Movie Review

Role Models

“Role Models” was the chance for Judd Apatow-alum Paul Rudd to come into his own as a comedic leading man but I doubt Apatow would approve of the half-assed approach the movie takes to comedy. It’s a sweet little date movie alright and it has the occasional laugh here and there but the screenplay, written by Rudd and three other guys, always seems to run into the same problem - it doesn’t try hard enough. One of the other writers is David Wain, who also directed. I found out later he’s responsible for the hit comedy show “The State," which I’ve never seen and the indie comedy “Wet Hot American Summer.” I mention the latter because I’ve talked to people who say this movie is hilarious but most, including myself, usually take out the –ilarious and put in a –orrible. He’s an acquired taste to say the least and while I thought this was a watchable step-up for him, watchable sometimes really only means mediocre.

Rudd plays Danny, who along with his best friend Wheeler (Sean William Scott) travels from school to school, selling Minotaur energy drinks he commonly refers to as “Poison.” Danny is fed-up with the job, Wheeler (who gets to wear the Minotaur costume on gigs) couldn’t be more content. Only when Danny’s girlfriend (Elizabeth Banks) breaks up with him, his emotions get the better of him and he rams the Minotaur-truck into the hind-quarters of a bull statue. An ultimatum is given. Danny and Wheeler can either go to jail or serve 150 hours of community service at Sturdy Wings, a mentoring program for young boys who need a friend. You can tell where this is going. Wheeler is assigned to a foul-mouthed little black kid named Ronnie (Bobb’e J. Thompson) and Danny to Augie (Christopher Mintz-Plasse), an older kid obsessed with medieval times. In time everything is lovey-dovey as the four unite and learn friendship.

Here’s the story in a nutshell. Two guys who really shouldn’t be around kids learn to be sweet, caring fatherly figures. It’s not exactly multi-layered but if you put enough humor in there you could walk away from it satisfied, just the funniest thing Rudd and his co-writers come up with are double-entendres. The rest doesn’t really contain much effort. Sure, a little black kid saying naughty words is cute. Sure, seeing older people dressing up in D&D style attire is amusing. And sure, seeing a man taking a shit in a bucket is good for a cheap little laugh but should comedy really be this easy? When you set the audience up for a joke by combining Ambien and having sex, shouldn’t it go somewhere a little funnier than a grown man passing out buck-naked in the middle of a camp site? Is it funny? Sure, a little bit. But is it clever or worthy of any real attention? Hell no.

The movie earns its real points on sweetness. Wheeler relates to Ronnie by talking about boobs and music with him. Danny defends Augie’s nerdish ways to his parents. It’s all a very nice friendship and it wraps up with a battle (yes, I said battle) that I actually thought was pretty cool and fun to watch. Rudd also shows he’s decent with comic timing, playing a character filled with self-loathing, reluctance, and cynicism. He has the delivery just he doesn’t give himself that many funny things to say. And Seann William Scott is basically playing the same sexually-charged character that he so likably has played in every movie since being Stifler. I still wonder whether or not this guy is ever go to branch out and live that character down? Thompson is an adorable little kid that pretty much begs you to smile at anything he says, and Mintz-Plasse is far less cool here than he was as McLovin, but he still has an innocence and boyish enthusiasm for the great art of still being an imaginative kid inside the body of a young adult. Jane Lynch is the hero of this movie in my opinion though. Known for being in Christopher Guest movies and in countless other comedic supporting roles, she is crazy/hilarious here playing the former drug/alcohol/ sex-addict turned Sturdy Wings coordinator.

A better movie about the people who work in these types of places is buried inside a fairly mediocre one about men learning to cope with responsibility. It’s a lot like most other comedies just the jokes don’t come nearly as often or as cleverly-written as you would like them to. Still, “Role Models” is sweet and nice and will probably get that “awww” from the crowd at the end. I was just hoping it would be funnier than it was.

Craig's Grade: C+

A	10.9%
B	41.8%
C	31.8%
D	15.3%
F	0.3%