She’s Out of My League is a 2010 romantic comedy starring Jay Baruchel as Kirk, an average guy who works as an airport security agent, and Alice Eve as Molly, a successful and gorgeous event planner. Despite their vastly different attractiveness levels, with Molly being a “hard 10” and Kirk a mere “5”, the two start an unlikely romance.
1. Why Kirk Thinks Molly is Out of His League?
The movie explores the insecurities Kirk faces as he tries to make the relationship work against the doubts of his friends and family. His three best friends, Stainer (T.J. Miller), Devon (Nate Torrence), and Jack (Mike Vogel), bluntly tell Kirk that Molly is way out of his league. Even Kirk’s ex-girlfriend Marnie (Lindsay Sloane), who still hangs out with Kirk’s family, gets jealous of Molly.
2. What Does Molly’s Ex-Boyfriend Do?
As Kirk and Molly’s relationship progresses, Kirk worries that she is too good for him. His doubts are fueled further when he meets Molly’s ex-boyfriend Cam (Geoff Stults), a tall and handsome pilot. Cam cryptically warns Kirk that Molly has one minor “defect” that Kirk will have to discover himself.
3. What Was Molly’s Defect and How It Affects Their Relationship?
Terrified at what imperfection the seemingly perfect Molly could have, Kirk is relieved when he finds out her flaw is just slightly webbed toes. However, when he calls it her “one defect“, Molly gets offended at Kirk for putting her on a pedestal and seeing her as perfect.
They have a big argument and appear to break up. Kirk goes back to trying to date his ex Marnie, believing that he belongs with someone mediocre like himself rather than out of his league like Molly.
4. Role of Stainer in ‘She’s Out of My League’ Ending
However, Kirk’s friend Stainer makes him realize that all that matters is that Kirk and Molly accept each other as is, regardless of anyone else’s opinions. In the climax at the airport, Stainer gets Molly to come to Kirk before he boards a flight with Marnie and his family.
Kirk rejects Marnie once and for all and embraces Molly again. The movie ends happily with Kirk, having taken some flying lessons, surprising Molly by taking her on a trip in a small plane with him as the pilot.
5. How All Of This Affects Kirk and Molly’s Relationship In The End?
The ending shows how Kirk finally gains some self-confidence and realizes that he shouldn’t let other people’s perceptions about status or attractiveness affect his relationship with Molly.
Even though his friends and family mean well, their doubts about Kirk being “good enough” for Molly were misguided. What matters is that Kirk and Molly accept each other, flaws and all. The “defect” that Molly has with her toes represents how nobody is perfect, despite appearances. Kirk accepts Molly’s flaw, just as Molly accepts Kirk’s average looks and insecure personality.
By pursuing his dream of getting a pilot’s license, Kirk also shows at the ending that he no longer puts limits on what he can achieve. Molly helped Kirk believe in himself more rather than putting himself down.
Their airplane ride into the sunset concludes Kirk’s journey of gaining confidence to date someone “out of his league”.
6. Is it Worth a Watch?
Though the crude humor and romantic comedy tropes were too generic. However, the charm and chemistry between Baruchel and Eve is praiseworthy. ‘She’s Out of My League’ also subverted typical gender roles by having the woman be more attractive and pursue the relationship.
On Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds a 58% approval rating, with the consensus reading “She’s Out of My League has moments of humor and insight, but it’s bogged down by excessive vulgarity and cartoonishness.”
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Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave it a grade of “B” on average. So in summary, while predictable at times, She’s Out of My League manages to breathe some new life into familiar rom-com conventions with strong lead performances and a funny, feel-good ending.
