"We're not critics. We're professional fan-girls." --- This blog is dedicated to movies and the entertainment industry. We use random selection to bring into light the best and worst of streaming films and entertainment news.
Production/Distribution: Liberty
Productions dba Night Dove Pictures, Netflix,
Director: Ann
Deborah Fishman
Writer: Ann
Deborah Fishman
Actors: Kristen
Johnston, Noah Centineo, George Hamilton, Leigh-Allyn Baker, Kendall Ryan
Sanders, Shein Mompremier, Nathan Gamble, Maddy Curley, Alana Stewart, Kalani
Hilliker, Christian Hutcherson, Shelby Wulfert
Blurb from IMDb: James, a
college freshman and computer genius, is enlisted by his womanizing roommate,
Lance, to code the ultimate hook-up app. But when James discovers that his
divorced mother is using the app, unexpected consequences ensue.
Cat’s
Point of View:
Good
grief.
Sorry,
Netflix. You can’t hit a home-run with all of your ‘originals,’ I guess.
Is
it bad that the actual thought crossed my mind that I’d seen late-night
skin-max softcore nonsense with better production quality than this movie? If
the hook-up scenes that were implied actually manifested into the film, it
would fit right in with that genre. Alas, comedy was a misnomer for Swiped’s
genre.
To
be fair, I get it that this was supposed to be a social satire with a meaningful
message. Some moments were ok and the concept, in general, wasn’t entirely
without merit. Those points, alone, were the driving force behind my rating.
Otherwise, it would have been much lower.
This
is really frustrating for me. I don’t like tearing things down, and I try very
hard to look for positive aspects of a movie. Swiped just didn’t give me much
to work with.
Sadly,
if you watch the trailer, there isn’t much point spending over 90 minutes
watching the whole film. You get all of the high points, but with less
eye-rolling moments in between.
Production/Distribution: DreamWorks, Mosaic, Paramount
Pictures, United International Pictures (UIP), Universal Pictures International
(UPI), Zon Lusomundo Audiovisuais, Argentina Video Home, Film1, Kadokawa
Pictures, Odeon, Paramount Home Entertainment, Veronica, Warner Home Video
Director: Jim Field Smith
Writer: Sean Anders, John Morris
Actors: Jay Baruchel, Alice Eve, Mike
Vogel, Nate Torrence, Lindsay Sloane, Kyle Bornheimer, Jessica St. Clair, Krysten
Ritter, Debra Jo Rupp, Adam LeFevre, Kim Shaw, Jasika Nicole, Geoff Stults,
Hayes MacArthur, Andrew Daly, Sharon Maughan, Trevor Eve, Adam Tomei, Robin
Shorr, Yan Xi, Evan Alex Cole
Blurb
from IMDb: An
average Joe meets the perfect woman, but his lack of confidence and the
influence of his friends and family begin to pick away at the relationship.
SPOILER WARNING
Selina’s
Point of View:
I was
pleasantly surprised by She’s Out of My League.
Initially,
my only real interest in seeing it came from Jay Baruchel’s (How to Train
Your Dragon, This is the End, The Trotsky) involvement. He’s one of those
actors that I would follow anywhere. He does tend to get typecast as the
awkward friend or the odds-against geek. That means it’s not all that difficult
to figure out what a movie he’s in is going to be like. It’s going to be a
little bit cringey, but light-hearted with an uplifting tone. In the end, he
beats the odds – with very few exceptions. I know he’s worth much more as an
actor than he sometimes gets credit for, but this is the current reality.
The
prediction was accurate. She’s Out of My League when looked at from a more
general perspective, isn’t going to get many points for originality. It’s when
you really focus in on the individual parts that you see where this film was
different.
Most
romantic comedies have the same basic character motivations. In the beginning
of this one, it looks like things are going to go the same way. Hot girl picks
the geeky guy because he’s ‘safe’ and she doesn’t want to get hurt. Awkward guy
is flabbergasted by her interest and feels he can’t measure up. The motivations
are even bolstered by the main female’s ‘attractive ex’ trope and the male lead’s
‘not interested until another girl is interested’ ex. The thing is, none of
that really matters as you get deeper into the film.
Generally,
you’ll see a lot of lying – or characters being advised to lie – throughout this
kind of rom-com. Not here. All the characters were almost uncomfortably honest
with each other. That’s a huge change of pace that critics didn’t seem to
acknowledge. Whenever an ex came on screen, the main characters were honest
about the relationships. I kept expecting the story to trot down one of those
familiar roads – but it never did.
Then,
in stories where one of the characters was cheated on, causing them to look for
someone ‘safe’ there’s some kind of cheating plot that happens later on. Even
if it’s just perceived. I kept waiting for that.
Didn’t
happen.
Finally,
when a main character has a self-esteem problem, you tend to see the characters
around them all being supportive (except maybe one or two) and trying to talk
them out of it. The issue seems to have no cause. Not here.
She’s
Out of My League
doesn’t make you guess why Baruchel’s character feels the way he does; it lays
it out for you. It doesn’t just end off with ‘romantic love fixes everything’
either. Instead, it shows the audience how important it is to surround oneself
with supportive people. People who will lift you up instead of telling you what
you can’t do.
If
you ask me, She’s Out of My League is severely underrated.
Although
there were some very typical ingredients, the writing was good. There were even
some lines that stuck with me and are still making me giggle. There was a lot
of awkward ‘cringe’ factor, but the movie had plenty of other humor to balance
it out.
There
was also a very talented cast involved. Aside from Baruchel there were plenty
of incredible actors; Alice Eve (Iron Fist, Bees Make Honey, Before We Go),
Krysten Ritter (Jessica Jones, Don’t Trust the Bitch in Apartment 23,
Gilmore Girls), and Debra Jo Rupp (That ‘70s Show, Better With You,
Lucky 13), among others.
I
think a lot of critics took She’s Out of My League and failed to look
past the surface. It’s a shame, because it’s a much better film that it’s been
given credit for. I’m glad I got the chance to see it.
