Do the math....Brian Fontana + Stifler, multiplied by McLovin and the sexiest/most underrated blonde in Hollywood, and all carried out by a calculator manufactured in the lost gem of an MTV comedy series The State = Role Models. How could such a long-winded math problem go wrong?
[just in case you're utterly lost and confused, that's....Paul Rudd + Seann William Scott, multiplied by Superbad's Christopher Mintz-Plasse and Elizabeth Banks, carried out by members from MTV's old sketch comedy show....if that's even any simpler. Probably not, but fuck it...come to think of it, The State and the place it holds cemented in my noggin deserves its own post on this here site at some point. Note to self made.]
Oh, and again, Elizabeth Banks is in it. And she's frikkin' awesome....beauty, sense of humor, great comic timing, tomboy-mixed-with-Playboy-pinup. The total package. She's the basic discontent-girlfriend-of-the-male-lead here in Role Models, a pretty thankless role. But she makes it work.
[obligatory Banks pic, of course....see your fine self again this weekend in Zack & Miri Make A Porno, baby]
Yet, this kind of broad comedy is generally hit-or-miss territory. Especially when not overseen by the Judd Apatow machine (yes, I'm an Apatow film groupie, sue me). Funny-looking trailer and talented actors don't always add up to a good time. And my negative suspicions had me fearing the worst with Role Models. But, you know what? I really enjoyed it. Not raving about it, or hailing it as this year's Superbad or some shit. But it had me LOLing in certains spots, and contently entertained throughout. And that's saying something, I think.
And really, I needed a harmless, fun, goofy, charming, run-of-the-mill laugh generator in my life, considering the surplus of horror and motion picture darkness I've voluntarily submerged myself in lately. Good timing, Universal Pictures publicity department.
I won't be purchasing this one on DVD whenever it hits retailers, but for a free press screening, it did its job. That doesn't sound like the strongest of recommendations, I know, but really, if you need somebody to recommend Role Models to you, then you'll probably dislike it anyway. If the idea of Rudd and Stifler (sorry dude, but you'll forever be "Stifler") playing "big brother" types, out of court-order necessity to avoid jail-time, to a a live-action Dungeons & Dragons nerd and potty-mouthed spitire ten-year-old, respectively, sounds funny to you, then you'll leave the theater happy once this one concludes. What you see in previews and trailer is what you get here.
If this all sounds a bit sophmoric and corny, then take your ass to High School Musical 3, you lame. Or toss even more duckets into that talking chihuahua fat pockets. Or be like one of the mindless sheep who made Saw V an undeserving success this past weekend.
Rudd has always been the droll, matter-of-fact-zinger-delivery secret weapon in the Knocked Up/40-Year Old Virgin/Anchorman mix, in my opinion, so seeing him as a lead in something that's not a fucking disgrace to cinematic comedy (that Eva Longoria-co-starring piece of fecal matter Over My Dead Body, anybody?) is more than welcome. And Stifler (I'm not calling him Seann William Scott, deal with it) is always good for chuckles when playing the cocky womanizer type. So Role Models earns smart-points off the bat by casting both dudes in roles that suit their comedic strengths. Further kudos for the casting of McLovin as an uber-nerd who wears a cape and gleefully participates in Medieval Times war games with sad-sack middle-aged men and fellow teenage geeks. Talk about believable casting. And then there's the side-splitter-in-development Bobb'e J. Thompson, a spunky little guy who fires off F-bombs and "boobies" with the panache of his elder screen-sharing counterparts.
The secret ingredient here, though, is funnywoman vet Jane Lynch, who you'd most likely know as the manager of the Circuit City-knockoff that Steve Carell works in in 40-Year Old Virgin ("Fuck...buddies."). She pops up in comedy after comedy, slam-dunking minor character roles, and her work here (as former cocaine addict/convict who now heads the kids outreach program Sturdy Wings) is some of Lynch's best yet. She swipes each scene she's in, especially the Sturdy Wings informational video sequence. This chick needs to call Judd Apatow with the quickness and demand her own film, star and lead. Pair her with the equally-lead-deserving Craig Robinson, as some sort of dysfunctional interracial couple, and you'd have yourself comedy platinum. For real.
[Lynch...she's even kinda hot, for a short-haired older broad. So says I.]
Role Models is nothing spectacular. It's nowhere near as subversively funny as Pineapple Express (a comedy gem I'll defend 'til my dying days), nor as riotously consistent with the knee-slappers as a Superbad-like flick. But watching Stifler and Rudd riff off each other is great fun at times, and overall, it's a tough film not to enjoy. At least somewhat. It'll definitely make for some good cable television viewing months from now, at the very least. Plus, the inevitable KISS-meets-D&D finale battle is pretty damn funny, top to bottom.
I'm a subscriber to this following school of thought, furthermore....in terms of comedy movies: as long as it makes me laugh at least five times out loud, then I'm happy. I rate comedies on a different mental scale than I do with horror, or drama, or any other genre. And Role Models made me laugh enough to give it the M.B. thumbs up. And really, what more could I have asked for?
***Sidenote....I'm sort of thirsting to see a truly-shitty movie, some time soon. I've been fortunate enough lately to see only flicks that pleased me. But really, I'm due for a true turd. Puke hardened on the big screen. Even W., a flick I didn't exactly love, still entertained me enough to not loathe the thing. Maybe I should just bite the money-wasting bullet and see Saw V, then. Or not.
Tomorrow night I plan on catching Charlie Kaufman's directorial genesis Synecdoche, New York, and reviews have been pegging it as love-it-or-hate-it mindfuck. No middle ground. Typically, I'm a fan of cinematic brain-slices, and its star, Philip Syemour Hoffman, is one of my hands-down favorite actors, so prognosis looks positive as of now.
Will it be the piece-of-shit I feel I need, or head-damager I have trouble shaking off, to good effect(s)? Time shall tell.
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