Director: David Wain
Starring: Paul Rudd, Seann William Scott & Christopher Mintz-Plasse
A very enjoyable comedy that, in spite of its predictable adults learn life and responsibility plot direction is elevated by funny and sharp dialogue and impressively strong performances from its lead actors.
On paper, Role Models sounds like it has the potential to be little more than an average comedy: The plot follows a standard storyline of two adults learning life lessons and coming away better people. Also, on the surface, the casting would seem average starring Paul Rudd, funny but usually filling the parts of supporting roles; Seann William Scott, still seen as little more than his American Pie character Stifler 10 years later; and Christopher Mintz-Plasse, following his breakout role as McLovin in 2007’s Superbad. That, in spite of any expectations of mediocrity, Role Models actually succeeds in being incredibly funny and not letting the conventions of its plot prevent it back from being entertaining or even insightful is very impressive. Additionally, all the actors involved manage to impress with strong performances and excellent comic timing fulfilling potential that had yet to be fully realized.
Considering the plot of Role Models, adults learning life lessons by looking after children, the film becomes saccharine in the handling of its subject matter. Rather than exploit the troubled backgrounds of either of its child leads for an easy emotional moment, Role Models instead addresses their issues and those of its adult leads by forcing them all to interact, unwillingly, in as many awkward situations as is realistically possible and watching them squirm and even explode. The adults, forced to become child mentors to avoid a prison term, are represented by Danny (Rudd) a cynical loner whose criticisms of everyone around him has driven away his friends and his girlfriend and Wheeler (Scott), a guy who never grew up, living for fun without ever wanting anything permanent or worthwhile. The children are represented by Augie (Mintz-Plasse), a boy with no social life outside of a fantasy-based role playing group he meets but with no interaction with real world situations and Ronnie (Bobb’e J. Thompson), a young, black child who acts tough and keeps everyone at a distance with his foul language and even resorting to using racial differences as a weapon to keep people away. Danny finds Augie’s hobbies uninteresting, initially ignoring their importance to Augie and offending Augie through his own bitterness while Wheeler, unfamiliar with responsibility is kept off guard by Ronnie and left trying to appeal to him through their mutual interest in women. Ultimately failing to help the children with their refusal to fully take their roles as mentors or the children’s need seriously, Danny and Wheeler are then left with the task of rebuilding their trust and in accepting that their own selfishness needs to change to better, not only the children’s lives, but also their own.
Enhancing the otherwise straight forward story and characters, is the excellent performances of the cast. Rudd’s performance as Danny is the film’s most enjoyable using his deadpan delivery to give Danny’s cynicism additional bitterness and making his quick wit additionally scathing whilst also allowing for Danny to slowly, and believably accept that he isn’t as smart as he sometimes believes and that he is missing out on life through his cynicism. Scott also impresses as Wheeler who, while seeming to be another version of his Stifler persona, is actually far more restrained and with Scott infusing the role with an unexpected, yet satisfying, level of sweetness to an otherwise hedonistic individual. Mintz-Plasse follows his nerd persona of McLovin with another nerdy role here, but rather than repeating the same performance, Mintz-Plasse buries the annoying, eager-to-impress nature of the McLovin persona for a far more introverted performance as Augie’s socially-deprived teen. Also impressive is Thompson as Ronnie, who delivers his foul mouthed dialogue with much energy and despite fulfilling a classic troubled child role, is nevertheless charming especially in his interactions with Scott. Rounding out the rest of the cast are entertaining turns from Jane Lynch as the former drug-addict turned group leader of the mentoring program, Ken Leong as one of Augie’s fellow fantasy-game players and Elizabeth Banks in a warm, if underwritten, role as Danny’s former girlfriend.
Overall, Role Models succeeds in being very funny, featuring excellent timing and overall performances from its cast in addition to sharp, acerbic dialogue and truly entertaining set pieces particularly those involving the fantasy-gaming events that pre-occupy Augie’s spare time. Paul Rudd also, successfully, steps up from being a supporting actor to comic lead with ease while Scott shows, more visibly than before, than he is more than that loud-mouthed guy from American Pie. A very entertaining, very satisfying comedy.
Rating: 4/5
