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It’s not hard to see why people might have a monster hate-on over something like Role Models—on its surface, it looks to be yet another crass comedy featuring a pair of losers whose lives suck almost as hard as the careers of the actors portraying them.  And yet, despite the fact that both Paul Rudd AND Seann William Scott are involved, Role Models will manage to do the impossible and be a good movie.

Buddies straitlaced, bitter Danny and freewheeling ladies’ man Wheeler (whom we later find out is actually named Anson) work together pitching an energy drink to kids called Minotaur.  Wheeler wears a minotaur costume, Danny wears a suit, and together they drive around from school to school in a pickup truck shaped a lot like a minotaur for the twofold purpose of keeping kids off drugs and hawking energy drink, sufficient quantities of which have been shown to turn urine a bright green.  While Wheeler loves his job, Danny is beginning to hate life, wanting more from it.  Eventually, Danny loses it under the strain and attempts to steal his truck back from a tow truck that was seizing it due to parking it in the wrong spot after his girlfriend dumped him.  Danny soon after finds himself facing a bitter choice along with friend Wheeler—thirty days in jail, or a hundred and eighty hours of community service with a group called Sturdy Wings, a Big Brothers-esque sort of program run by a former crackhead.

See what I mean?  It’s got all the basic traits of a lousy buddy comedy: two lousy buddy comedy actors (Dude Where’s My Car ringing a bell for anyone?), an outlandish plotline (I wouldn’t trust these goons behind the controls of a television set let alone with my kid), and ultimate resolution.

But, almost in spite of itself, Role Models turned out to be a solidly done comedy that I loved.  Oh, sure, there were some awkward moments, but seriously, how often do you see boffer LARP as a plot device in a movie?  Almost NEVER, that’s how often.  Seeing it here really got my attention.  And yes, it’s your standard formula of two-slackers-learn-a-lesson, but it’s pretty well executed, and there’s lots of funny moments that’ll leave you laughing.  And just maybe, even cheering a little.

Oh, sure, it’s a bit formulaic.  It follows the standard arcs and even borrows heavily from plenty of other comedies that have come before it.  But it still turns out to be downright heartwarming, watching the two morons learn their lesson.  Watching Danny’s attitude about life change from his time with the LARPers, watching Wheeler become more mature from his time with his “little”, even watching how the two kids matched to Danny and Wheeler change for the better from THEIR time in—yeah, of course we saw it coming from a mile away because the thing’s cracking off magnesium flares every three feet and wearing a five foot tall neon sign saying “Hey! Look at me!”, but it’s still worth the watching nonetheless.

I can’t believe I got charmed by this little comedy.  I can’t believe I got sucked in to such a clearly formulaic potboiler.  But the fact remains that I did, and chances are, you will too.

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