Revenge of the nerd…

She’s Out Of
My League
DIRECTED BY: Jim Field Smith
STARRING: Jay Baruchel, Alice Eve, TJ Miller, Mike Vogel
CERT: 15A

In the movie league table, She’s Out Of My League is maybe a point above most loser-wins-the-girl flicks and sits above much of what passes for romantic comedy these days. And that just about makes it a half-decent film – which says something about the kind of stuff that’s passing through our cinemas.
Jay Baruchel has been hanging around the fringes of the Judd Apatow ensemble for a while and he graduates to leading man here with some ease. He plays Kirk, the classic romantic failure, whose girlfriend Marnie (Lindsay Sloane) has just dumped him but continues to hang around his family home with her new boyfriend.
Kirk works as an airport security screener at what is clearly the quietest terminal on earth, given the amount of time his colleagues get to spend chatting up every good looking woman who passes through. Obviously, this is also the airport where they send any US security official who shows dangerous signs of possessing a personality. 
When a pretty passenger called Molly (Eve) leaves her phone behind at security, Kirk tracks her down and returns it and is pleasantly surprised when she rewards him with a date. He’s even more shocked to discover that she likes him.
And so are his hideous, obnoxious friends (Mike Vogel and TJ Miller), who do their best to sabotage any hope he has with their manly advice, little of which is based on wisdom in the ways of woman. And they don’t exactly help by convincing Kirk that a perfect 10 like Molly couldn’t possibly be into a fellow like himself. Who, in their estimation, is a five at best.
It’s an old story and director Jim Field Smith and his writers seem content to stick to the well worn template and all the tired clichés – deviating only to throw in shovels of that juvenile vulgar humour so beloved of too many comedy writers.
But the film does have its moments and there are a couple of genuine laughs. And even when it’s not working, Baruchel is a charming and likeable lead who makes it just about watchable and there is a believable chemistry between him and Alice Eve – a British actress who does a decent job, not least with the American accent.
Pretty much everyone around them is stuck with ill-conceived and unwatchable characters but it’s worth a look for these two alone. And on this evidence, they’ll go on to better things.

Death at a Funeral
DIRECTED BY: Neil LaBute
STARRING: Chris Rock, Martin Lawrence, James Marsden, Tracy Morgan
CERT: 15A

Death at a Funeral is basically a blow-for-blow rehash of the 2007 British comedy of the same name, rejigged by the original writer Dean Craig for a US audience – of which he and director, Neil LaBute, seem to imagine demand less subtlety in their comedy and a whole lot more shouting.
To that end they’ve employed Chris Rock, Martin Lawrence and Tracy Morgan – top graduates from that popular acting class, Just Yell For Laughs. The result is a chaotic mess.
Rock is Aaron, a sound, responsible young man who takes on the job of overseeing his father’s funeral at the family home. But from the off, the event is a disaster. His famous brother Ryan (Lawrence) is home for the occasion, a professional writer and full-time womaniser who likes to hog the attention.
Aaron’s cousin Elaine (Zoe Saldana) is engaged to a nice chap called Oscar (Marsden), much to the disapproval of her father (Ron Glass). His opinion of his future son-in-law is not exactly enhanced when Oscar accidentally gets out of his skull on pills. It is one of the few elements of the remake that works, Marsden more than matching the hilarious antics of the original’s Alan Tudyk.
Strangely, the same can’t be said for the scenes involving the mysterious midget who turns up with some interesting news for the family – despite the fact that the role is reprised by the original actor, Peter Dinklage.
Maybe partly because this kind of mad carry on is not so much out of place in crazy LA, as it is in polite English company. Though mostly it’s because this and almost every other gag is driven home with a sledge hammer, just in case the audience doesn’t realise when they’re supposed to laugh.
There’s a fine cast involved here – Danny Glover and Luke Wilson are also on board – but I don’t imagine any of them will look back on this one with pride. And the playwright and director Neil LaBute must be wondering what came over him at all. Then again, he did remake The Wicker Man and still he shows his face in public. So maybe he has no shame.