Cinematic man-children are all the craze nowadays, especially if they're over 30 and still live at home, can't hold down a job and have never touched a woman. Hoping to capitalize on this not-so-lovable-loser trend, writer/director David Wain conjured up "Role Models," in which Paul Rudd ("Anchorman") and Seann William Scott ("American Pie") play two grown-up slackers on the fast track to nowhere. It's a solid formula for a comedy, though the film never quite reaches its full potential.
For 10 years, Danny (Rudd) and Wheeler (Scott) have worked together as traveling salesmen, visiting schools to speak out against drugs and endorse an energy drink that's like "nuclear horse piss for six bucks a can." After Danny's live-in girlfriend (Elizabeth Banks) dumps him for being the world's biggest sourpuss, he lashes out at students, trashes the company car and damages public property, with brain-dead meathead Wheeler unwittingly along for the ride. The agigated police then give them a choice: serve 30 days in jail or spend 150 hours with a designated kid in a mentoring program.
Naturally, they choose option B, considering the duo wouldn't survive one day in a soup kitchen let alone a month in a cell. The center's ex-con director Gayle (Jane Lynch), who once partied harder than Amy Winehouse, assigns Danny to role-playing, cape-wearing Augie (Christopher Mintz-Plasse aka "Superbad's" McLovin) and Wheeler to trash-talking, trouble-making Ronnie (Bobb'e J. Thompson). Let's just say their future prospects as babysitters are grim.
"Role Models," which is co-written by Ken Marino, Timothy Dowling and Rudd, has some surefire laughs. There is a believable sense of camaraderie between grouchy Danny and chipper Wheeler, and watching them fumble around with the kids certainly has its moments. But there's a sense of "OK, now what?" lingering throughout the movie. It's amusing to watch Danny bark at innocent bystanders, Wheeler eyeball any woman who crosses his path, Augie celebrate geekdom in his nasally snarl and Ronnie expel more profanites than the dwarf in "Bad Santa" -- the first 12 times. Beyond that, it's clear that every character is a walking punchline with a grand total of one trait.
Bromance movies like "Swingers" and "40 Year Old Virgin" resonate because they feature seemingly real people; there's none of those to be found in "Role Models." A tad more depth and a pinch less repetition would serve it well, though when it hits -- such as a pivotal scene involving KISS costumes and a fantasy world battle -- it's hard not to cut it some slack. After all, as with most mentors, you have to take the bad with the good.
