Hard 10

Perhaps the difference in physical "leagues" between Alice Eve and Jay Baruchel isn't apparent because the movie is so cheaply lit, but it's hard to see what's making the other characters so stunned. The entire premise of She's Out of My League is that she's monumentally more attractive than him, when they're both average pretty-good-looking people. As inexperienced Rick, Baruchel reacts to Molly (Eve) showing interest in him with as much confusion as everyone else. But all Baruchel ever gets to do is react---he's the nerd straight-man, not permitted a defined and funny geek persona like he got in Fanboys, Tropic Thunder and The Trotsky. Thankfully, some of the supporting cast pick up the slack. T.J. Miller steals Napoleon Dynamite's mannerisms and monotone speech as Rick's deluded friend Stainer, but at least he keeps things askew. Once the film gets earnest in denouncing cultural dating quotas (something most romantic comedies enforce), it hits its points with some intelligence. But without better jokes, She's Out of My League is more committed to being a male confidence pep talk than a comedy. –Mark Palermo