Role Models

Role Models is one of those comedies that came out in that late-2000s wave of Judd Apatow–adjacent humor, but it’s more under-the-radar compared to hits like Superbad or Knocked Up. Directed by David Wain, it pairs Paul Rudd and Seann William Scott as two screwup, energy drink–peddling adults who get sentenced to community service as "big brothers" to a couple of kids. The setup is classic odd-couple territory, with Rudd playing the deadpan cynic and Scott leaning into his signature lovable-dirtbag energy. Right off the bat, you know this is not a family-friendly mentorship story, and I honestly appreciated the film's total lack of schmaltz about what it means to be a man or a role model.

The dialogue is unmistakably sharp. Paul Rudd’s dry wit works perfectly, especially when he’s forced to interact with Christopher Mintz-Plasse’s nerdy Augie at a live-action role-play event. The movie really commits to its jokes and actually spends time exploring the LARPing subculture in a way that’s funny but not entirely condescending. Rudd and Mintz-Plasse share some of the film’s weirdest, best moments, and the script gives them room to play awkward beats instead of just packing every scene with one-liners.

But while Paul Rudd is quietly killing it, Seann William Scott is doing what he always does: the lovable idiot, but somehow it feels fresher here. His scenes with Bobb’e J. Thompson, who plays a foul-mouthed, precociously rude 10-year-old, are some of the outright funniest in the movie. Their chemistry is wild, and every time the two of them are on screen, you feel the film’s energy kick up. If you thought Scott only had the American Pie bag of tricks, this movie makes a decent argument for his comedic chops as a semi-grownup.

What doesn’t land as well is the movie’s pacing. For the first hour, the jokes come at you fast, but somewhere around the third act, the plot gets weirdly earnest. The emotional arcs for both pairs start feeling like they’re checking boxes, and the movie gets a little bogged down in resolving things. It tries to stick the landing with lessons about responsibility and friendship, which is expected, but the transition from relentless joke machine to teachable-moment territory isn’t smooth at all.

Cinematography isn’t something you’d typically care about in a movie like this, but it actually helps set apart the LARPing scenes. The camera gets right in the thick of mock battles, embracing the absurdity but never making the characters literal punchlines. There’s a sense of play to how it’s shot, which oddly makes the climax more fun to watch than I expected. Still, let’s be honest, you’re here for the laughs, not the visuals.

The supporting cast is sneaky great. Jane Lynch as the unhinged community service leader is a show-stealer. She tosses off insane lines with the kind of mad intensity that only Jane Lynch does. Even little cameos work: Ken Jeong’s king of the fantasy nerds is a particularly deranged, blink-or-you’ll-miss-him highlight. These performances round out a cast that keeps the movie from ever feeling too generic, even if some jokes age poorly (it’s a product of its time and it shows, for better or worse).

I do appreciate that Role Models doesn’t pretend these guys are secretly great people. They're idiots, and the movie never fully redeems them, which makes their small moments of progress feel earned instead of forced. There’s genuine affection buried under all the sarcasm and verbal abuse, and the movie is decent-hearted without being smug. But don’t expect much depth: it dips its toe into real emotion but quickly backs away with another R-rated gag.

By the credits, I’m always a little surprised by how well it all works. It’s messy, crude, and uneven at points, but when it’s funny, it’s honestly hilarious. Some aspects have not aged well, especially a few cheap jokes, but if you’re up for something irreverent that doesn’t take itself too seriously, Role Models holds up surprisingly well for a movie you probably forgot existed.