Dir. David Wain, US, 2008, 98 mins
Cast: Paul Rudd, Sean William Scott, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, Elizabeth Banks, Jane Lynch, Bobb'e J. Thompson
Review by Daniel Joyce Dundas
Two of the kings of R-rated fratboy-humour comedies, Rudd (The 40-year-old Virgin) and Scott (American Pie ) take the mickey out of their previous on-screen personas in Role Models , a sharp comedy aimed at a younger audience than their usual target. Danny (Rudd) and Wheeler (Scott) are two immature underachievers who wreck the company truck fuelled by the toxic energy drink they have been hired to sell. It is the culmination of what has been a very bad day for Danny.
They are given the choice of a prison term or 150 hours of community service on a mentoring programme for young boys, called Sturdy Wings. They obviously choose the latter. However, when they meet Sweeny (an incredibly funny performance by Lynch) the ever-upbeat owner of Sturdy Wings, they start to question their choice. It only gets worse when they are introduced to their charges. Danny's kid is Augie (Mintz-Plasse) a pubescent, shy 16-year-old obsessed with medieval role playing and Wheeler is assigned Ronnie (Thompson), a streetwise, foul-mouthed 10-year-old, who does everything he can to spoil Wheeler's, free-wheeling enjoyment of life.
Of course, these two immature, self-centred guys are ill-equipped for the responsibility of looking after anyone, including themselves, and it's not long before they are hauled in for Sweeny's particular brand of pep-talk. Lynch excels here as the ex-drug addict, reformed prostitute who has what she calls a perfect sense of when she is being BS'd.
The screenplay, co-written by Rudd, gives Danny some sparkling dialogue. He deals with everything in life with sarcasm and plays well with Scott's brand of raunchy comedy. A scene where Danny takes a coffee shop ‘barista' to task over the sizes of the cups is a particular standout with a great payoff. Danny's pet hate is cliché and Sweeny speaks in nothing else even making up some of her own. It is a comic match made in heaven and because of the performance of the two actors, it never grows tired. It is the screenplay that lifts the film out of the silly, pratfall comedy genre.
However, it is Mintz-Plasse as Augie who steals the show as he did in Superbad as McLovin. He again plays the loveable geek, so shy that he can't stand to be himself and runs around in a cape, talking in olde English and hanging around with the kind of losers who play medieval war battles. It could be extremely cringe worthy, but Mintz-Plasse has such charm you can't help but like this little misfit. Danny finds himself defending him despite his commonsense telling him differently. And Augie's role-playing ‘knight' friends are hilarious.
It is rare to find a good, laugh-out-loud comedy, that doesn't insult your intelligence. This one fits the bill.
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