Role Models Movie Review

Role Models

Movie Review

Anchorman, the Will Ferrell love-it-or-hate-it comedy, has more than a little to answer for when it comes to the casting of recent comedy movies. Most of the comedy leading men currently doing the rounds starred to a greater or lesser extent in the quotable cult movie, which did as much as 40 Year Old Virgin to make Steve Carrell a recognisable face. The line of succession reads like a chapter of the Old Testament. Ferrell begat Steve Carrell, who begat Seth Rogen. The latest to be begat is Paul Rudd, who stars in Role Models, and it's pretty damn laugh out loud hilarious.

The plot of Role Models is simple stuff. Rudd plays a cynical and dour energy drink executive who is unhappy with how his life is unfolding. His attitude produces a bad day, which lands him and his co-worker Seann William Scott in trouble with the law. With the spectre of prison hanging over them, the court provides an alternative; spend one hundred and fifty hours working in a mentoring programme with children in desperate need of role models. This sets up the meat of the story, as the two men try to complete their allotted hours.

The two most important things to any movie, the cast and script, are spot on in Role Models, and I think its fair to say that during the film I developed a man crush on Paul Rudd. I had forgotten how much I liked him in Anchorman and Forty Year Old Virgin. His venom spitting character is believable and fun to watch, and Scott's hapless womaniser makes a perfect foil. Seann William Scott, who it seems is destined to have Stiffler mentioned in the first line of his obituary, does well as Rudd's carefree colleague. The child he is paired with – Bobb’e Thompson - steals the movie. Giving a performance akin to a ten year old Eddie Murphy (pre Dr. Dolittle, mind) he produces the movies best moments and funniest lines. Christopher Mintz-Plasse of McLovin' Superbad fame, is charged to Rudd. The pair work well together and there is a satisfying pay-off to their relationship. Elizabeth Banks provides the slight, emotional core of the movie, but never gets a chance to flex her comedy muscles, which is disappointing given her performance in Zack and Miri.

The jokes are rude for the most part, but clever enough to avoid crudity and there are plenty of them packed into the ninety minute running time. Rudd's occasional reactions to other characters unusual comments are golden and double up the laughs. The ending is of the "I really learned something and now I'm a better person for it" variety that’s been played out hundreds of times before, but it manages to be fresh and never feel contrived. In fact, I felt a genuine sense of excitement as the last act built momentum.

Role Models provides sufficient laughs to justify the price of admission - Eddie Murphy Jr's antics alone would make me spend money on the DVD - and left me smiling for hours after. Hopefully Rudd's reign as the latest comedy Messiah will last longer than Steve Carrell's.

8.5/10