Some of the best comedies to come out lately have shown the “nerd” getting the beautiful girl. “Knocked Up” showed Seth Rogen getting the one night stand most people dream of, and “Superbad” showed two nerds who end up scoring big after a wild night.
This is nothing new in cinema, but these films managed to succeed because they had a great sense of humor. “She’s Out of My League” does not share that same sense of creativity, but it does manage to entertain with the same basic idea.
Kirk (Baruchel) is an average man that works for TSA at the airport. His girlfriend broke up with him two years prior, and he is unable to move on. While on the job Kirk helps Molly (Eve), a beautiful and successful woman, retrieve her lost cell phone.
Because of this kindness, Molly falls for him. The two begin to date, but Kirk is constantly ridiculed by his friends and family because they all say she is out of his league. Kirk attempts to prove to himself and to others that he is good enough for Molly, but when her ex-boyfriend Dylan, shows up, Kirk begins to lose faith in his ability to be the man he needs to be.
Baruchel is surprisingly good in the lead role. He’s very charming and at the same time very controlled as an actor. Baruchel’s ability to make you feel pity for him is impressive. Playing Molly and the sex symbol of this movie is Eve, and she pulls off most ofher role well. Her acting may have been underwhelming in the film’s more serious moments, but during comedic scenes she was good. T. J. Miller plays the best friend role nicely and some of his lines are hysterical. Unfortunately, in the second half of the film his character loses most of his comedic spark. Nate Torrence is the weakest actor here, as his performance is a bit overwhelming and he ruins numerous scenes with failed humor. Kyle Bornheimer plays a great ex-boyfriend role, and Lindsay Sloane made me laugh a couple times even if her acting is bad.
The plot is “League’s” biggest weakness. It was far too drawn out, and the timeline of the film does not make sense. One scene shows the two beginning to fall for each other and in the next they are thoroughly in love. I really wanted more out of the entire love story. I also think “League” should have incorporated smarter humor rather than taking the easy way out with scatological comedy.
Director Jim Field Smith had the potential to make a very funny film, but he made it into an R-rated teen movie. The immature feeling throughout did not sit right, but when they broke away from pubic hair shaving scenes and other idiotic situations, a decent job was done.
If the plot was uninspired then the music was downright appalling. Every licensed rock song they chose to incorporate hurt this film. The poor choice of highly over-played music made this film seem cheap and out of date. The other large problem I had was the loud music during scenes of serious dialogue. I have noticed this problem a lot lately in the movies made for a younger audience and incorporating it here ruins any sense of emotion from the script.
“League” ultimately offers a mixed bag. It doesn’t do anything not seen in numerous comedic films, but it does carry a certain charm. If a film is needed for a date night then you could do worse than “League,” but for all other reasons this is just a rental.
