Role Models

Very funny comedy about two thirtysomethings, Danny (Paul Rudd) and Wheeler (Sean William Scott), who are court ordered to work for a big-brother-type charity called Sturdy Wings after running their truck into a school building and obstructing a police officer. Danny, recently dumped by his attorney girlfriend Beth (Elizabeth Banks) for his negative attitude, is given Augie (Christopher Mintz-Plasse), a role-playing enthusiast with unsupportive parents. Wheeler is given a ten year-old, Ronnie (Bobb'e J. Thompson), with a particularly foul mouth.

Role Models has the feel of a Judd Apatow comedy in that it successfully mixes vulgarity with sentiment. There might be no surprises here but almost every joke here sticks. After giving scene-stealing performances in everything from Knocked Up to Anchorman, Rudd finally lands his first leading role. He is, unsurprisngly, excellent, affable, amusing, but so is everyone here. Following on from his engimatic performance in Southland Tales, Sean William Scott shows that he's more than capable of restraint. Jane Lynch, as the former cokehead founder of Sturdy Wings, is priceless and gets most of the movie's laughs. Mintz-Plasse's Augie is the film's heart, offering Danny an opportunity to see his own life differently. Yes, it's predictable, corny even, but by the time director David Wain cranks out ELO over a montage of Danny and Wheeler enjoying themselves with the kids all of your cynicism will have disappeared.