Though he played the lead on TV’s Undeclared in the early 2000s, since then Jay Baruchel landed firmly in “supporting character” territory. With 2010’s She’s Out of My League, however, he got a shot at a lead role.

Kirk (Baruchel) seems stuck in a dead-end life. He dreams of becoming a pilot but lacks the ambition to get past his current job as airport security. He also doesn’t do well with the ladies, partially because he remains hung up on ex-girlfriend Marnie (Lindsay Sloane), even though she dumped him two years earlier.

Kirk’s life takes a turn for the better when super-gorgeous Molly (Alice Eve) comes through security. All the other guys act stupid around her, but he manages to remain composed, and that earns her attention – albeit briefly, as she heads to her plane and apparently out of Kirk’s life.

Or maybe not. Molly accidentally leaves her phone at security and Kirk agrees to return it to her. She’s an event planner, so he brings it to a gala she throws at the Warhol Museum.

To thank Kirk, Molly gives him a pair of tickets to a Penguins game, and he soon finds out that she’s into him. This launches an unlikely romance, and Kirk tries to accept the fact that a “hard 10” like Molly is interested in a “5” like him.

On the negative side of the ledger, League can feel awfully derivative at times. Heck, it’s pretty hard to establish anything especially original about the movie. The “beauty and the beast” premise got a lot of play in 2007’s Knocked Up, and it plays a part in other films in what should be called the “Apatow Genre”. The various characters fit neatly into different boxes, and even many of the jokes feel recycled; didn’t 40-Year-Old Virgin already do enough with “manscaping”?

I also think League often feels more like a general premise than a well-constructed story. During the flick’s first half, it seems to consist of a series of scenes in which people act goofy because they can’t believe Molly likes Kirk. In the second half, matters develop a bit better, but the film still lacks a real narrative. We just go from one comedic event to another without a lot of real development.

While League loses points for its general lack of originality and narrative, that doesn’t make it a bad flick – or one that fails to entertain. In spite of its various weaknesses, the movie has just enough heart and wit to keep us with it.

I must admit I can’t decide how I feel about Baruchel. He definitely has talent, and he manages to make Kirk likable, but damn, his excessive stammering and gesticulation can get irritating at times! If he omitted the pauses and stuttering from his lines, the movie would probably run half an hour shorter. He moves so much as he talks that he often looks like a DisneyWorld animatronic gone haywire. I understand that this is the “movie persona” he wants to portray, but I think he’d be more effective if he dialed it back a bit.

Eve is lovely but somewhat forgettable as Molly. She’s certainly very attractive – think a combination of Reese Witherspoon and Nicole Kidman – and she does nothing overtly wrong in the part. She simply lacks a great deal of cinematic charisma and personality.

I think that the movie could’ve used more of a contrast between Molly and the other women, too. Because Hollywood thinks that women who aren’t “hard 10s” are average, the film surrounds Eve with a lot of really hot women; this has the odd effect of making Molly seem less super-duper. Yes, she’s objectively more attractive than the others, but not to the necessary extreme. I don’t think League needed hags in the other parts, but some actual average women would’ve made more sense. Does anyone really think Eve is all that much hotter than Krysten Ritter, for instance?

As I ponder what I’ve written, I can see that this sounds like a negative review, but I don’t want it to be. Judd Apatow had nothing to do with League, but like many of his flicks, it’s one of those “the whole is greater than the sum of its parts” efforts. I can pick it apart and find a number of flaws, but the end result still manages to entertain. League is far from a great movie, but it works well enough to amuse and charm.

She’s Out of My League appears in an aspect ratio of approximately 2.35:1 on this Blu-ray Disc. Nothing here excelled, but the image seemed mostly fine.

Sharpness usually appeared acceptably accurate and detailed. Wider shots tended to be a little iffy, though, as the movie didn’t demonstrate consistently positive definition. Nonetheless, most of the movie appeared clear and appropriately focused. Moiré effects and jagged edges presented no concerns, and the image lacked edge haloes. No print flaws materialized; the film remained clean and fresh.

In terms of colors, the flick went with a moderately subdued set of tones that stayed on the golden side of things. Within those parameters, the tones looked fine. Blacks were dark and firm, and shadows looked concise; low-light sequences demonstrated appropriate clarity. Really, the softness was the main issue here, and that was reason it fell down to “B“ level.

As for the film’s DTS-HD MA 5.1 soundtrack, it offered a functional effort and that was about all. Of course, I didn’t expect a dazzling soundfield from this sort of comedy, and I got exactly what I anticipated. In terms of effects, general ambience ruled the day. Surround usage usually stayed limited; though the airport setting added decent pizzazz at times, most of the film concentrated on basic environmental material.

Audio quality appeared fine. Dialogue was consistently warm and natural, and speech displayed no concerns related to edginess or intelligibility. Effects were a minor component of the mix, and they seemed appropriately subdued and accurate; there wasn’t much to hear, but the various elements were clean and distinct. The music came across as acceptably distinctive. This was a decent reproduction of the material.

How did the Blu-ray compare with the DVD version? Audio showed a little more pep, and visuals were tighter and better defined. Though the Blu-ray wasn’t great, it brought us a decent step up over the DVD.

The Blu-ray duplicates the DVD’s extras, and we open with an audio commentary from director Jim Field Smith. He offers a running, screen-specific look at cast, characters and performances, sets and locations, production design, music, and a few other elements.

Like the movie itself, Smith’s chat is genial and interesting without being especially terrific. The director covers most of the requisite bases and turns this into an enjoyable commentary, but it never becomes particularly scintillating. Still, Smith makes it worth a listen.

Devon’s Dating Show! lasts seven minutes, 28 seconds as the characters played by Nate Torrance and Kyle Bornheimer give us dating tips. Devon goes for the touchy-feely stuff, while Dylan walks the crass side of the street. This produces a moderately amusing piece.

Five Deleted Scenes run a total of three minutes, 33 seconds. These include “Real Crazy” (0:38), “Time Out” (0:38), “It’s Her Cat” (1:03), “3…2…” (0:40) and “Extended Ending” (0:34). The first two add a little more to Molly’s first meeting with Kirk’s family, while the second pair give us additional footage of Jack. The “Extended Ending” resolves the Marnie character. All are entertaining, but none seem essential.

We can watch these with or without commentary from Smith. He tells us a bit about the sequences and lets us know why he cut the clips. Smith doesn’t get much time to talk, but he delivers the appropriate info.

A Blooper Reel goes for six minutes, 19 seconds. These include some of the standard goofs and giggles, but they also throw out lots of alternate lines. That makes the “Reel” a lot more interesting than usual.

On the surface, She’s Out of My League is a derivative Apatow-wannabe with a number of problems. Beneath the surface, that’s true as well, but despite a mix of issues, it manages to offer fairly good entertainment. The Blu-ray provides reasonably good picture and audio as well as a fair collection of supplements. League never strongly impresses, but it acts as an enjoyable diversion.

To rate this film, visit the DVD review of SHE'S OUT OF MY LEAGUE