15: Review - Role Models

Role Models = deja vu. On August 31st 2007, I went to see Knocked Up after work. It was that rare 15-rated comedy: an agreeable marriage of warmth and filth. When my cackles at Jason Siegel's spot-on Arnie impersonation* started ringing around the theatre with grating alacrity, I learned (not for the first time) what it is to be alone in great numbers.

Cut to: Today... and more of the same; more seemingly cookie-cutter comedy about coming of age/any place you can; more lonely laughs. Wheeler (Sean William Scott) and Danny (Paul Rudd) are co-workers who attempt to ween kids off black-market drugs with canned ones for the Minotaur drinks company ("Taste the beast.") The former is in his element, working hard and playing even harder. But the only thing Danny cares about is his lawyer girlfriend, Beth (the ever-likeable Elizabeth Banks.) After he losers her during "one of those days", he and Wheeler find themselves in trouble with the law. If they can't complete 150 hours of community service, it's off to jail for certain anal invasion.

A few good moments and more than a few great lines** aside, the first act is as ordinary as it sounds. Everything from turning points to characters are well-defined but familiar. Rather than detract from the experience, though, the film's greatest strength is its willingness to forego invention in favour of sheer-laughs. Wheeler is Ben Stone with Stifler's mojo. It's a perfect match, Scott sprucing up an archetype with his affability. Danny is his curmudgeonly foil, the disapproving, mature brother.

When this odd couple are paired with their young charges Ronnie and Augie (Bobb'e J. Thompson and Christopher "McLovin" Mintz-Plasse, respectively) it's easy to bemoan the outcome's predictability. Sturdy Wings (a "Bigger Brothers" style child mentoring service) is their quest for booze, their plane they must land, their getting Katherine Heigl up the duff: without it, there is no story. Fortunately, it carries its weight in laughs, even if many of them are sniggers rather than out-louds. And of course, it helps everyone get their act together and bestows happy endings aplenty.

Jane Lynch does her best to steal the film as their reformed but forever damaged junkie turned child enthusiast boss.*** The real break out, however, is Thompson's Ronnie. Whether ribbing Danny for his Ben Affleckness or swearing at a Richard Pryor-level, he's delightful. With any luck, this'll be his Superbad. This is not to belittle the fine Mintz-Plasse who, in two films, has arguably shown more range than Michael Cera has in years.

A fortunate result of such strict adherence to script structure**** is the opportunitiy it presents director David Wain. Thankfully, he seizes it with all the conviction Augie does his hand-crafted "sword." Any dissatisfaction left from the breezy opening is banished once the rising stakes/laughter reach their crescendo in a gloriously o.t.t. final set-piece where fantasy meets rock 'n' roll.***** Thankfully, the result is more "Ramble On" than Mastodon.

See it: 'cos the thought of a Porky's remake gets you hard/wet/both.
Don't see it: 'cos laughing at other's expenses is something only children do.
Rank: 7/10 (Lieutenant)

* "Dammit Cohagen, get da people da aiiiir!"
** "Hey Wheeler, she's tasting your beast."
*** "Ya know what I used to have for breakfast? Cocaine. You know what I used to have for lunch? Cocaine."
**** Is there anything Paul Rudd can't do?
***** Yes, that is Knocked Up's Ken Joeng as the less than regal "King" and yes, he should get more work.

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Ian Pratt couldn't respect Paul Rudd any more.