Two weeks from today: Go see Role Models

Yesterday, I was able to go see a free preview screening of of the new Paul Rudd movie Role Models, directed by Stella's David Wain, and it was awesome. It’s what you should go see on Friday Nov. 7th before you head to either an Obama-victory party or Obama-loss funeral for America.

The movie stars Paul Rudd and Sean William Scott. Paul Rudd finally gets the chance to have his own film after being the number 2 guy in everyone else’s star making vehicles (Will Ferrell in Anchorman, Steve Carell in 40 Year Old Virgin, Seth Rogen in Knocked Up and Alicia Silverstone in Clueless. Yeah, I went there for the Clueless reference.). Rudd, who co-wrote the script with director David Wain and Ken Marino, does an excellent job of playing a total sarcastic dick. He helped write this role for himself and has way too much fun playing it. Sean William Scott plays a guy who is obsessed with sex and loves to party, which is a HUGE stretch for the actor. Okay, so he’s basically playing Stifler but Scott knows how to play this type of comedy well and wrings laughs out of his frequent non-sequiturs and makes even his most horribly offensive lines sound charming.

The main plot of the film is that guys are energy-drink marketers who get arrested and are forced to go into a Big Brothers/ Big Sisters-type program. In the program, Rudd’s character is paired with Superbad’s Mc Lovin’, yeah, the actor has a name other than McLovin’ but I bet you don’t know it plus he is basically just playing McLovin’ again so I’ll just keep calling him McLovin’. So McLovin’ takes Rudd LARPing (Live Action Role Playing) and here the movie does an awfully smooth mix of making fun of LARPing while also respecting it. The movie makes fun of the people who take it too seriously while still validating the activity as something that’s valuable for McLovin’, if director Wain hadn’t been able to keep that balance, Rudd’s and McLovin’s plot would have fallen apart.

Sean William Scott is meanwhile paired with Bobbe’ J. Thompson, the greatest child actor ever. The only thing I’ve seen Bobbe’ J. Thompson in before this was some Human Giant sketches but Bobbe’ J. Thompson owns Role Models. Bobbe’ J. Thompson does an awesome job as a kid who likes to swear and be perverted and nothing is funnier than a little kid swearing and being perverted. At the age of 12, Bobbe’ J. Thompson is awesomer than you or I ever will be. The movie’s most clever idea is to have Scott bond with young Bobbe’ by teaching him how to better at checking out cleavage. Bobbe’ J. Thompson also has a couple chances to show off his inner vulnerability, under Wain’s direction, it’s Thompson that’s allowed to have the most-layered and vulnerable performance in the movie. Damn, Bobbe’ J. Thompson is awesome.

For those who are familiar with director David Wain’s other work (Dan and Jon, 2 out of the 4 people who might read this), this is probably Wain’s most mainstream work to date. It’s certainly nowhere as nihilistic as the films Wet Hot American Summer or The Ten or his work in the comedy groups’ The State and Stella. While the movie takes place in a much more grounded world than anything else Wain has worked in, there is still as much crude sexual humor as there was in any Stella short. Moving all of Wain’s trademark dick jokes to a realistic world where there are a lot of kids around only makes them seem more wrong. The plot is also far less subversive than Wet Hot American Summer’s or his webseries Wainy Days but it doesn’t feel like a sell-out film intended for mass market popularity, ala Linklater’s School of Rock, instead it feels like it fits on the DVD shelf next to other State-alumnus projects. Supporting roles by many actors who have worked with Wain in the past also help keep it going.

I only have two small complaints for the movie as a whole. The bottom of the second act drags a bit as we wait for Rudd and Scott’s characters to redeem themselves after screwing up (that’s not a spoiler, that’s just 3-act structure. I can forgive the bit of slowness in act 2 as it’s the first time Wain and Marino are writing a comedy that follows a 3-act structure as opposed to making fun of it… plus act 3 is so great, it makes you forget the end of act 2. The Act 3 of Role Models is so awesome, it’s the Bobbe’ J. Thompson of 3rd acts. Note, I will now rate the awesomeness of things in relation to Bobbe’ J. Thompson. The other issue is that Elizabeth Banks is wasted as Paul Rudd’s ex-girlfriend, she really isn’t given anything funny to do and it’s a tremendous waste of her talent. Maybe she was doing it as a favor to Wain for her early role in Wet Hot American Summer or maybe just because she wanted to be in 3 major release films in 1 month.

Overall, taking Wain’s perverted comedy and moving it to a more mainstream-accessible form makes it a hilarious comedy if you love stuff like Stella or Wet Hot American Summer but it’s also a hilarious comedy if you hate Stella or Wet Hot American Summer.