Review: Role Models

When you think of role models, you don't think of Wheeler (Seann William Scott), a partying, live life to the fullest type of guy or Danny (Paul Rudd), a guy who feels as if he's wasted the last 10 years of his life and hates everything. But maybe that's what makes them good role models: they're not the typical, cookie-cutter mold role models. They're real with their "littles" and don't put up a front for them.

The movie is the predictable format: guys mess up and have to do community service, get the hang of it, screw up in a big way, are reluctantly given a second chance, save the day, and make the world a better place. But they play around within the formula in unpredictable ways.

Here are some of the reasons I loved the movie and want to watch it again:

1. Paul Rudd

I LOVE PAUL RUDD. I've been a fan since '95. The line in Knocked Up where Leslie Mann cries about how she just looks old as she ages and he just keeps getting better and looking better is very true. Well, the part about him at least. He's a great actor and does comedy well. Danny's a snarky, sarcastic guy who hates life, and Rudd plays him perfectly. LOVE HIM!

2. The Script

Rudd, alongside the director, David Wain, wrote the script. Although there are some cheap laughs and vulgarities, there are two other main sources for laughs. One comes from the reactions of the characters when others say things that are seemingly innocent, but can be taken the wrong way. I appreciated how they didn't write in a sarcastic comment every single time. The second comes from the jokes in passing, so it paid to pay attention. Rudd and Wain also knew when jokes were getting old and switched things up so they could keep running with them, but you didn't get tired of them. (Example: Gayle's (Jane Lynch) former drug addiction.) And instead of forgetting where they started from, they remind you once again near the end what got them there in the first place.

3. Seann William Scott, Christopher Mintz-Plasse and Elizabeth Banks

Wheeler likens himself to a savant about boobies, sex, KISS and life mottos. Mintz-Plasse is best and possibly only known as McLovin. There's no one else I could think of to play Augie Farks. Banks I'm just falling in love with. All three play characters that they're known for, but don't make you feel like they're being type-casted.

4. Bobb'e J. Thompson

He is definitely not your typical Disney kid. You forget he's just a kid (he was born in '96), but there's a couple scenes where you realize that that's just what he is.

5. LAIRE

I'm not one for Live Action Interactive Role-Playing Explorers -- it's out there, and the movie exposes the general public to it without poking (too much) fun at the players or the lifestyle. They took an unconventional past-time and showcased it justly, but didn't make it the focus like other movies I could easily mention.

6. KISS

I have a soft spot for KISS. They're mentioned quite a bit in the movie, and each time is in a bigger and better way.

Reasons YOU may enjoy it:

1. Boobies: There's talks and theories about them, and you get to see some.

2. Familiar faces: from Reno 911 and Wainy Days.

3. Jorma Taccone: he's another one of the familiar faces, but my friends and I are Lonely Island fans so he gets his own mention.

Tags: Role Models, Paul Rudd, Seann William Scott, Elizabeth Banks, David Wain

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