FILM REVIEW: SHE'S OUT OF MY LEAGUE

Paramount Pictures
Now Showing

Kirk (Jay Baruchel) suffers from low self esteem and it's not hard to see why. His family regularly invites his ex-girlfriend around for dinner, and along for the family movie night, with her new boyfriend in tow. That's probably why, when Kirk attracts the attentions of Molly (Alice Eve), a pretty but not silly blonde, he can't quite believe his luck, and is constantly waiting for the other shoe to drop.

So, too, are his friends who tell Kirk that Molly is a “hard 10” and he is a mere 5. Apparently guys have a rating system, who knew? According to this rating system, you can't jump more than two points, so Kirk's budding romance is doomed to failure from the get-go, not helped by his friends' continual chorus of disbelief and Kirk's own issues.

Molly, who has a history of dating much hotter, manly men such as pilots, has decided that a guy like Kirk is the safer option. Again, not the best way to start a relationship, and not helped by best friend, Patty (Krysten Ritter), who believes that, while Kirk is a nice guy, Molly is certainly slumming.

I'm not sure if John Field Smith's rom com, penned by Sean Anders and John Morris, is trying to say anything deep and meaningful – that we're all 10's in the eyes of those who love us? – but it's just as false and misleading as all those rom-coms aimed at women that suggest someday their prince will indeed come along. Not that many men will be insulted by the premise here. Only in the movies can a guy like Kirk, a 6 on a good day (and this from someone who can relate), attract and keep a 10, although Alice Eve, with all due respect, is a 7.5 at best.

Still, Baruchel and Eve make for a sweet couple. And the film's kind of sweet, too, despite the genital and ejaculation sight gags, the cornerstones of these boy's own films. They're here no doubt to placate the teenage male who is going to be rocking up to She's Out of My League more for the com than the rom. Will they learn something in the process? Maybe, and if not about love than perhaps basic manscaping, so either way their girlfriends will benefit.