Role Models (2008)

Role Models is not a particularly deep or innovative comedy, in fact it's plotline will be familiar to anyone who has ever watched a movie, period. But that doesn't mean that it doesn't provide lots of laughs and much needed escapism for it's 90 plus minutes.

Paul Rudd And Sean William Scott star as two slackers who find themselves sentenced to 30 days of community service following a work related blow up by Rudd's characther that comes on the heels of being dumped by his longtime girlfriend (Elizabeth Banks). The two are ordered to do their hours of community service at a Big Brothers and Sisters type of organization where each of them are paired up with a "troubled" kid.

Can you guess where this is going? The two men will learn to look past their own self indulgence and care for the kids. A valuable lesson is learned by all. This plot really doesn't matter. What does matter are the performances. Rudd and Scott are hilarious as the overgrown man-children and they share an effortless chemistry. Rudd especially is in top form, spewing sarcasm and self loathing with every line and garnering laughs from his facial expressions alone. Rudd is clearly in his element here.

When Rudd turns into an unselfish nice guy at the end, it's a bit of a stretch for the audience to accept that he made such a quick transition. Rudd's performance may be hilarious, but his character is not that well developed for his transformation to be believable. But hey, this ain't art. It's a largely entertaining buddy comedy with lots of smart and raunchy humor that should be viewed as exactly that.

Pretty much everyone, even Kevin Smith, is trying to cash in on the success of Judd Apatow and friends. Never before have such a talented, bright group of comedians come together to produce such a collection of hilarious and heartfelt films. From Rogen to Rudd, from Hill to Segel, from Carell to Cera, Judd Apatow knows how to cast some funny and creative dudes, so naturally Hollywood would try to repeat his success and grab these dudes up. The team behind ROLE MODELS scored big, recruiting Apatow alums Paul Rudd (The 40-Year-Old Virgin, Knocked Up, Forgetting Sarah Marshall) and Christopher Mintz-Plasse (Superbad), along with a pretty funny guy who hasn't gotten a lot of love in the film industry recently, Seann William Scott (Stiffler from American Pie). Despite the strong cast, the trailer collected some pretty bad jokes and stiff moments, so I thought this Apatow-copy would surely be a stinker... but surprisingly, it was really, really good. Chock full of both laughs and heart, this is definitely worth watching.

The premise is simple. Two men who spend their lives going school-to-school selling energy drinks to students wind up in court after the more-uptight dude snaps after a particularly rotten day. Instead of going to jail, the two opt to be mentors ("Bigs") to some kids ("Littles") who have been unsuccessful in keeping a mentor around thus far. The kids are hilarious and really impressed me. One of them is played by Bobb'e Jacques Thompson, a mini-twelve year old and self-described "Booby Watcher." Christopher Mintz-Plasse plays Augie Farks, a role-playing nerd who is neglected by his family. The plot, on the surface, is a straight forward dramedy in which the mentor program teaches both the mentor and the kid something important, but the ways it's done is so fantastically creative and tongue-in-cheek that you forget how traditional the arc of the story really is. Plus, Paul Rudd is basically a legend, so watching him crack jokes, get attached to Augie, and sing freestyle songs to his girlfriend on a faux-Medieval battlefield is an experience everybody deserves to have.

ROLE MODELS blew my expectations away. Paul Rudd and Seann William Scott had pretty good chemistry, but what really made this film was their relationships with the two kids. It was touching, hilarious, and really creatively done.

8/10

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Like its two lead characters, ROLE MODELS is a movie that doesn't seem to be expecting too much of itself as it lures us into familiar man-child territory.

Seann William Scott and (co-writer) Paul Rudd are Wheeler and Danny, two low-achieving coworkers paid to travel to schools with an act that preaches against drugs while pushing powerful energy-drinks as the safe alternative. The difference between them? Wheeler loves his work and thinks of Danny as his friend. Danny hates his job, the fact that he should have done more with his life and can't commit to being more than a colleague to Wheeler. Danny's mean, sarcastic and rude to coffee shop baristas. Clearly he doesn't deserve a girlfriend like Beth (Elizabeth Banks), who rejects his spontaneous marriage proposal and dumps him instead. Danny's dejection leads to a tangle with the law and soon he and Wheeler are sent to perform 150 hours of community service at the local mentoring program, Sturdy Wings.

This is where the movie grows some wings of its own and really takes off. The flight path may be familiar, and there are no surprises when it comes to a predictably happy landing. But the journey becomes a lot of fun when Wheeler and Danny become "Bigs" to two very different "Littles," Ronnie (Bobb'e J. Thompson) and Augie (Christopher Mintz-Plasse).

It's clear that on paper at least, our two ROLE MODELS lack all the traditional skills required to teach anything to the kids. Fast-talking, foul-mouthed Ronnie is the product of broken home in need of a father figure, not a "booby" obsessed party lover like Wheeler. The costume-sewing fantasy game participant Augie shouldn't expect much sympathy from the snide Danny. Bad mentoring leads to chaos, confusion and near-tragedy. But somehow, everyone develops the sturdiness of wing to make it to the end having taught something to someone else--and discovered something essential about themselves.

Supporting characters add to the fun throughout, especially Jane Lynch as the ex-coke-addict who founded the Sturdy Wings program and the various costumed characters who take the game of "Laire" very seriously indeed.

ROLE MODELS is a movie that won't teach you much. But it will definitely make you laugh.

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Right off the bat I have to say that Vesta and I almost hit the reject button on the DVD player. This movie started out stupid and dumb and we were pretty sure it had nowhere to go. Time to get up and watch something on Hulu.

"You wanna do it?" She said.

"No, I got the cat." Scruffy, our mangy tom was sitting in my lap and I was comfortable in my recliner.

"Somebody has to get up and get that bloody movie out of that player." She was comfortable in her recliner too. That's the problem with these things, get a glass of wine in your hand, recline and you just don't wanna get up.

So we let the movie play a bit longer and son of a gun if I didn't start laughing on occasion. Vesta too. Then more laughter, then I was into this silly story and it was silly, but somehow, I don't know how, we wound up being entertained and that's what movies are supposed to be about. They're supposed to take you out of you're life for an hour or two and this one did.

Maybe this movie was made for younger people. Vesta thought it was made for guys who like to get together with a few beers and laughs. But whoever the intended audience, we wanna sign up with `em, because though this movie started out stupid and dumb, it wound up being campy and fun. Yes, it was lewd and crude, but heck, it was sort of a romantic comedy too. Sort of a coming of age story as well. All in all, I gotta say, this is an unexpectedly good movie.

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I saw this movie once, laughed a little and was well on my way. Then i rented it again when a few buddies were over and laughed like crazy. There are little pieces in the movie, where it was slow, paul rudd and SWS did a good job in this film. If your in the 18-25yr range this is a must have!!!

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