Directed by: Jim Field Smith

Premise: An average but earnest airport security guard (Jay Baruchel) begins dating an exceptionally successful and beautiful woman (Alice Eve). As the relationship progresses, his insecurity and self-consciousness takes its toll on the relationship.

What Works: The lead performers of She’s Out of My League do a nice job. Actor Jay Baruchel does awkward very well and he manages to sell the insecurity of his character in ways that make him vulnerable rather than annoying. The script mixes moments of clumsiness with earnest decency and in the film’s better moments that mix works. Alice Eve also does a nice job as the beauty to Baruchel’s beast, and although she looks very much like the Hollywood ideal of beauty, the character is not a bimbo. T.J. Miller also makes an impression as the sidekick and foil to Baruchel’s character.

What Doesn’t: Viewers hoping for a fresh romantic comedy won’t find it in She’s Out of My League, which follows the genre’s patterns without deviation. And although Eve’s character is given some credit, the film still deals in familiar gender roles in which a woman’s physical appearance is directly related to her value as a person. The film never even attempts to dispel this notion and actually makes it the centerpiece of the story. She’s Out of My League includes scenes of raunchy humor and these don’t play very well. They seem out of place with the tone of other scenes in the story and often include homophobic jokes that are not ironic or funny.

Bottom Line: She’s Out of My League is a fairly pleasant, if predictable, romantic comedy. The performances by Baruchel and others save the movie in many respects but it remains what it is: a lowbrow exercise in romantic formula.