikes, so it's not worth dwelling on.

The second problem is that I could never totally buy the relationship between Molly and Kirk. In a movie where all the of the actors have great chemistry you have this alpha couple who just seem wrong for each other. I know that it is meant to be awkward, and I know you are supposed to spend half the movie waiting for her to dump him when someone better looking comes along, or for his low self-esteem to sabotage things, but it still never really worked for me. Their interactions seem just a little too awkward, forced almost. This would be a big problem if the movie wasn't otherwise as good as it is, but the fun script and believable interaction between the other characters cover for this flaw.

One of the best things in SOML has to be Nate Torrence's portrayal of Devon. Torrence steals every scene he is in whether he is refusing to curse for money, offering manscaping advice, or dropping Disney references in regards to Molly and Kirk's relationship. I could not help but smile every time he was on the screen. He brings an unflappable brightness to his role that made me believe that he would actually do some of the things his character does for his friend.

SOML is probably the best comedy in theaters right now, and if you are looking for a good laugh that you can have with your special someone this is likely your best bet. It's rude and crude, but still manages to be sweet when it counts. Compared to larger fare like “Alice in Wonderland” this is really only a rental, but if you just want to have a good time with an adult-oriented movie, then I recommend spending a little time finding out how you rate at “She's Out of My League” this weekend.

Like zombies?
Check out ”Mallville – A Journal of the Zombie Apocalypse”, my free ongoing blognovel.