She’s Out of My League (2010)

Directed by Jim Field Smith
Written by Sean Anders & John Morris

Another free pre-screening, another opportunity to make the joke: “It was worth the price of admission.” But I’m not gonna make that joke, even despite what many would think of the film if they saw it, despite what judgment may have already been passed simply based on the trailer, because this was a funny film. It did exactly what it set out to do. It wasn’t trying to redefine the genre, it wasn’t trying to be Annie Hall, or any other “great film”. It’s a simple story about a romance with some comedy thrown in there. It was made to entertain, and it entertained me, and my friend.

The title says it all storywise. An average Joe [his name is really Kirk (Jay Baruchel)] who works at the airport in security meets an absolutely beautiful woman, Molly (Alice Eve) and the two defy the odds. I’m sure the story arc is predictable and formulaic; I’m also sure that there are plenty of cliches throughout the film. Without spoiling it, you know the ending, but that is only part of the film. Take Kirk’s friends and family for instance, much more involved than Molly’s because the story is Kirk’s. His friends, notably Stainer (T.J. Miller) and Devon (Nate Torrence) are hilarious. Stainer is your typical potty mouthed, man friend. And at the same time Devon, the only married man in the group, is much more in touch with his softer side and has no shame in referencing Disney films on more than one occasion. He also goes somewhere no buddy of mine could ever go, and I don’t know if that is good or bad for Devon. His family is a bunch of oddballs too. He has a brother, Dylan, and his fiancee, all of whom keep telling Kirk he can’t be with Molly because she’s a 10 and he’s only a 5. Throw in the token ex-girlfriend who has second thoughts once Kirk starts dating Molly and you have every character covered.

The best part about the film was T.J. Miller. His turn as Stainer is so outrageous and so hilarious, he almost single-handedly makes it worth seeing. As I said, it may not be a “great film”, but it would make a great date movie I should think. Enough romance, enough comedy, and not the dumbest thing I have seen. There may have been technical problems: questionable writing/dialogue, bad editing, etc., but I had fun with it and don’t count it as wasted time at all. If you don’t like this type of movie, stay away, but if you were on the fence, I’d say see it, but if you can, I wouldn’t object to waiting for the DVD either.

*** – Good