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Girl meets geek. Geek gets girl. Geek loses girl. Geek becomes Hollywood heartthrob.

Wait, what? Since when did the lovable loser move in on James Bond's female wooing territory? Check out any multiplex, and you're likely to find male love interests who are more Joe the Plumber than Dr. McDreamy -- including the star of this weekend's big release, "Zack and Miri," Seth Rogen.

Experts say it's cyclical. "In the late '60s and early '70s, women wanted sensitive men during the cultural turmoil," says Dan Neuharth, Ph.D., a relationship therapist and author of "Secrets You Keep from Yourself." "But then women complained that sensitive men were boring, so the preference went back to alpha males in the '80s, '90s and early 2000s."

Top dog qualities -- confidence, sexiness, power, etc. -- are what make alpha males attractive to women. And when women date one, they get a thrill from the knowledge that they've outscored other chicks. But that buzz is often fleeting, since alpha dudes tend to be emotionally distant ... and could potentially be poached by someone else drawn to their big dog. The excitement often gives way to insecurity and instability.

That's when the beta dude's coziness factor becomes desirable. A woman feels safe around him -- and that's not code for stalling in the friend zone. "A woman can feel more open with a beta male, and as she gets more comfortable, her deeper sexuality is able to flourish," says Neuharth. Score.

Add that to the fact that today's generation is at war, in an economic depression and watching the polar bears die off, and it makes sense that women are seeking comfort, not competition. "Many women say they want their mate to be their best friend, but classic alpha males don't make good friends -- they're too busy protecting their top dog status," says Neuharth.

The Hollywood translation of this shift means that Seth Rogen and Michael Cera went from being the wacky sidekicks to leading men who get the girls. Think those hot-girl/nice-guy pairings don't happen in real life? Au contraire! Here's the story of one such couple.
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Click here to read why one woman is marrying a beta male.
Click here to read how a regular guy landed a hottie

Then check out our gallery below to see some of the most lovable losers in movie history.

Beta Males

    Ben Stone (Seth Rogen), "Knocked Up." A beautiful woman with an unbelievable job agrees to unprotected sex with an out-of-work Canadian stoner, under the cinematic pretext of "beer goggles." Please let us know what she was drinking so we can buy stock.

    Universal

    Lloyd Dobler (John Cusack), "Say Anything." Oh, Lloyd Dobler. Now that we know that kickboxing was not, indeed, the sport of the future, following gorgeous, smart Diane Court to college in England without a job or prospects of his own just seems kinda pathetic.

    Everett Collection

    Andy Stitzer (Steve Carell), "The Forty Year Old Virgin." Steve Carell's hairy manchild had neither a driver's license nor a lick of sexual experience, but landed small business owner and hot single mom Catherine Keener. You know, cause he was so nice.

    Universal

    Chuck (Adam Sandler), "I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry." A homophobic firefighter so broke that he agrees to marry his male coworker for domestic partner benefits lies to Jessica Biel about his sexual history. She falls madly in love with him. Who wouldn't?!

    Universal

    Troy (Ethan Hawke), "Reality Bites." Unemployed musician makes romantic pronouncements about smoking Camel Wides and bitches at Winona Ryder even as he crashes on her couch and hits her up for free pizza. The love story of our time.

    ZUMA Press

    Seth (Jonah Hill), "Superbad." Aside from a rather impressive collection of obscene drawings, this paunchy, raunchy dork seems to have little to offer the cute, funny girl he gets.

    Sony

    John Beckwith (Owen Wilson), "Wedding Crashers." A gorgeous, altruistic senator's daughter falls for a "professional mediator" (who inexplicably never goes to work) who spends his spare time lying his way into parties and bridesmaids' underpants. Obvs.

    Everett Collection

    Ben Wrightman (Jimmy Fallon), "Fever Pitch." Boston baseball superfan and crap boyfriend constantly ditches his beautiful, successful girlfriend because the Red Sox "need" him. How adorable!

    20th Century Fox

    Dante (Brian O'Halloran), "Clerks" & "Clerks II." A chubby dude with a creepstache and a series of crap jobs that he loves to whine about. Catnip to women like Rosario Dawson.

    Weinstein Co.

    Michael (Zach Braff), "The Last Kiss." A mopey man-boy cheats on his lovely, pregnant girlfriend with a college student, and she takes him back. In the movies, he's "conflicted." In real life, we call that "sleazebaggy."

    Dreamworks