She's Out of My League

She's Out of My League is a hilarious comedy about a nice, somewhat dorky guy named Kirk who, to the surprise and befuddlement of his friends and family, is dating a beautiful and successful woman named Molly. Kirk (Jay Baruchel) has been broken up with Marnie (Lindsey Sloane) for two years and is unsuccessful at getting her back. Because his family has practically adopted her as one of their own he must endure seeing Marnie and her boyfriend Ron hanging out at his house. Kirk works at the Pittsburgh airport along with his friends Stainer (T.J. Miller), Devon (Nate Torrence), and Jack (Mike Vogel). One day a beautiful woman, Molly (Alice Eve), goes through security and leaves behind her cell phone. Kirk finds the phone and later returns it to her at a party she organized. As Kirk is leaving the party, Molly invites him and a friend to a Penguins hockey game. Kirk assumes Molly is just being nice but finds out from Molly's friend Patty (Krysten Ritter) that she is truly interested in him. As a result, Kirk becomes nervous about dating her; he assumed he didn't stand a chance with her. His friends assert that he only rates as a 5 while Molly is "a hard 10," and those comments augment Kirk's lingering feelings that he can't be with someone like Molly.

The big draw for me in seeing this movie was Jay Baruchel. I have been a fan of his work since he starred in the short-lived TV series about life in college, Undeclared. Baruchel has also appeared in supporting roles in Million Dollar Baby, Knocked Up, and Tropic Thunder. In She's Out of My League, Baruchel communicates Kirk's hesitation and nerves around Molly through awkward facial expressions and the occasional uncoordinated flailing of limbs. I really enjoyed watching this movie not only because of Baruchel's winning performance but because the cast members work so well together and share great chemistry. T.J. Miller is a riot as Stainer; he is not afraid to voice his disdain for Patty or remind everyone he is in a Hall and Oates cover band called Adult Education (and yes, they do perform!). Nate Torrence practically jumps out of his skin with joy because he is so happy to see Kirk going out with Molly; he enjoys comparing their relationship to Disney movies like Aladdin and Beauty and the Beast. And while Mike Vogel's character, Jack, is not the most vocal of the guys, he does have a stand-out scene in which he demonstrates necessary physical preparations Kirk can make to impress Molly. Adding to the hilarity is Kirk's brother Dylan (Kyle Bornheimer). He is still super competitive and immature even though he is a grown man with a fiance and baby on the way; he goes into a frenzy quoting Chris Tucker and gets worked up over basement hockey.

Because the movie is centered on an underdog, She's Out of My League has drawn comparisons to Judd Apatow movies like The 40 Year Old Virgin and Knocked Up. I think these are valid and worthy comparisons, as the movie has a combination of somewhat crude humor, awkward situations, and honest moments. As in other Apatow movies, the comadarie of the actors is genuine and not forced, which makes She's Out of My League a fun comedy not to be missed.

In addition to She's Out of My League, Baruchel also provides the voice to the main character Hiccup in How to Train Your Dragon (out March 26) and stars alongside Nicholas Cage in The Sorcerer's Apprentice (out in July); as a longtime fan I am happy to proclaim 2010 to be the Year of Jay Baruchel.

• Now playing in theaters everywhere
• Rated R; 1 hour and 45 minutes