This movie wasn’t hyped up a lot or expected to make any good money at the box office. But the buzz was good, critics loved it, and it shattered expectations opening weekend – making almost $20 million. But starting many months ago, I had already been eagerly anticipating Role Models. As the release date inched closer, and the commercials actually started to come out en mass, my excitement grew: for a few reasons. First, this movie has a killer cast. Second, David Wain is the director – I’ll get to that later. Lastly, well…the plot and trailer looked hilarious. What I saw tonight was a movie that met my expectations, but surprisingly, not in the same ways I thought it would.
Rudd and William Scott are just two pieces to this crazy comedy puzzle (Collider.com)
The two leads in this movie were terrific, with Seann William Scott really being surprisingly good. I loved him in some of his past roles, and people pass him off as a one trick pony. Whether that’s true or not, he was damn funny again in Role Models, and showed a rare human, touching side too. Paul Rudd, the best supporting character funnyman in the business perhaps, got a chance to shine as the number one guy – and nailed it. He was hilarious as he was touching. The rest of the cast, including some very recognizable people from Wainy Days (I’ll get to that in a bit), and Judd Apatow movies, completed a very well rounded group of characters. And seriously, how well does Elizabeth Banks have it right now? She’s been in approximately 28 movies in the past 3 weeks.
One word I just used a couple of times was “touching”. Role Models, following the working formula of Apatow comedies, had just as much heart as it did laughs – and it was very genuine. Now, don’t get me wrong, the laughs were crude and quite often. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a movie with so many sexual innuendos passed off in such a subtle yet effective way. But through the laugh-a-minute first 2/3’s of the movie, you gain a liking for these characters, and that hits home in the final lap.
Apparently this movie had a bit of trouble getting a hold of a director, and it wasn’t until Paul Rudd suggested David Wain for the job that the movie really got rolling. Wain is, for lack of a better word, bizarre. But he’s hilarious too, and can tell a joke in ten different ways. It’s hard to explain, but the big box office and favorable reviews should get him another gig quite soon. And I highly suggest you check out the web series – Wainy Days – it’s had a few seasons online, and while that kind of bizarre/outrageous humor isn’t seen precisely in Role Models, the comedic undertones are certainly there.
All in all, this movie, like so many others in this dreary movie year of 2008, will be forgotten as the weeks move forward. Like a Get Smart, with far different approaches at humor, it’s a truly fun ride in the theater, but not something you’ll be quoting a few months from now. But in a year of scarce good movies, this was a great pleasure to watch.
ROLE MODELS: 
Filed under: Movie review | Tagged: Christopher Mintz-Plasse, comedy, david wain, elizabeth banks, jane lynch, Judd Apatow, paul rudd, role models, seann william scott
