Review of Role Models (2008) by James M — 04 Jul 2014

Another comedy from the Judd Apatow production line with many of the same actors he's worked with before, the story is by far weaker than The 40 Year Old Virgin, Knocked Up, Forgetting Sarah Marshall, et al, but the film is still quite enjoyable, with the usual ad-libbed performances.

I find Paul Rudd quite likeable as an actor, he has a deadpan style quite similar to Bill Murray (though obviously nowhere near as good as the Comedy Legend!), but Seann William Scott is an actor I don't particularly enjoy the work of.

The story in Role Models is quite poor, but it still works and is easy to watch. Rudd & Scott are given a community service punishment where they participate in a programme where they become guardians to two young kids. Rudd is put in care of a medieval role-playing nerd, while Scott is out in charge of looking after a foul-mouthed black boy. They start off hating the punishment and try to cut corners as much as they can, but by the end of the movie they discover the meaning of responsibility and redeem themselves.

The medieval role-playing game subplot is quite embarrassing and it's difficult to understand what kind of people would find this a fun way of life, but different strokes for different folks I guess.

As a guilty pleasure movie this is entertaining but I would recommend it if you looking for something of a little more depth.