2008 / 99 Minutes / R
Reviewed by Dale J. Nauertz

Before he co-starred in the movie “Anchorman”, I thought of Paul Rudd as just another generic Hollywood pretty boy predetermined to be the Next Big Thing. This was based on his fine, but forgettable, performances in movies like “The Cider House Rules” and “Romeo + Juliet” (=Death). But since then, Paul Rudd has grown into one of the most consistently hilarious men in modern cinematic comedy. He’s got a sarcastic, low key bordering on deadpan way of delivering a line and wringing the maximum hilarity out of it. Not only that, but he’s got dashing, leading man good looks and charisma to spare. He’s generally one of the best things about any movie he’s in, so I’ve been scratching my head for the past couple of years wondering why this guy hasn’t starred in his own movie, why this guy isn’t on the fast track to become the next Tom Hanks? Thankfully, I need wonder no more because Paul is finally front and center in “Role Models”, a delightfully raunchy (and decidedly R-rated) film that takes the standard, inspirational adult-mentoring-kids-and-learning-something-themselves movie and administers a swift kick to its nuts.

Paul Rudd plays Danny Donahue, an aimless guy in his mid-thirties who has come to hate life more with each passing year. Part of that has to do with his job. He is a motivational speaker for the Minotaur energy drink corporation. Essentially he goes from school to school telling kids to stay off of drugs and get addicted to Minotaur instead (the movie has a lot of fun with this concept). He is aided in this daily task by Wheeler (Stiffler, A.K.A. Seann William Scott), an overly enthusiastic, party-centric man who, unlike Danny, loves dressing in a bull costume and teaching kids to become overcaffienated. In fact, he wants to keep doing it until the day he dies. Danny is haunted by the things he hasn’t achieved. Wheeler doesn’t want to achieve anything. He just hopes the party train never stops. So when Danny’s existential ennui finally overwhelms him, causing him to ram their bull-themed monster truck into a statue of a horse, Wheeler is willing to do anything to save his job and keep out of his jail. Even if that means mentoring children in a Big-Brothers style program called “Sturdy Wings” in order to rack up 150 hours of community service. Danny, on the other hand, would have preferred the jail time.

Obviously, neither of these men is an ideal “role model” (we have a title!) so hilarity does, indeed, ensue. Danny is assigned to a kid named Augie (played by Christopher Mintz-Plasse, the same hilarious young actor whose portrayal of “McLovin” provided the unquestionable high point of the film “Superbad”), a teenage outcast who is just a little too involved in live action sword and sorcery role playing. Wheeler on the other hand is partnered up with Ronnie Shields, a foul-mouthed youngster whom no other volunteer has lasted more than a day with. Young Bobb’e J. Thompson damned near steals the whole movie as Ronnie. He’s got an exuberance and foul-mouthed glee that’s nothing short of infectious. McLovin does a good job as well, but Bobb’e’s character is just more fun to watch, slapping counselors, obsessing over breasts, and using profanity that would make a stevedore blush.

The best thing about this movie is that it doesn’t quite go where you’d expect. Yes, Danny and Wheeler grow to like the children under their charge. And, yes, they do learn a life lesson or two. But mostly, their childish behavior is what makes the kids like them. They don’t talk down to these kids or try to reform them. They just hang out with the kids and teach them a few new bad manners, while instilling them with confidence and an appreciation for the music of KISS. Danny and Wheeler are a little more grown up by the end of the film, sure, but, really, they had nowhere to go but “up”. Nobody cries, nobody has a giant epiphany, and when they do unite for a common goal, it’s just to kick some ass in a role-playing battle, not to save a homeless shelter or pass a test or even win a football game.

The movie is surprisingly sweet and charming. It builds dimensions and emotion into is characters without sacrificing a single laugh. It’s also wonderfully irreverent and gleefully profane. There is plenty of swearing and even a few breasts on display in this movie. There are abundant references to drug use and sexual activity, most of them around children. If you’re thinking this is going to be some lame-ass PG-13 comedy-drama that forgets how to be funny halfway through, you can put those fears to rest. This is not your parents’ inspirational children movie. Director David Wain doesn’t have the visual panache of, say, the Coens or Edgar Wight, but he’s at least as adept behind the camera as Judd Apatow and has the same gift for stocking a film with hilarious supporting actors (many of whom will be familiar to fans of “Knocked Up” or “The 40 Year Old Virgin”) and writing funny, clever dialogue that sounds like something a person might actually say (the screenplay was co-written by Paul Rudd, incidentally, making him cool on yet another level). Yes, the movie does get a little over-the-top at times, but it’s the best kind of over-the-top, the kind where the sheer moxie of the film puts a giddy smile on one’s face.

The kids are great, the jokes are sharp, the dialogue is almost as brilliantly vulgar as “Slap Shot”, and Paul Rudd and Stiffler make a great team. “Role Models” is a magnificent, hilarious film. Besides, where else can you see the worlds of KISS fandom and Live Action Role Playing (called LARP, for short) come crashing together? Trust me, that alone is worth the price of admission.

This entry was posted on Saturday, October 25th, 2008 at 8:19 am and is filed under Dale's Reviews. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.