Movie 80: Role Models

Wheeler and Danny work for an energy drink company, pushing Minotaur to kids instead of drugs. Danny is massively disgruntled, and when his girlfriend leaves him he loses his shit and drives the Minotaur truck on to a horse statue. Instead of jail the two are offered 150 hours of community service with a Big Brother style programme. Wheeler gets a young black kid with a foul mouth and an attitude, Danny gets a massive nerd who likes LARPing. Hilarity, for once actually doth, ensue.

It really does too. I laughed a lot at this. I expected to from the trailer, but with something like this it could easily go the other way and be painfully bad. Luckily it was rather good.

I’m a geek myself, obviously. And I probably could have been close to Chris Mitz-Plasse’s Augie if someone had chucked me a foam rubber and duct tape sword. I did used to Vampire LARP actually, but it was more staid than what you see here. This is actually where the film could have gone over the line for me but while there’s a fair bit of mocking, it’s handled in the right way. And that kind of shit IS pretty good fun if you don’t take it too seriously.

This is the first film I’ve seen CMP in as I haven’t seen Superbad (I know, it’s on the list) and Kick-Ass isn’t out for a few weeks. He’s pretty much the stereotypical geek here, but he plays it well so that’s fine. Bobb’e J Thompson is the little black kid who loves boobies. He shows good range and going by his IMDB is a busy little fucker. He plays one of Tracy Jordan’s kids in 30 Rock and that’s kind of what he comes across as, a young Tracy Jordan. Though less weird.

As for the adults, well Paul Rudd is never bad. He’s always kind of the same, a cynical wise ass kinda guy. I always find him funny though. Seann William Scott is Stifler again. Well, Stifler light. At this point I’ve kind of come to the conclusion that that’s all he can actually play and I assume that’s pretty much what he’s really like. But it’s fine in the same way that Adam Sandler (who can actually stretch) is fine. When he’s toned down a bit. I like Sandler when he isn’t a shouty spaz, I like Stifler when he’s the early American Pie Stifler. That character lost it when they took him too far. Same with Scott, he’s good when it doesn’t go too far.

With the side characters I guess the most important would be Jane Lynch. Like the other adults she’s doing what she always does. She’s a hard ass who spouts somewhat confusing nonsense and is slightly threatening most of the time. I happen to enjoy that, and she was a big part in hooking me on to Glee. You want some big screen Sue, you don’t have to go much further than this.
Well worth a look if your up for a laugh. It’s predictable, it follows the “things are bad, they get better, they fall in the shitter, everyone comes together to short things out” formula note for note, but it’ll entertain you all the way. Unless your easily offended.

But if you were, you probably wouldn’t read this shit fuck blog ass now would you? Bollocks.

Well done Dave, your showing how mature 30 year olds are.

Next up: Three O’Clock High. I’m cheating with this as I did see it once and it stuck with me. But it was many moons ago and I want to see if its STILL good. I’m allowed to cheat a little, it’s not like I’m going to count Clerks and do a review. I have to watch this again after all. What do you people want from me, I’m not getting paid dammit.