Role Models (2008)

3.0

COMEDY

U.S. Release Date: 11/07/08
Running Length: 99 Minutes
MPAA Classification: R (Profanity, Sexual Situations, Nudity)
Theatrical Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1
Cast: Seann William Scott, Paul Rudd, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, Bobb'e J. Thompson, Elizabeth Banks, Jane Lynch
Director: David Wain
Screenplay: Paul Rudd, David Wain, Ken Marino, Timothy Dowling
Cinematography: Russ T. Alsobrook
Music: Craig Wadren
U.S. Distributor: Universal Pictures

Review by: Carter Moulton

04/16/09

Role Models isn't a groundbreaking film, nor does it attempt to be. It’s a film where each contributor performs as expected, and we’ve seen it all before. These film routines can sometimes lead to a foul, unbearable stank, but occasionally—Role Models falls here—it works, to different degrees. Key contributors here include David Wain, Paul Rudd, Seann William Scott, Elizabeth Banks, and Christopher Mintz-Plasse, each doing what they do best.

Director and co-writer David Wain is relatively well known for his dressed-up asinine humor—which is right up my alley—and Role Models has all the dimwitted characters and timely cuts necessary to please the fan base of “Stella," Wain’s shared comedy act with Michael Showalter and Michael-Ian Black. Co-writer and actor Rudd, who many people associate with the explosion of Judd Apatow, will please those “many people” with his performance as Danny Donahue, a stuck-in-the-status-quo, often disgruntled salesman of "Minotaur," an energy drink that directs its marketing strategies towards high-schoolers.

Photo © Universal Pictures

Stifler, I mean Seann William Scott, plays Stifler, I mean Wheeler, Danny’s sales partner. They have a love-hate relationship, the hate usually due to Wheeler’s ambiguously brainless life lessons, which habitually flow in response to Danny’s less-than-savory attitude. Elizabeth Banks stars as Beth—no innovation here; she played a character named “Beth” in The 40-Year Old Virgin. She’s Danny’s love interest, although their relationship is crumbling, and a talented lawyer, which comes in handy when the two salesmen find themselves in trouble with the law. There’s nothing heavy here, meaning that there isn’t anything immoral about their offense. In fact, the deed that gets them in trouble is one of the funniest moments of the movie, involving two trucks, one of which is decked out in Minatour decals; it’s a scene dipped in visual chaos.

Beth gets Danny and Wheeler out of jail time, as long as they are willing to do 150 hours of community service—mentoring children. They enter “Sturdy Wings,” a “Big Brother” type organization led by Gayle Sweeny, a “recovered” cocaine addict who is more than willing to dole out information on her struggle—played by Jane Lynch in an offbeat success.

Danny is assigned to Augie Farks, played by McLovin (Christopher Mintz-Plasse). People have accepted the fact that Augie spawned from the fires of Mount Doom, and he isn’t afraid to flaunt it. Wearing capes and medieval armour, taking part in massive role-playing battles where spells and orcs are a reality, and epically declaring, "Nay, I am not embarrassed, I will fight,” Augie is the perfect role for Mintz-Plasse to showcase his geeky charm. Wheeler gets Ronnie (Bobb'e J. Thompson), a trash-talking ten year-old with more swaggering tendencies than Wheeler is willing to deal with. Since there aren’t any “Get-Out-Of-Jail-Free Cards” in real life—Wheeler references Monopoly several times—Danny and Wheeler will have to deal with their respective assignments and, perhaps more challenging, themselves if they want to stay out of the cooler.

This film is often hilarious. It’s successful at balancing the methods of vulgarity and sheer stupidity, keeping the content from decaying. Look for David Wain in a cameo (a few scenes) as another member of the “Sturdy Wings” team. Wain knows what kind of film Role Models is, so he doesn’t try to inject too much schmaltz—and when he does, especially during the charming ending, it never seems forced or artificial. If Apatow comedies (Knocked Up, Superbad) are your thing, and you’re feeling extra goofy, Role Models won’t dissapoint.