Grumpy Comedy Review – Role Models

Role Models looks like another stale Judd Apatow/Will Ferrell thing, and WELL it kinda is but I still managed to enjoy it – thanks to decent writing and direction by Stella/SuperJail! superstar David Wain, some foul-mouthed kids, and a whole lot of Live-Action-Role-Playing (LARPing).

LARPing is a game where nerdballs dress in homemade costumes and run around soccer fields and forests, hitting each other with foam swords. You’d think a mainstream comedy would ridicule such epic nerdly behavior, but nerds are in charge now (the success of Superbad, 40-Year-Old Virgin and superhero movies ain’t enough evidence?).

Nevertheless, the main character, Paul Rudd, spends the entire movie in a dreary “life sucks” haze, but eventually wakes up and decides that you should do whatever makes you happy, no matter how goofy it is.

Which is great and all, but what happened to comedies like Airplane! that were insane and hilarious for the sake of being insane and hilarious? Do all modern comedies need moral pandering and life-lesson-faggotry to be viable? I swear, take out the tits, the F-words and the Kiss references and this movie and others like it are only a few steps away from being after-school specials.

Which is exactly how we meet Paul Rudd and Seann William Scott – two dopes shilling Red Bull and “Say no to drugs!” lingo at school assemblies. After a run-in with the law they’re forced to mentor kids. Bing, bang, boom. There’s your premise.

Paul Rudd, who has been long overdue for a lead role, plays a really negative guy. He hates his life, what he does – everything. He asks his girlfriend, “Where am I gonna find another girl who hates everything I hate?” Yeah, I was fully behind him.

His kid is the McLovin kid – the LARPer. Seann William Scott, suddenly so big he’s bursting out of all his clothing, gets a kid with a dirtier mouth than R. Lee Ermey. Since their interactions are the movie’s basis you better believe it’s fairly strong, funny stuff. Certainly, after The Rundown, I will never get tired of watching Scott and his stupid smirk get the shit kicked out of him. The black kid isn’t The Rock (who IS?), but despite being a fraction of his size, he’s almost as tough.

Problem is…the funny characters are still slotted into your standard fuckin’ formula. All the friends learn stuff, then stop being friends, then make up in the end. It’s a good thing there are jokes in between the stuck-in “drama”, but even some of those get tiring.

There’s one woman, the person in charge of their mentoring program, who gets way too much screen time for being an annoying stork. I don’t think I ever wanted anyone out of a comedy more since that really ugly guy who wouldn’t die in Pineapple Express.

Beyond the bullshit there’s still plenty of raunchy shenanigans to enjoy. I didn’t think the movie’s soft chewy center would taste very good, yet it had me right about when Paul Rudd told McLovin’s shitty parents off. Call it manipulative or sappy – sentimental for sure, but the movie had me enough by then so when the big LARP battle at the end occurs I was pumping my arm with sweet, fake victory. Acceptance, understanding and nerdliness wins.

Huzzah!

Now let’s leave the safe sentimentalizing behind. For the last time, where’s that gay-nerd abortion comedy, guys?

Highlight: Rudd reluctantly subscribes to McLovin’s fantasy games as he bargains with the King of the LARPers in a real-world burger joint setting.

***Tim Magus is Julius Bloop’s film reviewer. Visit his website – Grump Factory***