Movie review: ‘Role Models’

FloridaGator80

I’m always a bit of a sucker when it comes to raunchy comedy that appeals to those with tastes running to puerile, R-rated humor. Oh, say “Porky’s” (click here to read my review) or “American Pie” (click here for my look at the franchise) or “Road Trip” (click here to read my review). “Role Models” is no exception other than for myself to report that it is better than you might imagine, but remains nastily profane in front of and from its youngest actors. It could have been more family-friendly with a touch of editing, but then all the edge that it has would have been lost. Oh, I did watch the unrated version (not the theatrical release). That might make a difference. Ah, probably not. Did they ever have an unrated cut of “Porky’s?”

‘Role Models’
(2008; 99 minutes; rated R; directed by David Wain and starring Paul Rudd, Seann William Scott, Elizabeth Banks and Jane Lynch)

THEY’RE ROUGH AROUND THE EDGES, BUT THEY’RE OK

(NOTE: I expanded this review with some additional opinion and updating of links on July 17, 2016. I again expanded the review on Jan. 30, 2024.)

I believe Paul Rudd is one of the best comedy actors working today and over the past two decades he’s put some powerful bling on his resume: “The 40-Year-Old-Virgin” (click here to read my review), “Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy” (click here to read my review) and its sequel and also “Knocked Up.” So, today I’m going to the near past for his lesser known, but equally good effort in “Role Models” with Seann William Scott.

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Rudd knows how to project one kind of character: the gloomy, despondent guy who’s depressed about his life. Rudd has done it very well in “The 40-Year-Old-Virgin” and “Knocked Up,” but he’s particularly good at it in “Role Models.” Pairing him here with Scott was inspired casting and the duo’s work turns out well here.

In “Role Models,” Rudd plays “Danny Donahue” and Scott plays “Anson Wheeler.” They’re co-workers for an energy drink company and they couldn’t be any more different. Rudd is gloomy and down about how his life’s going after 10 years with the company. On the other hand, Scott is upbeat and only wants one thing out of life: hitting on girls. Rudd has a meltdown at a high school presentation and the pair land in court where they’re ordered to do community service in a Big Brother-like organization called “Sturdy Wings.”

You just know neither one is going to be up to the task, but it’s community service or jail and we’re off and running. Rudd, who said he’d just prefer going to jail, gets a shy, late-teen kid who is into the medieval make-believe world while Scott gets the R-rated stereotype youngster here: the boy is a caustic, profanity spewing pre-teen that no other “Big” has connected with.

Of course, everyone connects; the connections fall apart just after the middle of the film; and then everyone gets back together for a wonderful ending where everyone is satisfied.

OK, this could have been one where the actors mail it in and rely on the crude jokes and cursing to carry the day. They don’t. They elevate the film to better-than-average status with hard work and talent. Here’s a look at their work:

  • Rudd does his usual best as the despondent 35-year-old who promotes energy drinks (cue crude humor here at several levels). Rudd’s character doesn’t see any reason to get energized about anything and would actually like to spend time in jail rather than do community service. Rudd sells his character well and the transformation is at the correct pace: he doesn’t push it too quickly or at the end he isn’t so saccharine as to make you want to gag. He has also been in “This is 40,” “Our Idiot Brother” and “Dinner for Schmucks.” I also enjoyed his work in the little-remembered but simply terrific “The Oh in Ohio” with Parker Posey and Danny DeVito. Rudd has notched 132 acting credits beginning in 1992 through the end of 2023 and was credited as Paul Stephen Rudd in 1995’s “Halloween: The Curse of Michael Myers.” Paul Stephen Rudd is his birth name, but his nickname is Fred.
  • Scott continued to ride his “American Pie” character type a decade later in this one (he was “Stifler,” remember?). Scott is solid as the devil-may-care bad boy who impresses his young charge with talk about … well, adult things. You wouldn’t call Scott out for not giving it his all here, but it’s not his best either. I thought he did comedy well in “The Dukes of Hazzard” with Johnny Knoxville (click here to read my review) as well as “ Woodcock” (click here to read my review) and “Road Trip” (click here to read my review). He was also in “Old School” and “Bulletproof Monk.”
  • A Golden Globe winner (certainly not for this one), Jane Lynch plays “Gayle Sweeny” and she will put you on the floor with her very blue comments about how she knows the judge in Rudd’s and Scott’s case; or what she was doing before founding “Sturdy Wings;” or in just about any scene. Lynch is her usual breezy self here and pulls it off with such ease, aplomb and conviction you can actually believe she works with a charity to help youngsters. Lynch is most recognized from her role on TV’s “Glee” (that’s where she got a Golden Globe and one nomination) and has also did a recurring character as a psychiatrist on TV’s “Two and a Half Men” (you know, the popular TV franchise that was destroyed by the talentless Aston Kutcher) and she’s also a veteran of “The 40-Year-Old-Virgin.”

The two kids placed with Rudd and Scott do excellent jobs. Both have their age group characterizations down pat and they appear comfortable on screen. They are:

  • Christopher Mintz-Plasse plays “Augie Farques,” who is the Middle Earth-obsessed teen who’s afraid of girls and has few friends. He does an excellent job here as the shy dork who wants to break out of his shell but doesn’t know how to do it. Mintz-Plasse was 19 at the time of the film and plays a bit younger role. He has also been in “Superbad,” the remake of “Fright Night” and “Year One.” “Role Models” is his second film after “Superbad.”
  • Bobb’e J. Thompson plays the foul-mouthed “Ronnie Shields.” Thompson kicks out his profane lines with such style that you know he’s a born entertainer. Thompson was 12 at the time of the film and plays a similar age boy, but with a very adult vocabulary and plain-speaking about women’s anatomy. Thompson has also been in “Snowmen” and a number of TV roles early in his career. He notched 49 credits since the first in 2002 and the last was in 2021.

Also in the supporting cast mix:

  • A three-time Primetime Emmy nominee, Elizabeth Banks plays “Beth Jones,” who is the woman who shoots down Rudd’s proposal of marriage and is the trigger to his meltdown and even further plunge into depression. Banks is also the guys’ attorney trying to keep them out of jail and she is competent in this small role. There’s little room for her to break out here. Banks has also been in “The Hunger Games” and “The Next Three Days” as well as an episode of “Curb Your Enthusiasm.” She has notched a prolific 95 acting credits since the first in 1998. Two of her nominations are for “30 Rock,” while the other is for the politically correct crapfest called “Modern Family.” Banks was also in “Spider-Man,” “The 40-Year-Old-Virgin” and was a recurring character as a doctor on TV’s delightfully creative and funny “Scrubs.”
  • As the love interest for Mintz-Plasse, Allie Stamler plays “Sarah/Queen Esplen.” Stamler does a smooth job here and is especially effective playing coy with Mintz-Plasse because she, like him, has a terminal case of shyness. Stamler has earned 16 acting credits since her first in “Role Models” and was on the TV series “Royal Pains.”

The only other supporting actor worth mentioning is Ken Jeong, who has specialized in creepy roles from “The Hangover” (he’s especially creepy in the third installment – click here to read my look at the franchise) to “Role Models.” Jeong is “King Argotron” and is the nemesis of Mintz-Plasse. He does a great job as the ultra-creepy guy who gets far to`o into the medieval world (he even demands that Rudd kiss his ring at one point). Jeong is so good you almost want to call the authorities on him just on general principles. He has also been in “Pain & Gain,” “Pineapple Express” and was also in “Knocked Up” and most recently is on a crappy performance-based TV show that I won’t name (on a general principle).

I’ll say for this one what I’ve said before about some other movies: It’s difficult to believe a film as funny as “Role Models” didn’t do better at the box office. It came in 47th at the U.S. box office for 2008 with $67.2 million in ticket sales, according to Box Office Mojo. Worldwide, the film would bring in $92.5 million on a $28 million budget, according to Wiki. The No. 1 film was “The Dark Knight,” which brought in $533.3 million. Other films from that year that I’ve reviewed are:

Assorted cast and film notes (via IMDb.com):

  • Banks’ first acting credit in 1998 was under the name Elizabeth Casey; next, she was Elizabeth Maresal Mitchell; and has been Elizabeth Banks since “Shaft” in 2000. BTW … Elizabeth Maresal Mitchell is her birth name.
  • Directly from IMDb.com: “The logo for Sturdy Wings is virtually identical to the image on the cover of ‘Wingspan: Hits and History’ by Paul McCartney‘s band, Wings.”
  • Back on the topic of names, Thompson’s first name was spelled Bobbe’ in his first credit and then changed to Bobb’e in his second.
  • Directly from IMDb.com: “Before Danny proposes, Wheeler tells him that they have to be at Blue Valley Middle School. Blue Valley is the name of the actual middle school that Paul Rudd attended in Overland Park, Kansas.”
  • Continuing on the topic of names, Stamler is now credited as Alexandra Stamler and not by her nickname.
  • “Role Models” was nominated for a couple of awards (yes, it was): A nomination for the profanity-spewing Thompson as “Breakthrough Performance Male” at the 2009 MTV Movie + TV awards; and a nominee the same year for “Choice Movie: Bromantic Comedy” at the Teen Choice Awards.
  • Finally and directly from IMDb.com: “This movie also has the two main characters tell each other to refer to themselves as Dragon and Nighthawk. Will Ferrell and John C Riley also did this in the 2008 film Step Brothers.”

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