Walking out of the theater after seeing the vulgar comedy du jour “Role Models,” feeling both delighted and disgusted by the film’s lack of moral scruples, all I could think was: “Paul Rudd, it’s about damn time.”
You see, I’ve had a love affair with Paul Rudd since he played the lovable, flannel-clad stepbrother Josh to Alicia Silverstein’s Cher Horowitz in the 1997 film “Clueless”; I watched the movie until I memorized it in its entirety, all the while wishing that I had my a nerdy, tapered-jeans-wearing, estranged stepbrother of my own.
Since then, Rudd has appeared in an onslaught of movies and television, including playing Jennifer Aniston’s gay love interest in 1998’s “The Object of My Affection” and a supporting but clutch role in 2007’s breakout comedy “Knocked Up.” And of course, Rudd has also made numerous hilarious cameos in comedies like “Anchorman” and “Forgetting Sarah Marshall.” Still, I’ve been patiently waiting for Rudd to take a leading role and to showcase his comedic chops that extend beyond fleeting and outrageous cameos.
Well, the time has finally come. Rudd landed the lead in “Role Models,” a film about two thirty-something guys who opt to log 150 community service hours acting as mentors with kids instead of spending a month in jail for a series crime they committed in a time span of five minutes. Goofball veteran Sean William Scott plays Rudd’s partner in crime, while Christopher Mintz-Plasse (Mclovin from “Superbad”) Elizabeth Banks (“W.,” “Zack and Miri,”) and youngster Bobb’e J. Thompson round out the cast.
Banks is credible and affecting in her portrayal of Rudd’s stuck-in-a-relationship-rut girlfriend, and Thompson and Mintz-Plasse are equally hilarious, though in completely different ways; Mintz-Plasse plays a Dungeons And Dragons-obsessed highschooler looking for acceptance, while Thompson is an outrageously foul-mouthed child with a penchant for racial slurs and admiring the anatomy of women twice his age.
Still, this is Rudd’s movie. His hilarity is a perfect combination of quick wit, physical humor and vulgarity. His facial expressions are easily half his game — he has mastered looks of disgust, shock and utter annoyance, and they are perfect. Furthermore, Rudd has the uncanny ability to make expletives unusually funny. Whereas another actor just shouting the F word might fail to impress audiences, Rudd pulls it off effortlessly.
Yet, while Rudd shines, Sean William Scott fails a bit short of the mark. Though Scott’s interaction with his Johnson, his young mentee, is funny and even charming at times, his overall character presentation is tired. It’s not even that we have seen this character before, but that we have seen this character from Scott himself.
Many times. In fact, the character seems to be somewhat of a distant cousin of the Stifler from “American Pie” —a sex-crazed, kindhearted fool with an unrealistically chiseled body and an affinity for graphic tees. The truth is that today’s newest comedy stars, like Seth Rogan and Jason Segel, have raised the bar, challenging older shtick actors like Scott to keep up.
“Role Models” is delightfully crude and hilarious, and most importantly, and tells a story that we haven’t heard before. In fact, there is even a glimmer of a real love story between Rudd and Banks, shrouded under the incessant repetition of the F word and sexual references. Though not for those bothered by all that is vulgar or crass, “Role Models” sets a standard for subsequent comedies to follow and is absolutely worth the ticket to see it on the big screen.
