Role Models

Theatrical Release Date: 2008 11 07 (USA - Limited) / 2008 11 07 (USA) / 2008 11 14 (USA - Limited)

UPC: 025195053136

Studio: Universal Studios

MPAA Rating: R   Contains:null

Summary: A pair of irresponsible energy drink salesmen realize that serving a month of hard time is nothing compared to spending 150 hours in a community mentorship program after they trash the company truck and find themselves at the mercy of the court in this comedy starring Seann William Scott and Paul Rudd. Wheeler (Scott) and Danny (Rudd) wouldn't necessarily be the first people a parent would turn to when seeking out a babysitter, in fact, they probably wouldn't even make the list in the first place. After slamming a few too many Minotaur energy drinks and crashing the company truck, however, the two loose-living pals narrowly avert jail when the court decides to let them become mentors to a group of young misfits. But how is the recently dumped Danny supposed to help bashful, role-playing geek Augie (Christopher Mintz-Plasse) become a man when all he can offer the boy is bitter sarcasm, and is beer-chugging man-child Wheeler really the best choice to help foul-mouthed fifth-grader Ronnie (Bobb'e J. Thompson) develop more respect for his elders? Probably not, but they'll have to do their best anyway when the center's ex-con director (Jane Lynch) confronts them with a harsh ultimatum. Now, if Wheeler and Danny can just make it through the rest of their probation without getting tossed in jail, maybe there's hope for the boys -- and Danny's relationship with his fed-up girlfriend (Elizabeth Banks) -- after all. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

Category: Comedy

Awards: Most Offensive Male Characters – Women Film Critics Circle Most Offensive Male Characters – Women Film Critics Circle Best Comedy Movie – Broadcast Film Critics Association

Features: Additional Deleted Scenes and Alternate Takes

Bloopers
On the Set of Role Models
Game On: Creating a Role Playing World
In-Character & Off-Script

Role Models

Format: Blu-ray

Release Date: 03/10/2009

Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1 Theatre Wide-Screen

Audio: DHMA null, DD2 Dolby Digital Stereo, DTS-ESM Digital Theater Pseudo 6.1 System

Runtime: 120 Minutes

Sides: 1

Number of Discs: 1

Language(s) English,Spanish,French

Subtitles: English,Spanish,French

Cammila Albertson

Comedy director David Wain has proven himself in the past with exercises in manic, over-the-top, ADD madness like Wet Hot American Summer and The Ten, and while his 2008 film Role Models doesn't strive for that level of slap-your-mama absurdism, it does consistently remain both totally nuts, and totally hilarious. Wain gives the movie its initial boost by casting Paul Rudd in the starring role as Danny, a disgruntled spokesman for an energy drink called Minotaur. Rudd has been stealing the show in comedies for years, showing up to briefly spike the Laughs Per Minute ratio in everything from Apatow flicks to Will Ferrell vehicles, but seeing him take the lead is truly gratifying -- and, more importantly, funny. And Sean William Scott (still known mainly as Stiffler from American Pie) actually does a more than adequate job of playing the number two in this buddy film, taking on his usual role of the simple, horny creature with a crappy, post-college apartment and a zillion creative ways to talk about boobies. In this case, this creature comes in the form of a guy named Wheeler, who tours around with Danny to speaking engagements wearing a big, puffy minotaur costume. He pretty much likes the gig, but Danny gets steadily more and more despondent over the lack of meaning in his life, and eventually tells an auditorium full of middle-schoolers to stem the tide of life's unyielding mediocrity and get started on hard drugs good and early. Then he and Wheeler crash the Minotaur-mobile into a statue of a horse. Danny's lawyer and recently ex-girlfriend Beth (played by Elizabeth Banks, the go-to-girl for seemingly every comedy made since the start of the millennium) manages to get the guys out of serving jail time by reducing their sentence to 150 hours of community service, which the judge stipulates must be carried out at Sturdy Wings, a Big Brothers type organization that partners problem kids with guiding older pals. Of course, Danny ends up with a fantasy obsessed, live-action role playing kid named Augie (Christopher Mintz-Plasse, hopefully still known mainly as McLovin' -- for the rest of his life) and Wheeler gets Ronnie, the quintessential angry black 11 year old (Bobb'e J. Thompson, a kid who spews such earnest and authentic profanity that you'd swear he's really a 30 year old with one of those Gary Coleman type growth disorders). The premise is simple enough, but the execution is comedy gold. It doesn't try to push the envelope or bury a bunch of pretentious subtext under the humor, it just hands the idea over to the creative folks on either side of the camera and lets them whip it into a mile high pile of spot-on jokes about D&D nerds, relatively clever dick jokes, and kick-ass running character gags (read: Jane Lynch). The story does eventually succumb to the now de rigeur standard of throwing in a sappy, guileless happy-ending to compensate for the rest of the movie's balls-out vulgarity, but it doesn't feel any more shoehorned here than it does anywhere else. In fact, the underlying mushiness in Role Models otherwise pops up in the movie in really delightful ways, like the storyline about role-playing dorks. The movie makes fun of their costumes and PVC swords, but in the end, it's totally sympathetic -- even celebratory -- about a bunch of kids doing what makes them happy. The heroes might storm the climactic battle in somewhat unorthodox outfits (which it would be a crime to spoil) but by this point, they've won you over with plenty of crudeness and satire and sodomy jokes. And besides, it's fun to play pretend. After all, that's why we go to movies in the first place. ~ Cammila Albertson, Rovi

Cast and Crew: Dan Kolsrud  Executive Producer 
Matt Seigel  Executive Producer 
Mary Parent  Producer 
Andrew Z. Davis  Executive Producer 
Scott Stuber  Producer 
Paul Rudd  Screenwriter 
Craig Wedren  Composer (Music Score) 
Luke Greenfield  Producer 
David Wain  Director 
David Wain  Screenwriter 
Ken Marino  Screenwriter 
William Sherak  Executive Producer 
Jason Shuman  Executive Producer 
Timothy Dowling  Screenwriter 
Seann William Scott  Actor 
Paul Rudd  Actor 
Elizabeth Banks  Actor 
Christopher Mintz-Plasse  Actor 
Bobb'e J. Thompson  Actor 
Jane Lynch  Actor 
Ken Jeong  Actor 
Ken Marino  Actor 
Kerri Kenney-Silver  Actor 
A.D. Miles  Actor 
Joe Lo Truglio  Actor 
Matt Walsh  Actor 
Nicole Randall Johnson  Actor 
Allie Stamler  Actor 
Carly Craig  Actor 
Jessica Morris  Actor 
Vincent Martella  Actor 
Armen Weitzman  Actor 
Jorma Taccone  Actor 
Nate Hartley  Actor 
David Wain  Actor 
Amanda Righetti  Actor 
Shane Arenal  Actor 
Tina Casciani  Actor 
Nina Hellman  Actor 
Keegan-Michael Key  Actor 

Country: USA