Paul Rudd has quietly been making a name for himself in recent years in comedy circles, through appearances in a variety of Judd Apatow related films be from Anchorman to Knocked Up. Yet in all these films he manages to be funny and yet offer up real heart as well, there’s something very earnest and down to earth about him and his dry persona and it is something that finally takes centre stage in Role Models. In fact Rudd had a large hand in the writing (or re-writing) of the film and so it’s no stretch to say its ultimate success is largely down to him.
On the surface Role Models is a film that really shouldn’t be that great, the man-child persona’s and life-lesson themes are worn thin and rather unoriginal. Rudd and Sean William-Scott, who also impresses in what could have been a one-dimensional role, play a couple of friends who are stuck working for an energy drinks company, their gig consists of traversing local schools and encouraging kids to stay off drugs. Wheeler (William-Scott) is happy with the set up, but Rudd’s Danny is becoming increasingly frustrated and unhappy, when his girlfriend breaks up with him he loses it and the results earn the pair 150 hours of community service, in the form on mentoring kids for a local charity.
Yet through this premise the film manages to make you care for these guys and the kids they are assigned to, Rudd is paired with Augie (Christopher Mintz-Plasse), a bespectacled teenager obsessed with a local fantasy role-playing community where people dress up for battles weekly. Scott on the other hand is landed with Ronnie (Bobb’e J. Thompson), a smart alec 8 year old with bags of attitude and a foul mouth. The great trick the film manages to pull is to tell a familiar story but maintain the integrity of the characters. There are no quick fixes or impassioned speeches and the flaws of the characters are never overlooked. For the longest time the pair are just trying to make it through their court-appointed duty and their bickering and selfishness play well against the wariness of the kids.
It is a delicate balance to keep the characters likeable but believable, a lot of this has to come down on the actors as well and here again Rudd should get great credit, his Danny could be a very unsympathetic character, he is morose and sarcastic and yet Rudd lends him a longing and sadness underneath it all which balances this out well.
The result of all this is that the climax of the film feels earned and as such is a fantastically amusing and also moving sequence which manages to bring all the threads of the film together without feeling like it is forced. On top of all this of course the film as a whole is very funny, Rudd and Scott have great chemistry and play off each other well whilst the kids are both great, natural and authentic with none of the maudlin sweetness which can overpower many children’s roles in similar films. The film is also unafraid to be rude, and manages to evoke the aforementioned Apatow films in mixing the vulgar with the sweet to great effect.
Overall this film was a very pleasant surprise, usually January is the dumping ground for either Oscar hopefuls or the rubbish the studio’s want to release with as little fanfare as possible but Role Models bucks the trends and sets the early pace for the year. A feel good film that is also laugh out loud funny and never forced this is a film well worth making time for.
Monday 12 January 2009
Role Models
Paul Rudd has quietly been making a name for himself in recent years in comedy circles, through appearances in a variety of Judd Apatow related films be from Anchorman to Knocked Up. Yet in all these films he manages to be funny and yet offer up real heart as well, there’s something very earnest and down to earth about him and his dry persona and it is something that finally takes centre stage in Role Models. In fact Rudd had a large hand in the writing (or re-writing) of the film and so it’s no stretch to say its ultimate success is largely down to him.
On the surface Role Models is a film that really shouldn’t be that great, the man-child persona’s and life-lesson themes are worn thin and rather unoriginal. Rudd and Sean William-Scott, who also impresses in what could have been a one-dimensional role, play a couple of friends who are stuck working for an energy drinks company, their gig consists of traversing local schools and encouraging kids to stay off drugs. Wheeler (William-Scott) is happy with the set up, but Rudd’s Danny is becoming increasingly frustrated and unhappy, when his girlfriend breaks up with him he loses it and the results earn the pair 150 hours of community service, in the form on mentoring kids for a local charity.
Yet through this premise the film manages to make you care for these guys and the kids they are assigned to, Rudd is paired with Augie (Christopher Mintz-Plasse), a bespectacled teenager obsessed with a local fantasy role-playing community where people dress up for battles weekly. Scott on the other hand is landed with Ronnie (Bobb’e J. Thompson), a smart alec 8 year old with bags of attitude and a foul mouth. The great trick the film manages to pull is to tell a familiar story but maintain the integrity of the characters. There are no quick fixes or impassioned speeches and the flaws of the characters are never overlooked. For the longest time the pair are just trying to make it through their court-appointed duty and their bickering and selfishness play well against the wariness of the kids.
It is a delicate balance to keep the characters likeable but believable, a lot of this has to come down on the actors as well and here again Rudd should get great credit, his Danny could be a very unsympathetic character, he is morose and sarcastic and yet Rudd lends him a longing and sadness underneath it all which balances this out well.
The result of all this is that the climax of the film feels earned and as such is a fantastically amusing and also moving sequence which manages to bring all the threads of the film together without feeling like it is forced. On top of all this of course the film as a whole is very funny, Rudd and Scott have great chemistry and play off each other well whilst the kids are both great, natural and authentic with none of the maudlin sweetness which can overpower many children’s roles in similar films. The film is also unafraid to be rude, and manages to evoke the aforementioned Apatow films in mixing the vulgar with the sweet to great effect.
Overall this film was a very pleasant surprise, usually January is the dumping ground for either Oscar hopefuls or the rubbish the studio’s want to release with as little fanfare as possible but Role Models bucks the trends and sets the early pace for the year. A feel good film that is also laugh out loud funny and never forced this is a film well worth making time for.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment