After seeing the first trailer I knew I was going to enjoy Role Models, I just knew it. When Bobb’e J. Thompson as Ronnie looks at Paul Rudd and says, “You white… then you Ben Affleck,” it just killed me. Also in the film he refers to him as “Reindeer Games” and “Daredevil” and it is a joke that never gets old. That, however, is just a sampling of what this film has to offer when it comes to comedy and it is the comedic timing this film has and its ability to bump up just against the edge of over-the-top that makes it a hit.
The film is centered on a pair of Minotaur Energy Drink salesmen, Danny and Wheeler (Paul Rudd and Seann William Scott). Their sales pitch is drink Minotaur and stay off drugs. This, of course, comes equipped with scenes of Danny and Wheeler smoking pot while drinking enough Minotaur to turn their piss green. While Wheeler seems to love the job, Danny is a bit in the doldrums. Danny is a guy that tends to always see the negative side of life as he yells at a coffee house barista when she tells him venti is a large and he explains to her how “venti” is Italian and means “twenty” and not large. He caps off the conversation by saying to her, “Congratulations, you are now stupid in two languages.” When he is corrected by his then girlfriend (Elizabeth Banks), who points out a large coffee is 20 ounces, it doesn’t make things any better. Danny and his girlfriend ultimately break up sending him into an emotional rage that earns both himself and Wheeler 150 hours in a big brother program for reasons I will allow you to wait and see for yourself.
Wheeler ends up earning the smart mouthed Ronnie while Danny plays mentor to Augie played by Superbad star Christopher Mintz-Plasse, a.k.a. McLovin. Augie is a bit closed off from most kids his age as his primary passion is a real life medieval role playing game called Lair while Ronnie is anything but closed off and has a wild vocabulary to prove it, “Honky ass wanted a handful of my balls!” That’s just a preview.
Both kids offer Wheeler and Danny a different look at life and an emotional bond is created, but the film manages to stay above the direction such a film would traditionally take. While you know there will ultimately be some kind of falling out between mentor and mentee, Role Models manages to tackle the issue slightly different giving the film a chance to take a couple of unexpected, yet welcomed, turns. Sure, it’s cliché and you know how it will all ultimately end, but the road traveled to get there at least feels mildly unique while being wildly funny. Both pluses in my book.
Seann William Scott’s uncanny ability to deliver even the seemingly most innocent lines (Whaaaat?) and Rudd’s blank stares and frank attitude are where the majority of the comedy in this four-letter word laden flick reside, but don’t overlook the supporting cast. While Mintz-Plasse is playing the injured party here and is a bit more subdued than he was in Superbad, I have to assume Bobb’e Thompson had more fun on this film than many have ever had making a movie. Ronnie is damn near a devil child at the opening of this flick and the friendship he finds with Wheeler is equally comical as well as speaks to the emotional heart of the film.
Another comedic turn is offered by Jane Lynch who plays the director of the big brother center. Lynch’s character is an ex-con and the comedy she brings mirrors a lot of the work she did as Rudd’s sexually inappropriate boss in 40 Year-Old Virgin for Judd Apatow. She insists she can see through your bullshit, she used to “eat” cocaine for breakfast and has a unique ability to say the wrong thing at the wrong time and never even realize it. Her character is a lot of fun and gives Paul Rudd plenty of opportunity for dry sarcasm, which is some of my favorite comedy.
David Wain wrote and directed Role Models following up on The Ten, a downer effort I never saw in 2007. I am not sure what made The Ten such a bad film, but I can say Wain proves he knows how to control a comedy with Role Models, and his ability to capitalize on dry humor as well as venture into potty humor and slapstick makes for a much more balanced comedy than those that simply reap the benefits of sight gags or a whole lot of swearing. Don’t get me wrong, this flick has boatloads of swearing, but unless that is something that offends you, it only adds to the hilarity.
