WHEN it comes to winning over moviegoers, nothing succeeds like failure.From the pocket protector-wearing poindexters Anthony Edwards and Robert Carradine channeled in “Revenge of the Nerds” to John Cusack’s string of perennially lovelorn losers, moviegoers adore the cinematic nerd herd.

“Basically, there’s nothing more attractive than somebody who’s funny and vulnerable,” says director Amy (“Fast Times at Ridgemont High”) Heckerling, whose film “Loser,” out Friday, features Jason Biggs reprising his geeky “American Pie” persona in the title role.

“When you’re trying to sell movie tickets, you don’t want to show really unappealing people – you show cute people who can act that way.”

In a culture that worships perfection, why do we root for those who flaunt their flaws?

“Simple,” says Hollywood Reporter online columnist Martin Grove. “The audience identifies with them.

“Because these lovable losers always come out of it pretty well in the end, it’s part identification and part wishful thinking on the audience’s part.”

A movie works when both male and female moviegoers empathize with the protagonist, says Grove.

“Men look at a loser like Woody Allen trying to get the girl and say, ‘Yeah, that’s me, I’ve been there.’

“The attraction for women is that these are well-meaning nice guys and they’re thinking, ‘He deserves to win, he just needs a nice girl to come along – someone like me.'”

The socially challenged bumbler is nothing new in film: comedians such as Charlie Chaplin, Jerry Lewis and Steve Martin have all played exaggerated versions of the lovable loser.

But Grove says the modern on-screen geek is a slightly different creature.

“There’s not as big a separation between losers and winners anymore,” he says. “Today’s losers are younger and hipper – sometimes you wonder why they’re losers. But the common denominator is that they still can’t seem to get anywhere for whatever reason.”