The movie "Role Models" is clichéd in its comedic-yet-sincere formula.
But the sincerity of the characters and dialogue raises this film above typical Hollywood comedy.
Paul Rudd and Seann William Scott play Danny Donahue and Wheeler, a duo who drive a truck shaped like a minotaur, campaigning against drugs and promoting an equally bad energy drink, Minotaur. Everything seems great, until the two plow the truck into a school statue, thereby earning themselves 150 hours of community service, mentoring lonely youths in an organization called Sturdy Wings.
If there are two people less suited to mentor children, they have yet to be found. Danny, a manic depressive who hates children, gets assigned to Augie, a bizarre teenager who spends most of his time re-enacting the Middle Ages. Wheeler, a care-free bachelor who doesn't have running water or electricity in his home, is stuck with Ronnie, a young troublemaker who has driven away his previous mentors.
The movie focuses on the misadventures of Danny and Wheeler and their young wards. Wheeler and Ronnie are especially low-brow characters, focusing on things such as the fact that there are two breasts to every man in the world. Also, the movie has a lot of profanity. Ronnie is 10, but he cusses like Chris Rock. It's amazing.
Kudos to the screen writers for some of the funniest dialogue all year.
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Lines like "You white? Then you Ben Affleck!" or "Congratulations - you're stupid in three languages," or "I'll hit a child. I have never done that before," illustrate the genius of the script. Other lines in the movie are laced with strong sexual innuendo that is hilarious at times and awkward at others.
Danny and Augie bring sentimentality to the movie, focusing on Danny's ex-girlfriend Beth, played by Elizabeth Banks, or Augie's parents, who think he's a loser. However, the best comedic moments come when the four main characters come together.
From Danny's general lack of success, which leads to a freak-out in a cafe, to Ronnie's punk attitude, which hides a vulnerable interior, every character is carefully constructed to have the most sincere and comedic effect.
Especially notable is Jane Lynch's performance as Gale Sweeney - the director of Sturdy Wings and a former crackhead from Greenwich Village - who delivers her lines with such finesse and hilarity that one can't help but laugh out loud when she says things like, "You think I give a shit if you go to prison? You know what I used to eat for breakfast? Cocaine. You know what I had for lunch? Cocaine!"
This movie will offend the easily offended, but everyone else should be able to enjoy the characters and offbeat but hilarious dialogue.
Grade: A-
