No one is going to marvel at the actors' Stanislavsky-like artistry, but Scott and Rudd are fun to watch and their bickering is hilarious...
Role Models (2008)
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted:143
Fresh:109
Rotten:34
Average Rating:6.5/10
Consensus: Role Models is a frequently crude, always funny comedy with the cast providing solid work throughout.
Australian Rating: MA15+ [See Full Rating] Strong sexual references and coarse language
Runtime: 1 hr 42 mins
Genre: Comedies
Australian Theatrical Release:
Jan 15, 2009 Wide
US Box Office: $67,266,300
Synopsis: Director David Wain (WET HOT AMERICAN SUMMER) capably mixes the saucy and the sentimental in the bawdy boys-to-men comedy ROLE MODELS. Stuck-in-a-rut Danny Donahue (Paul Rudd) and womanizing... Director David Wain (WET HOT AMERICAN SUMMER) capably mixes the saucy and the sentimental in the bawdy boys-to-men comedy ROLE MODELS. Stuck-in-a-rut Danny Donahue (Paul Rudd) and womanizing man-child Wheeler (Seann William Scott) work together promoting Minotaur energy drink to high school students. But when Danny's girlfriend Beth (Elizabeth Banks) dumps him because he lacks maturity, his lashing out threatens to land him and Wheeler in jail. Their only way out is to act as mentors at Sturdy Wings, a Big Brother-esque organization run by reformed addict--and unrepentant flirt--Gayle Sweeny (Jane Lynch). There, Danny is paired with the decidedly dorky Augie (Christopher Mintz-Plasse) while Wheeler is the latest victim to take on foul-mouthed Ronnie (Bobb'e J. Thompson). After a bumpy beginning, both Danny and Wheeler connect with their kids over everything from sword-and-sorcery role playing to the chick-scoring power of the band Kiss. But when these two presumptive adults put their charges' well-being in jeopardy, they face both jail time and the loss of everyone's respect. With their own friendship on the brink of ruin, Danny and Wheeler--not to mention a little help from the magic of Kiss--must reach deep inside to prove to the world how responsible they can truly be. In the spirit of films like KNOCKED UP and THE 40-YEAR OLD VIRGIN, ROLE MODELS features a healthy dose of sharp humor and juvenile gags balanced by a feel-good message that growing up doesn't mean giving up what makes each of us special. [More]
Starring: Paul Rudd, Seann William Scott, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, Jane Lynch
Starring: Paul Rudd, Seann William Scott, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, Jane Lynch, Bobb'e J. Thompson, Elizabeth Banks, Ken Jeong
Director: David Wain
Director: David Wain
Screenwriter: David Wain, Paul Rudd, Ken Marino, Tim Dowling, W. Blake Herron
Producer: Mary Parent, Scott Stuber, Luke Greenfield
Composer: Craig Wedren
Studio: Universal Pictures
Reviews for Role Models
What Role Models does well is extract every last loose-moral laugh it can from its who-is-educating-who? scenario.
Like School Of Rock and The Bad News Bears, it cleverly walks a fine line by throwing kids in amongst the filth.
Like so many of Hollywood's youth oriented comedies, this is like a mound of dog turd flavoured with honey; the crass vulgarities are sweetened by add-on humanity. But just like dog turd with honey on it, the mess is unappetising
Role Models is a film for the nerds, by the nerds. Lucky for Role Models, the rest of our culture is catching up and are invited along as well.
Bobb'e J. Thompson upstages the entire cast with his wit. Thompson was so crass -- I haven't seen a kid curse this much in a movie since Linda Blair in 'The Exorcist'!
There are some very serious issues here about absent fathers and the lack of positive role models for young males, but they're just a cynical hook for a film full of homophobic, misogynist humour.
A great example of the Emotionally Stunted Men Grow A Heart sub-genre. Role Models staves off the January blues and puts a marker down as 2009’s laugh-out-loud comedy to beat.
‘Role Models’ isn’t trying to reinvent the wheel, just polish it up a little. What emerges is a memorable slice of modern slapstick, with charm to spare and just a touch of soul.
It may be slight, it may be derivative, but this comedy for (if not quite about) adults is also deliriously funny.
The upbeat ending is inevitable but the script’s undercurrent of scalding sarcasm keeps it fresh.
Role Models is exuberantly staged, fitfully funny and boasts a glorious supporting turn from Jane Lynch as the demagogic onetime addict.
Role Models matures with age, becoming sweeter and less raucous as it goes on. Unfortunately, when it finds its heart, it loses its legs.
For most of the film’s running time, Wain refuses to give in to mush or melodrama, preferring to prod hopelessly dysfunctional characters into uneasy duels, just to see who blinks first.
It's a slackly directed, grubbily photographed, utterly formulaic comedy.
While better than it should be, if you listen hard enough you can actually hear a barrel being scraped between the gags.
The wonderful Jane Lynch (40-Year-Old Virgin) steals each of her scenes as the charity project leader, a reformed cokehead singing from the right-on community care hymnsheet.
Neither Rudd nor Scott are naturally funny performers, and neither are nearly as effective as their two young charges. Lynch’s Sturdy Wings manager is easily the best bet for laughs.
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