I had a lot of fun with She’s Out of My League despite the fact it’s filled with cliches and genre stereotypes. The foul-mouthed jokes are frequently funny, the actors fit their roles, the typical plot developments never get in the way and perhaps it just fit my mood. Nevertheless, I had good time.
Jay Baruchel (Tropic Thunder) stars as your average, everyday twenty-something, but to go by the film’s rating scale he’s perceived to be a 5-out-of-10. He works as airport security and by chance just happens to meet and begin dating a beautiful event coordinator (Alice Eve) quickly declared a solid 10 and who, by all standards, would be “out of his league.”
His friends can’t believe it and he can’t believe it, two factors that ultimately end up having an effect on the film’s obvious outcome with every plot turn as foreshadowed as the next, but there is a certainly level of sweetness and everyday, stereotypical human behavior that had me digging this flick almost every step of the way.
As with most R-rated comedies, there are moments when things either go too far or seem out of place, such as a male grooming scene that doesn’t really fit, or the finale, which goes a bit haywire, turning into a bit of a fall-down slapstick comedy that doesn’t measure up to the rest of the film. But these are nitpicks in a rather moronic, yet equally fun, comedy that doesn’t rely on raunch as much as most films of its ilk, even though it does have its share.
The highlights primarily originate from the two characters playing best friends on both sides. T.J. Miller (the guy who played Hud, the cameraman in Cloverfield) delivers more punch-lines than the rest of the cast combined and his consistently bewildered approach to line-reading was hilarious. Playing his female alter-ego is Krysten Ritter (“Veronica Mars”) who early on delivers a few choice words to a fellow airline passenger that were so unexpected and out of left field she had me in her hands the rest of the way. The two share a phone call conversation toward the end of the film that really was top notch.
The writing team of Sean Anders and John Morris previously wrote Sex Drive for Summit, which I still haven’t seen, but heard was a pretty funny film even though it was largely ignored at the box-office. They also wrote, along with Josh Heald, the upcoming comedy Hot Tub Time Machine, which is likely to be their first comedic hit based on current audience interest. Perhaps this is a comedic writing duo that will be with us for a while.
I’m not saying this is the best film, it’s pretty much second rate juvenile humor, but every so often that’s just what we need and this one may have come along at just the right time for me. Either way, I found myself laughing a lot and would willingly recommend this film to anyone looking for a good laugh.
