"You can always tell from watching a movie when the actors are simply relaxed and having a good time with their unrestrained line delivery and that is what I detected here."
I think what comedies have proven over the past few years is that raunch cannot be accomplished without the right combination of characters. Take for example this summer's gross-out comedy College. Does anyone even remember this movie being released? Even if they do, do they really give a crap that Drake Bell has been thrown into a half-assed bucket of gross-out cliches? On the other hand you have newfound and successful comedy auteurs such as Judd Apatow who know that chemistry and casting is the answer. The film Role Models is not an Apatow joint, but comes from another successful band of comedic pioneers formerly known as cast members of The State. Former alum of the show, David Wain, directs the film with a combination of State cronies and other recent comedy regulars, and the results are unsurprisingly wrong and gleeful.
Seann William Scott and Paul Rudd star as Wheeler and Danny respectively. They work promoting an overpriced energy drink called Minotaur by going to high schools and convincing naive youngsters that their high-fructose, caffeine concoctions are the absolute substitute to drug and alcohol use. Wheeler loves his job as the dope in the Minotaur costume who has the freedom to come to work hung over after a long night of promiscuous sex. Danny, on the other hand, can't help but see the glass half empty and hate his job as the clean-shaven spokesperson for the energy drink. His pessimism gets to be so out of hand that his girlfriend (Elizabeth Banks) dumps him, causing him to pull a reckless stunt that lands Wheeler and himself in trouble with the law.
The two screw-ups are faced with two options: go to jail or serve so many hours as mentors in a program known as Sturdy Wings. Of course they choose the latter option to avoid inevitable rape in a jail cell and find that being big brothers may actually be more challenging than surviving the big house. Danny is paired up with Augie (Christopher Mintz-Plasse), an anti-social teenager who hides from reality by participating in a live, role-playing, Medieval-themed game. Wheeler is faced with an even bigger problem when he is paired with Ronnie (Bobb'e J. Thompson), a foul-mouthed brat who finds joy in making his mentor's life a living hell. As cliches dictate, the two protagonists learn inevitable lessons in living life, but do so hilariously as Wheeler learns to filthily communicate with his little one while Danny learns that Medieval role play is not just for desperate virgins.
Role Models has the type of premise that would generally be rated PG-13 with its kid-friendly set-up of two losers learning to become responsible by interacting with youth. What David Wain (Wet Hot American Summer) and his gang of writers and costars do is lay down the blueprint that this is an R-rated film, and run with it. Indeed letting the stars say whatever they want is what makes this film succeed and there will undoubtedly be a slew of foul-mouthed leftovers on the DVD deleted scenes. Yes there are those poignant and touchy feely moments that you can get from a family-friendly movie, but there are also those oh-so-wrong moments of blatant profanity and filthy improve humor that makes this film worth watching. In fact, this is actually a family film except with cursing. If one has little children that they consider to be mature for their age, then perhaps this would be an ideal first R-film in the theater.
The comedic cast is truly what makes this film move. David Wain is no idiot by bringing back his regulars that made his previous films (Wet Hot American Summer, The Ten) so absurdly hilarious in the first place. Here we get the same Paul Rudd with his eye-rolling and profane sarcasm that always makes his performances so welcome in the first place. Seann William Scott, whose projects tend to be hit-and-miss, is well cast here as a sort of Diet Stifler. In other words he is still drunk and obnoxious, but has more of a soft place in his heart for kids and friendship. We also get The State alumni Ken Marino, Joe Lo Truglio, and Kerri Kenney-Silver as bizarre scene-stealers. But the real actor worth mentioning here is Jane Lynch. Most would recognize her from Christopher Guest's mockumentaries. Lynch absolutely steals every scene she is in with her tomboyish delivery of abstract filth. She is one of those improv comedians who rambles non-stop, yet manages to do so successfully without reaching a desperate end to her rope. This woman is a natural born comic.
In the end I definitely have to recommend Role Models. This is a third outing for David Wain in the director's chair, and the man proves once again that he knows how to make a funny movie with just the right people. You can always tell from watching a movie when the actors are simply relaxed and having a good time with their unrestrained line delivery and that is what I detected here. It felt like hanging with a group of funny people who decided to get together and curse. I would be lying if I said I didn't laugh my ass off, and I can guarantee such an experience for anyone with an appreciation of pure, unforced, R-rated humor.
dodd@movieweb.com
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