NOF: Role Models

Posted by Not Our Face on Jan 2, 2009 in Comedy, Film | View Comments

Starring Paul Rudd, Sean William Scott, A little black kid, McLovin

I have always wondered how movie reviewers get to watch movies before they are out on general release. The answer is that they go to special preview screenings, so they can see it first. Happily, for this film a special screening was laid on for me by my brother and Illegal downloads. Unless those people who make the “you wouldn’t steal a car” antipiracy ads are reading this, in which case I haven’t seen the movie and just saw the trailer and took it to a logical conclusion using my imagination. The fact it probably is exactly like the film just proves that Hollywood should snap me up as a talent. Ahem.

The film Role Models stars Paul Rudd, who has been playing some great roles recently, and you will either know him as the sad-sack husband in “Knocked Up” who freaks out over chairs in that movie’s best scene. Or possibly as Phoebe’s husband in Friends, which I never really paid attention to, but I seem to remember his name was Crap-bag in one episode. Does that help? It also stars two people know by their characters names in one film rather than their own name: Stifler and McLovin’. They are so well know as these I can’t be bothered to find out their real names, and have written them in this review. It also stars a little black kid, who is balls to the wall hilarious, and reminded me most of Tracy Jordan from ace US sitcom 30 rock (worth a look if you’ve not seen it).

It opens with Rudd and Stifler going about their day job working for Minotaur energy drink, as a spokesman and mascot respectively. Rudd entertainingly bitches his way through the day, and his snarky comments in the coffee store are very funny. As he realises he’s been in the job for 10 years, he has a little crisis, and ends up trashing the company car. Sentenced to community service, he and stifler have to join a program called Sturdy Wings where they take care of a kid. Rudd is paired with McLovin, who plays a high school kid who likes to take part in a sort of fantasy swords and sorcery thing, and Stifler is paired with a foul mouthed, hilarious little black Kid played by the brilliantly spelled Bobb’e J Thompson.

I could go through the plot, but essentially it’s just a thing to hang a load of really damn fine jokes on it. It is really very funny, and happily the ending isn’t a ridiculous volte-face of learning to love each other. There is that, but it never feels forced and is played with quiet charm, much like the rest of this movie.

Also, you will never think of Ben Affleck in quite the same way. As the kid says “You white, you Ben Affleck”.