She's Out of My League (2010) * * *

Directed by:  Jim Field Smith

Starring:  Jay Baruchel, Alice Eve, TJ Miller, Krysten Ritter, Mike Vogel, Nate Torrence, Lindsay Sloane

Kirk (Baruchel) rates himself on a scale of 1 to 10 as a 5.    He's a nice guy who works as a TSA agent at the Pittsburgh Airport, but suffers from a crisis of confidence.    He has a perpetual squint and his expression looks like someone who is puzzled by what you're saying.    When he speaks, the words come out, but not necessarily with authority.    He is further perplexed when a blonde knockout named Molly (Eve) asks him to dinner after he finds her lost iPhone and they actually begin a relationship.    For years, Kirk (like everybody), dreamed of dating a 10, but now that it is a reality he isn't entirely sure how to handle it.    She's out of his league, which his friends and family never tire of telling him.

Kirk and Molly make an intriguing couple and are played by the likable Baruchel and the knockout Eve, who lights up the screen.   They elevate She's Out of My League to a successful romantic comedy, mostly because it contains some insight into human nature which we didn't expect.    Kirk's romantic life is not prosperous.    His shrill, manipulative girlfriend Marnie (Sloane), cheats on him, but his family still seems to like her more than him.   So, she is involved in family functions while Kirk silently stews over this awkward dynamic.    She even brings her new boyfriend around.

Molly had just broken up with a shallow faceman because he is, well, a shallow faceman.   She takes a liking to Kirk's general awkwardness and takes the lead by asking him out.    She feels he is a "safer" choice for a boyfriend, because he isn't an insensitive hunk.    Kirk wants to be a pilot, but lacks the confidence to take lessons.    His friends at work, including the big-mouthed, but hilarious Stainer (Miller), simply can't believe Molly would be into him.    It isn't that Kirk is a bad guy or they don't like him.    It just doesn't look right to see Molly with him.    She's way too hot for him, in just about everyone's eyes.

Molly is a doll and genuinely loves Kirk, which makes Kirk excited and nervous at the same time.   He acts as if the clock is ticking on when she will eventually grow tired of him and dump him.    In his mind, his options are not as plentiful as hers.    One of the reasons She's Out of My League works is because it allows Kirk and Molly to be three-dimensional.     They each have their own hang-ups they need to work through, which hopefully can be figured out in time so they don't preempt what could be a lasting romance.

The ending is predictable and standard for a romantic comedy, in which the lovers are broken up but realize they love each other after all and their physical reunion is delayed by plot contrivances.    That doesn't matter, because those are to be expected.    What I didn't expect, and in fact cherished about the movie, was its intelligence and love for its wacky characters.