Role Models isn’t destined to become an instant classic, but it is consistently funny and surprisingly sweet, a combination that yields the most enjoyable mainstream comedy so far this year. 

Role Models isn’t destined to become an instant classic, but it is consistently funny and surprisingly sweet, a combination that yields the most enjoyable mainstream comedy so far this year. The premise is hardly original and the ending a little too pat, but it doesn’t even matter. The film is tightly written and well-acted, delivers near constant laughs, and most importantly—it has real heart, clearly felt amid all the R-rated raunchiness.  With Role Models, director David Wain (Wet Hot American Summer) proves he can hold his own beside the likes of Judd Apatow and Kevin Smith. He layers the movie with both profound profanity and tenderness, producing scenes that are funny as hell but touching at the same time.

The plot is fairly simple. Paul Rudd and Sean William Scott are Danny and Wheeler, two employees of a company that sends them around to local schools promoting its energy drink (Minotaur!) as a safe alternative to drugs. Wheeler, being slightly younger and much less mature, enjoys his life of dressing up in a Minotaur costume for money and getting as much action as he possibly can. Danny on the other hand, freaks out when he realizes the sum of his life is a disgusting energy drink and a seven-year relationship stuck firmly in a rut. After a pathetically unromantic marriage proposal to his girlfriend (the beautiful, but suddenly very present, Elizabeth Banks) fails miserably, he winds up crashing the company truck after delivering an uninspiring speech to an auditorium full of teenagers about how much life sucks. This trite plot device lands them at a mentorship program for kids called Sturdy Wings to work off community service hours. At Sturdy Wings, Danny is paired with mega-dork Augie (Christopher Mintz-Plasse, aka McLovin’), a lonely cape-wearing teen who immerses himself in the alternative reality of live-action fantasy games. Wheeler is put in charge of Ronnie (Bobb’e J. Thompson), a black ten year-old with a mouth that could rival Eddie Murphy from his Raw days. Of course, in being forced to mentor these kids, both Danny and Wheeler learn a lot about themselves, grow up…you know the rest.

As predictable as the plot may be, Role Models completely succeeds on the strength of its cast. Paul Rudd (one of the Apatow repertory players) makes everything work, with his imperceptible smirks and dead-panned one-liners that play off so well against the more unashamedly stupid comedy of the rest of the film (female nudity, grown men hitting each other with foam swords, racial slurs, etc). Rudd is discerningly witty, smart, and just plain likable, and hopefully Role Models (which he also co-wrote) will finally gain him some recognition after spending more than a decade as one of the most underrated comedic actors of his generation. As the foil to Rudd’s (relatively) straight man, Sean William Scott is surprisingly good. Sure, he’s all about boobs and livin’ the good life, but unlike his previous characters (read, Stifler) he’s not stupid. His transformation, as he deals with the responsibility of having a kid look up to him, is believable and poignant. The entire supporting cast is excellent as well, especially Jane Lynch (The 40 Year-Old Virgin) in an absolutely hilarious turn as a former drug addict and the founder of Sturdy Wings.

Role Models is smart, mixing in almost as many subtle and witty lines as jokes about the female anatomy. It’s not entirely shallow, tackling themes of adolescent awkwardness and self-discovery with a deft touch. But most of all, it’s really funny. Compared to all the other comedy offerings of 2008, you could do a whole lot worse.

3.5/5 Woovies