“Wait this movie is good?” “Yeah I had no idea.”

1) It exceeds expectations

Role Models was puzzling to me because for all intensive purposes, I should not have enjoyed it. It’s Sean William Scott and Paul Rudd being the exact two same characters I’ve seen them be in a dozen other movies, and I didn’t hear “from the guys who brought you (insert any other comedy I’ve liked here)” in the trailer. It’s rare to be surprised in movies these days, when more often than not, they don’t live up to the hype. But Role Models had no hype, yet it’s definitely a must see for the weekend.

2) A great supporting cast

Yes, it is possible to out-dork McLovin.

At “Sturdy Wings” Danny (Rudd) and Wheeler (Scott) are assigned two kids to mentor, Wheeler, a foul-mouthed little black kid (newcomer Bobb’e J. Thompson, and yes that is spelled correctly) and Danny, a socially stunted loser (Christopher Minz-Plasse, or McLovin to you). Chris Minz especially makes the movie watchable; his involvement in medieval roleplaying troupe LAIRE makes for the majority of the movie’s best moments.

3) Good writing

Yeah, Role Models is a lot of slapstick, but it’s scattered sparsely enough where the film relies on not only the charm of Scott and Rudd (and they have plenty), but also the script written in part by Rudd himself.

“Suck it Reindeer Games”
“I’m not Ben Affleck!”
“You white, then you Ben Affleck.”

Well, he’s got you there.

4) Elizabeth Banks

“Can’t…do…another….movie.”

What is with Elizabeth Banks recently? I can’t escape her. First she showed up making Laura Bush look super hot in W, then I saw her doing the dirty last week with Seth Rogen in Zack and Miri Make a Porno, and then right before Role Models, she was in the previews starring as the villainess in The Uninvited. Here she plays Paul Rudd’s girlfriend and her only crime is not getting enough screen time, even though I’ve been seeing plenty of her already.

5) Running KISS joke

Who would think a 30 year old white guy and a 10 year old black kid could bond over “Love Gun”? The ongoing KISS joke is great throughout and ends up paying off big in the end.

All in all, Role Models is not the throwaway movie you might initially believe it to be. It’s well written, well acted and completely unexpected, and might be the last good comedy you see during these cold winter months with Four Christmases, Yes Man and The Spirit on the horizon. Oh wait, you mean The Spirit isn’t a comedy?

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