Too hot to be true

Sympathetic loser falls in love with unattainable dream girl - how often have we been allowed (or forced) to see this premise in the cinema - and how often was the result not very entertaining. A film with the title "Too Hot to Be True" doesn't really promise subtle humor with depth. All the more pleasant, then, is the surprise that Jim Field Smith's feature debut has turned out to be a genuinely nice, likeable and funny film.

At the center of the action is Kirk (Jay Baruchel), a low-key average guy who works as a security guard at the Pittsburgh airport. With the help of his best friends Jack (Mike Vogel), Stainer (T.J. Miller) and Devon (Nate Torrence), Kirk is trying to get over his breakup with his girlfriend Marnie (Lindsay Sloane), still hoping that one day she'll come back to him. This less than happy circumstance changes abruptly when Kirk meets the attractive Molly (Alice Eve), and the successful madwoman seems interested in him as well. But when a real relationship seems to develop between the two, Kirk has serious doubts. For Molly is simply "too hot to be true".

What this romantic comedy scores on is not necessarily originality, but the feat of finding the right mix of heart and slightly cruder slapstick. In this respect, "Too Hot to Be True" is most comparable to "Crazy for Mary", with Smith placing even less emphasis on jokes below the belt, making his characters and their actions a little more believable. So then it's somewhat understandable how a woman like Molly can fall in love with an unassuming, insecure guy like Kirk. That's also a credit to the lead actors, though.

Jay Baruchel, who has so far attracted positive attention primarily in supporting roles in films like "Million Dollar Baby", "Almost Famous" or "Tropic Thunder", whose character Kirk would probably have been played by Ben Stiller a few years ago, gives the unassuming average guy enough of a likability rating to be accepted by the audience as the "hero" of the story. And Alice Eve, who just a few years ago played the rather unlikable, bitchy version of Molly in "Starter for 10", also believably embodies the mix of attractiveness, self-confidence and worldliness. On the one hand, two worlds collide that couldn't be more different. And yet, they both yearn for exactly the same thing: to be loved not for their outward appearances, but for who they are, for their character.

Admittedly, there are a few gags that overshoot the mark and are just plain silly. But the bottom line is that "Too Hot to Be True" is a likeable, warm-hearted film with a few genuinely funny scenes (Kirk's big speech in an airplane and especially the epilogue are without question among the film's highlights), whose charming cast consoles over many a minor script weakness. Therefore, if you like romantic Hollywood comedies with a slightly crude twist, don't miss this film!

An article by Frankfurt-Tipp