Role Models

Role Models (RM) is the comedic story of two guys, Danny and Wheeler, played by Paul Rudd and Sean William Scott, respectively, that work for an energy drink company. When Danny has a quarter to mid life crisis and is frustrated with his lot in life, he, with Wheeler in tow, get into some trouble with the law (it involves energy drink, a "pep" talk to high schoolers, and a pickup truck designed to look like the fantastical minotaur. It is as funny as it sounds) and crashes his relationship with his long-time girlfriend Beth, played by Elizabeth Banks.

To avoid jail time, they opt to participate in 150 hours of community service with Sturdy Hands, a Big Brother-type mentoring program run by Gayle Sweeny, played with comedic slyness by Jane Lynch. Danny gets paired with Augie, a high school teen obsessed with being a fictional warrior in a life-sized fantasy-type role playing game which resembles a cross between Final Fantasy and Lord of the Rings. Wheeler gets assigned to Ronnie, a young African-American man being raised in a single parent household who can be, to put it mildly, a rambunctious handful.

At the start, as is expected, both men struggle to connect with their new charge. Danny's sarcastic, flippant approach to life doesn't bring any comfort or joy to Augie. Meanwhile, Ronnie brings all kinds of grief to Wheeler. But both men stick it out (the threat of jail would motivate me too) and slowly begin relating to the boys.

And doing so brings plenty of genuine hilarity along the way. Danny starts to become a member of Augie's army, and the scenes where he begins to learn all the ways of Danny's fake culture are great. But the heart of this movie is how Wheeler connects with Ronnie; I laughed long and hard throughout many of their scenes, like when Wheeler tells Ronnie that he loves the band Kiss because all their songs are about having sex; or when, while on a Sturdy Hands camping trip, Wheeler teaches Ronnie how to look at women's breasts as discreetly as possible. Their scenes play to the lower bases of being a man, but you can't deny how funny it really is.

There is a lot to like in RM, particularly throughout the first hour. I already mentioned Wheeler and Ronnie's relationship, but I really have to commend Sean William Scott. As an actor, his stereotypical frat boy, sex-crazed, over-the-top comedic sensibility (as seen in most of his films, most notably in the American Pie series) usually overwhelms and drowns any kind of potential performance he might give. But in this role, he gives it just the right amount of temperance to make his character thoroughly enjoyable, which I really didn't think he had in him.

The mood, pacing, and structure of the first hour is spot-on for optimally enjoying a crude comedy. The laughs come pretty consistently. and even though the last 40 minutes or so is fairly predictable and less comedically strong, it still gets the job done and keeps you engaged, which is better than I thought the film could deliver.

Oh, and how can you not love Jane Lynch? Even though she is now mostly known as the sassy Sue Sylvester on Glee, I've been impressed with her comedic brilliance since great guest spots in lots of other gems like Arrested Development and My Name is Earl. Her career is like that of a designated hitter in baseball; she's not a huge star, but is recognizable, talented, you respect her bat, and you get excited when you see her because you know she will deliver the goods. RM is no exception.

RM is a pretty good movie. It isn't a "as soon as it comes out I've gotta have it" DVD purchase, but if it was in the bargain bin, on a significant sale, or really cheap on Black Friday, I might pick it up. And when you get a chance, you should check it out.