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Role Models

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Role Models (2008)

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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

[See More Credits]

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    Fight in the Jeep
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    Fighting with the Barista
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  • You Have to Go to Jail
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    Pizza
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    Gayle Interrogates
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    Arguing About KISS
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    Paul Rudd and Seann William Scott Interview
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1 - 4 of 10

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Reviews for Role Models

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1 - 20 (sorted by date; Australian critics are listed first)
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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...

Full Review Source: The Australian | comment Comment
01/22/09
Kerrie Murphy
Kerrie Murphy
The Australian
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

What Role Models does well is extract every last loose-moral laugh it can from its who-is-educating-who? scenario.

Full Review Source: Daily Telegraph (Australia) | comment Comment
01/15/09
Leigh Paatsch
Leigh Paatsch
Daily Telegraph (Australia)
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Like School Of Rock and The Bad News Bears, it cleverly walks a fine line by throwing kids in amongst the filth.

Full Review Source: FILMINK (Australia) | comment Comment
01/14/09
Erin Free
Erin Free
FILMINK (Australia)
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

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

Full Review Source: Urban Cinefile | comment 4 Comments
01/09/09
Andrew L. Urban
Andrew L. Urban
Urban Cinefile
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

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.

Full Review Source: UGO | comment Comment
08/13/09
Jordan Hoffman
Jordan Hoffman
UGO

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'!

Full Review Source: BET.com | comment Comment
07/03/09
Clay Cane
Clay Cane
BET.com

... One of the best recent comedies not bearing the Apatow name.

Full Review Source: Star-Democrat (Easton, MD) | comment Comment
05/15/09
Greg Maki
Greg Maki
Star-Democrat (Easton, MD)

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.

Full Review Source: MovieTime, ABC Radio National | comment 8 Comments
01/16/09
Jason Di Rosso
Jason Di Rosso
MovieTime, ABC Radio National
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

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.

Full Review Source: Empire Magazine | comment Comment
01/09/09
Ian Freer
Ian Freer
Empire Magazine
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

‘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.

Full Review Source: Time Out | comment Comment
01/09/09
Tom Huddlestone
Tom Huddlestone
Time Out

It may be slight, it may be derivative, but this comedy for (if not quite about) adults is also deliriously funny.

Full Review Source: Channel 4 Film | comment Comment
01/09/09
Anton Bitel
Anton Bitel
Channel 4 Film

The upbeat ending is inevitable but the script’s undercurrent of scalding sarcasm keeps it fresh.

Full Review Source: Times [UK] | comment Comment
01/09/09
Wendy Ide
Wendy Ide
Times [UK]
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Role Models is exuberantly staged, fitfully funny and boasts a glorious supporting turn from Jane Lynch as the demagogic onetime addict.

Full Review Source: Guardian [UK] | comment Comment
01/09/09
Xan Brooks
Xan Brooks
Guardian [UK]
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Role Models matures with age, becoming sweeter and less raucous as it goes on. Unfortunately, when it finds its heart, it loses its legs.

Full Review Source: Sky Movies | comment Comment
01/09/09
Elliott Noble
Elliott Noble
Sky Movies

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Empire Magazine | comment Comment
01/09/09
Empire Magazine
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

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.

Full Review Source: Total Film | comment Comment
01/09/09
Total Film
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

It's a slackly directed, grubbily photographed, utterly formulaic comedy.

Full Review Source: Daily Mail [UK] | comment 2 Comments
01/09/09
Christopher Tookey
Christopher Tookey
Daily Mail [UK]

While better than it should be, if you listen hard enough you can actually hear a barrel being scraped between the gags.

Full Review Source: Daily Mirror [UK] | comment Comment
01/09/09
David Edwards
David Edwards
Daily Mirror [UK]

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.

Full Review Source: Financial Times | comment Comment
01/09/09
Nigel Andrews
Nigel Andrews
Financial Times

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.

Full Review Source: This is London | comment 6 Comments
01/09/09
Derek Malcolm
Derek Malcolm
This is London
 
 
1 - 20 (sorted by date; Australian critics are listed first)
Text View | 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 >> >|
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