This week,
ROLE MODELS (2008)
Starring- Paul Rudd, Seann William Scott, Elizabeth Banks, Jane Lynch
This movie sadly flew under a lot of people's radar, but I am glad to bring it to your attention now. Just like Director David Wain's other classic comedy- Wet Hot American Summer, this movie is rife with great characters, moments and lines. It follows two energy drink reps who get sentenced to 150 hours of community service with Sturdy Wings, a Big Brothers, Big Sisters knockoff. Hilarity ensues as Danny (Rudd) and Wheeler (Scott) bond with their two young friends.
Danny's "little" is Augie Farks, a nerdy teen who spends his time in L.A.I.R.E., a large scale medieval role playing game, and Wheeler's charge is Ronnie, a smart mouthed black kid who likes boobies. The foursome struggles to bond, but in the end they become close and triumph in the L.A.I.R.E. battle royale. There are many movies like this out there, but the writing is so clever and the performances are so nuanced that it feels new and fresh. Role Models also boasts a first rate cast that brings back many of the same actors that made Wet Hot so great. Rudd and Banks are joined by Joe LoTruglio, Ken Marino, A.D. Miles and even Wain himself. All of these performers, as well as the fantastic Jane Lynch, are so quick and good at improv that there are riotously funny moments within moments.
While I do not think this film is quite up to the Wet Hot standard, it has much of what I expected when I heard it had come out. In fact, there are many in-jokes and references that are especially great for fans of earlier films by Wain as well as the comedy show The State, which featured many of the same actors. Where this film does trump Wet Hot is in the overall message. There is a little more heart in Role Models, and even though the moral of the story is dressed down with sex and KISS inspired jokes, the viewer walks out thinking about what it means to be a role model.
Things to watch for-
Jim Stansel- he's that guy
KISSMYANTHIA
The whispering eye
The bagel dog
The Burger Hole
"I'm not here to service you, I'm here to service these young boys."