Role Models shocks, tries to awe

In theaters Friday: Quantum of Solace
New on DVD: Hellboy II: The Golden Army, Star Wars: The Clone Wars, This Christmas

Riding on the goodwill David Wain’s purile summer camp comedy Wet Hot American Summer earned with my friends and me in college, I eagerly watched Role Models, the latest film from a few of those lovable NYU grads who made it big on MTV in the ‘90s with their sketch comedy troupe, The State. Role Models stars Summer’s Paul Rudd, a late bloomer who only through a series of supporting roles in recent Judd Apatow-produced films has become an A-lister, despite breathing life into late-era Friends episodes and being generally awesome for a decade or so. Rudd plays a sad sack energy drink pusher whose recent break-up sends him in a rage that leads to a court-ordered 150 hours of community service. Also arrested is his skirt-chasing co-worker “Wheeler,” played by Seann William Scott. Wheeler is little more than an older, but not wiser, version of his famous “Stifler” from American Pie.

Instead of 30 days in jail, Rudd and Scott are buddied up with two kids at Sturdy Wings, a mentoring program founded by Jane Lynch’s hilariously obtuse and faux-peaceful recovering addict. Rudd draws a shy teenage nerd whose idea of fun is to dress like a knight for a role-playing game that looks like a civil war broke out at a Renaissance festival. Scott’s “little” is a foul-mouthed mini-Eddie Murphy who has burned through each of his previous “bigs” in less than a day. Christopher Mintz-Plasse plays Rudd’s “little” Augie, a boy wizard who gets no love from his misunderstanding parents. Fans of his McLovin from Superbad will recognize and applaud this repeat of that brilliant nerdcore performance. But it’s also painful to watch, this being the ride for the aging McLovin. The character just doesn’t work when he’s taller than the adults in the scene. I just hope Mintz-Plasse can find other ways into comedies instead of fading away like Napoleon Dynamite’s Jon Heder.

Bobb’e J. Thompson from Comedy Central’s Human Giant plays Scott’s smart-aleck “little” Ronnie, a fatherless kid who acts out in every way imaginable. His barbs are spot on and his wit relentless, challenging Scott’s manhood and constantly referring to Rudd as Ben Affleck. But at a certain point a 10-year-old’s expletives wear thin, and I was expecting his character to learn a new vocabulary. Instead he remains gleefully potty-mouthed till bitter end. No, Wain saves his attempts at emotionality for the Rudd/Augie relationship, and the film partially delivers. “I’d be psyched if he was my kid,” Rudd says, snapping at Augie’s parents during a hostile dinner. “Growing up is hard, but it must be much harder with parents like you,” he continues. A scene mirroring this with Scott, Ronnie and Ronnie’s mother would have rounded out the film. Instead it drags on into an extended medieval role-playing sequence and a too-easy reunion for Rudd and girlfriend Elizabeth Banks that falls flat compared to the much better second act of the picture.

The other thing that bothered me was I saw no need for this to be R-rated. Removing the pre-pubescent F-bombs and the unnecessary nudity may have given the film time to become more interesting and less formulaic. Plus, Wain’s Stella collaborators Michael Showalter and Michael Ian Black are mysteriously absent, and definitely missed. Ultimately, Role Models is a decent comedy, though mixed messages and a lackluster ending keep it from really excelling. After all, kids cursing is a cheap laugh—just ask Sarah Silverman—and how can Wain so heartily satirize all the medieval role-playing stuff and still expect us to accept Augie as anything more than a cartoon? But maybe I’m overthinking it. Maybe the teenage girl walking out of the theater in front of me had the most succinct review when she turned to her friend and said, “I haven’t LOLed that much in so long!”