McLovin! Is that kid okay?
First off, let me just get this out of the way. No one on our site has every participated in L.A.I.R.E. … except one guy, but he’s no longer with the site (here’s to you Jon Fausz!). Let the review begin.
Danny and Wheeler work together promoting a high-octane energy drink to high school kids. Wheeler dresses up like the mascot, while Danny drives him around announcing the drink’s details. After nearly a decade of doing this, Danny decides that he just isn’t happy anymore. He hates his job so much that it is affecting his life, thus making it incredibly difficult for him to function on a day-to-day basis. When Danny’s girlfriend finally has had enough of him and his rut, she departs from the scene. Danny has reached the end of his rope in life and decides to tell the kids at one of his seminar how it really is. On top of this brutal honesty, Danny finds himself (with Wheeler) arguing with a tow truck driver and eventually crashing the company vehicle into a horse statue. In the end, Danny and Wheeler find themselves in jail and on their way to community service. The community service ends up as a ‘big brother’ program with some very needy youths. The youths? One is a absolute dork, while the other is just plain evil. Will the kids survive? Better yet, will Danny and Wheeler survive? Only the comedy will tell.
So, if you haven’t guessed yet, this comedy is predictable. It’s someone trying to make their life better by making other people’s lives better. It has been done before over and over again. The difference between this movie and the movies prior is that it has a great cast featuring four main actors: Paul Rudd, Seann William Scott, Christopher Mintz-Plasse and Bobb’e Thompson. All of these actors gel perfectly on screen with timing and delivery of their lines. Any good comedy has this combination, without it the comedy fails. Role Models is a perfect example of this formula working. The lines are funny and unpredictable, especially Thompson’s, and it’s not forced. There’s nothing forced here, it’s just pure funny. Of course, since this has been done before, it’s not new, but it’s still enjoyable.
The story itself is pretty solid. I’ve known many people who are just so unhappy with their lives that it affects other extensions of their being (sounds dirty, doesn’t it?). It’s believable that someone could be so dissatisfied with their 8-5 that they can’t take it anymore. It’s also believable that after so much misery, the one thing they never expected to enjoy turns out to be the one moment they feel alive again. Paul Rudd looks the part and plays the part of misery perfectly. He doesn’t simply give-in to Augie (Christopher Mintz-Plasse) easily. You can see the relationship grow and the moment of turn-around is perfectly placed. As for the counter-part, Seann William Scott’s character slowly matures into the end result of his character. Much like Rudd’s Danny, William’s Wheeler is given a perfect amount of time to change. That’s what makes this comedy especially fun to watch. It’s not overly dramatic, it’s perfectly timed.
Anyway, there’s enough comedy in here that you’ll be reciting lines for weeks. It’s a movie that will also lend itself for another go around. It simply doesn’t fulfill you once, it will fulfill you multiple times (sure I could have used replay value, but this is funnier).
Laughing until you’re Blu in the face
I didn’t know what to expect out of this Blu-ray. I have always enjoyed most of Universal’s releases on Blu-ray and this is no exception. The video quality is tight as a tiger, bringing some really vivid onscreen moments to life. You’ll especially appreciate the 1080p when you see L.A.I.R.E. (picture a gigantic RPG in real life) and the colorful costumes involved in the live action game. As for audio, nothing sounds sweeter than KISS coming through 5.1 speakers. Remastered, beautiful and ready to please your ear.
As for features, get ready for entertainment. You have a hilariously, but somewhat short, ‘making of’ where you get to meet the director and actors. They don’t hold back on the lingo in this one, but kids shouldn’t be watching this anyway. You also get a 45 minute long set of clips that have been deleted, which is still entertaining as hell. There are some decent bloopers and an explanation of L.A.I.R.E. and some good commentary (hilarious commentary). You also get some nice stuff on BD-Live, which includes a very interesting segment called ‘Ye Olde Crest Maker’.
Overall, the features are just as impressive as the film itself.