There are rules of romance that can't be broken.

'She's Out of My League'

Fair to good:

Director: Jim Field Smith.

Cast: Jay Baruchel, Alice Eve, T.J. Miller.

Rating: R for language and sexual content.

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For instance, if you have designs on an absolute babe, a perfect 10, you have to be at least an 8 to have any hope with her. you can't jump more than two spots, or she's out of your hotness league and the relationship is doomed to fail, no matter what.

That's the theory espoused by some of the dim-bulb characters in "She's Out of My League," a sweeter-than-you'd-expect sex comedy that finds Kirk (Jay Baruchel) - a mere 5 - dating Molly (Alice Eve), a "hard 10," according to Kirk's friends (the previously referenced dim bulbs).

Until this unlikely pairing, Kirk has had a rough go of life. he pines for ex-girlfriend Marnie (Lindsay Sloane), who has moved on. he can't exactly forget her, though; his parents like her so much that she still comes over to their house with her new boyfriend to visit.

Kirk wants to be a pilot, but he works as a Transportation Security Administration agent at the Pittsburgh airport, seemingly the only employee with any common sense in the entire outfit. (Frequent flyers insert jokes here.) The rest of his pals ogle Molly, who ditched a legal career to become a party planner, when she goes through security.

Kirk doesn't, however, and when she leaves her phone behind, he retrieves it, leading to an invitation to a party and, eventually, a date. to the surprise of his friend Stainer (T.J. Miller) and her friend Patty (Krysten Ritter), Molly really seems to like Kirk, despite the disparity on the hotness scale. Things are looking up.

But among Kirk's friends, Stainer and Jack (Mike Vogel) insist that no matter how well things are going (and they're going quite well; Molly even thrives during a Sunday-afternoon visit with Kirk's cretinous family), there's zero chance here. Only the married Devon (Nate Torrence) sees a rosy future, but when a guy constantly references Disney princess movies and characters, you wonder how grounded in reality he is.

There aren't a lot of surprises in the story, so it's dependent upon the characters to carry the film. Torrence is sweet and funny, making Devon a good-enough friend that he's even willing to help Kirk with some intensely personal grooming if it will help his chances with Molly. Ritter is nicely acerbic as Patty, and Sloane is an absolute loon as the deranged Marnie (that's a compliment, by the way).

But the relationship between Kirk and Molly is key, obviously, and Baruchel and Eve make it work. Eve's Molly is more than the typical blond babe. we actually see that she cares about her family, why she might fall for Kirk, why she might have her own doubts.

And Baruchel, who starred in "Undeclared" and has appeared in "Knocked Up" and "Tropic Thunder," is a charmingly offbeat presence. Far from the typical leading man, his quirky personality makes you root for the guy, even if you want to yank his hair out at times when he seems intent on sabotaging the relationship.

There's plenty of gross-out humor and lots of sex jokes, some of them absurd, some really funny. but what elevates "She's Out of My League" - it doesn't turn a 5 into a 10, but it helps - is heart, of which its characters have a surprising plenty.

Reach Goodykoontz at bill.goodykoontz@arizonarepublic.com. Facebook: facebook.com/GoodyOnFilm. Twitter: goodyk.

'She's Out of My League'

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