REVIEW: Role Models (2008)

Grade: B+
Written by David Wain, Paul Rudd

Directed by David Wain

Starring:

Sean William Scott, Paul Rudd, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, Elizabeth Banks, Jane Lynch, Bobb'e J. Thompson

Buy this film here!

Consensus: "Role Models", although typically vulgar, has a heart to it that cuts through the typical BS hijinks of other films of its genre and somehow holds it all together. This is simply just a wonderfully wedded assembly of film stars who are fun to watch. We laugh because the witty yet edgy hilarity mostly doesn't give in easily to schlocky cliche, and because somewhere in our laughter there are remnants of sweetness. The coalescence of heartfelt tugs and gloriously cheap jokes is one of the reasons "Role Models" was one of the most popular comedies of 2008. Check it out.

Reviewer's advice: Funny and indeed worth a rental.

"Role Models" is one of those frat-boy humored comedies of late in the vein of the Judd Apatow revival and reconstruction of the modern day comedy flick, and yet is one of the latest Apatow-type films not affiliated with the director/producer--and, for some reason, I have enjoyed them all the more for that fact. The latest Paul Rudd/Jason Segal (two of the Apatow pack initiates) picture, "I Love You, Man" (in theaters as we speak), is another example. These films may not be quite as "sharp" or bombastic as as an Apatow-helmed effort, but instead there is more of a subtlety in how the humor is presented. It is still edgy, but toned-down and lacking the brusque and sometimes abrasive crudity of the typical Apatow-helmed picture. In other words, these two films mentioned are a little gentler without sacrificing the cruder elements that we love and hate ourselves for laughing at.

The plot begins when Wheeler (Scott) and Danny (Rudd) find themselves in a world of hurt after Danny self-destructs one day due to the tribulations of a "day that sucks". Trapped in a profession that promises to go nowhere, Danny and Wheeler drive a ridiculously colorful (in both senses of the term) energy drink truck around Los Angeles and speak at school assemblies admonishing teenagers to stay off drugs and "instead drink 'Minotaur'". After Rudd impulsively begs his lawyer girlfriend Beth to marry him (played by the beautiful Elizabeth Banks), he is rejected and the day goes to hell after a subsequent fight with a tow-truck driver. Our boys are then given a choice: 30 days of hard time in prison (Wheeler doesn't want to be "raped") or 250 hours mentoring kids at "Sturdy Wings", a big-brother mentoring program for children, run by the perversely hysterical Jane Lynch, who is in fine form here. Remember her from "The 40-year Old Virgin" or "Best in Show"? The woman has a flair for creepy, sleazy comedy, and she doesn't miss a beat here as a recovering coke addict, alcoholic, etc., etc. 

Our delinquent heroes, of course, choose the "easy way"out, and the rest is a flurry of comedy: some hits, some misses, but always entertaining. Robinson plays the pint-sized, foul-mouthed Ronnie Shields (you won't believe some of the expletives this kid can create; one wonders if he was allowed to write much of his own script), and Augie Farks (Mintz-Plasse), an awkward teenage geek who lives to participate in a weekend Medieval reenactment society. Wheeler is paired with Ronnie, and the two are perfect for each other: after fighting off and sometimes playing into Ronnie's combative behavior, Wheeler finds a way into the recalcitrant kid's heart; the two form a bond within two essential interests: KISS music and breasts, interchangebly. Danny, on the other hand, isn't exactly stoked to be mentoring anybody, let alone a role-playing fantasy nerd in Augie, but his resistance is tenderly melted as he learns new things about himself and reconsiders his sour attitude towards life. This becomes possible in the light of his relationship and blossoming friendship with a teenager who, despite Danny's apathetic failings of him, finds himself slowly coaxing more out of Danny while coming to a a deeper understanding of and respect for himself. This mutuality between the two is a touchingly funny aspect that provides the film a richness that drives it forward and invites us in. The question remains, however: will these two directionless, 30-something men allow themselves to grow with and be impacted by these young kids, or will they blow it again and head for the slammer?

Role Models is so doggone funny because the well-cast characters are allowed to be exactly what their roles call them to be. Sean William Scott is hilarious, though he is still channeling Steve Stifler here nearly verbatim. He's still chasing every skirt for empty sex. If he wasn't so perfect as an ass-grabbing womanizer, this film would have suffered. As good as Paul Rudd is, he couldn't carry this vehicle alone and is not known for doing so in his other comedies. Rudd plays the straight man, and plays it surprisingly well--I love his penchant for pop culture references: in one scene a song that a dorky Sturdy Wings volunteer claims was done by Paul McCartney's 70's band Wings is called out and shot down by Rudd with his typically understated, subtly witty, but always completely devastating humiliations of co-stars who just aren't "thinking men" like him. And Jane Lynch...where to begin? She's creepy, perverse, and simply a blast to watch interact with these two men and the kids. She steals every scene she's in. And Elizabeth Banks is not to be missed as Danny's beautiful but long-suffering lawyer girlfriend.

Rated R for profanity/vulgarity, nudity/sexual content and brief drug use.