She Is In A League I Refuse To Play In.

She’s Out of My League

We have all been there at some point. We see an extremely attractive person walking arm-in-arm with someone who, in our eyes, does not come close to matching them in the realm of beauty/handsomeness. The odd pairing causes us to question how on earth did the two individuals get together in the first place? Now just because the question has crossed our mind does not necessarily mean it is right to think this way. Nor does it justify making a hapless feature length film on the subject.

Kirk (Jay Baruchel) is your average nice guy who is unlucky in the love department. Although he has a good stable of friends, Kirk always seems to be on the losing end of every situation. Even Kirk’s own family would rather go on vacation with his ex-girlfriend, Marnie (Lindsay Sloane), and her new boyfriend rather than with Kirk. Things begin to look up for Kirk when he meets and begins to date Molly (Alice Eve). Can Kirk and Molly’s budding relationship survive the constant inquires from family members and friends who cannot fathom why a girl like Molly would be interested in Kirk in the first place?

She’s Out of My League is an inept romantic comedy whose concept is solely based around one repetitive joke. The problem is the joke is not really that funny to begin with. Sure we may smirk the first time someone remarks that Molly is out of Kirk’s league. Yet it becomes rather tedious by time the film reaches the end of the first act.

Once the joke wears out its welcome it is up to the characters to keep things moving. This is where the most glaring flaw of the movie can be found. It is obvious to us that Molly is in a different level than Kirk. Unfortunately the first half of the film barely gives us any indication on why she would put up with Kirk at all. In fact, there is not much we really learn about Molly at all. Besides the fact that she comes from a well off family, and the little tidbit about her job aspirations, Molly is a rather vapid character. There is nothing significant or memorable about her at all. She is not complicated enough to really connect with us on that “she embodies every woman” level. Nor is she engaging, or quirky, enough to come across as loveable.

Molly is pretty much the eye candy of the film and nothing more. When Molly finally reveals her reasons for choosing Kirk it comes off as very shallow instead of endearing. Regardless of the premise, a romantic comedy can only be successful if we find both of the main characters interesting and charismatic. Jay Baruchel tries really hard to keep the film a float. He makes his character easy for us to identify with while still trying to keep the pacing going. Ultimately though, the lack of depth in regards to Molly’s character, and the bland supporting cast on the whole, lets Baruchel’s efforts down.

She’s Out of My League may offer the odd laugh here and there but, unless you are the type of person who loves to here the same joke told over and over, it is not enough to even warrant a rental.