Role Models

2008

Role Models

Critics Consensus

Role Models is a frequently crude, always funny comedy with the cast providing solid work throughout.

77%

TOMATOMETER

Total Count: 162

74%

Audience Score

User Ratings: 278,526
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Movie Info

Danny and Wheeler trash a company truck on an energy drink-fueled bender. Upon their arrest, the court gives them a choice: do hard time or spend 150 service hours with a mentorship program. After one day with the kids, however, jail doesn't look half bad. Surrounded by annoying do-gooders, Danny struggles with his every neurotic impulse to guide Augie through the trials of becoming a man. Unfortunately, the guy just dumped by his girlfriend has only sarcasm to offer a bashful 16-year-old obsessed with medieval role play. Meanwhile, charming Wheeler tries to trade in an addiction to partying and women to assist a fifth-grader named Ronnie redirect his foul-mouthed ways. It would probably help if Ronnie's new mentor wasn't an overgrown adolescent whose idea of quality time includes keggers in Venice Beach. Once the center's ex-con director gives them an ultimatum, Danny and Wheeler are forced to tailor their brand of immature wisdom to their charges. And if they can just make it through probation without getting thrown in jail, the world's worst role models will prove that, sometimes, it takes a village idiot to raise a child.
  • Rating:
    R (for crude and sexual content, strong language and nudity)
  • Genre:
    Comedy
  • Directed By:
    David Wain
  • Written By:
    David Wain, Ken Marino, Paul Rudd, Tim Dowling
  • In Theaters:
     wide
  • On Disc/Streaming:
  • Box Office:
    $67,300,000
  • Runtime:
  • Studio:
    Universal Pictures

Cast

Paul Rudd
as Danny Donahue
Seann William Scott
as Wheeler
Bobb'e J. Thompson
as Ronnie Shields
Christopher Mintz-Plasse
as Augie Farks
Jane Lynch
as Gayle Sweeny
Elizabeth Banks
as Beth
Ken Marino
as Jim Stansel
Ken Jeong
as King Argotron
Kerri Kenney
as Lynette
A.D. Miles
as Martin Gary
Nicole Randall Johnson
as Karen
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News & Interviews for Role Models

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Critic Reviews for Role Models

All Critics (162) | Top Critics (44) | Fresh (124) | Rotten (38)

  • Rudd and Scott aren't stretching any new muscles, but Rudd's glum disaffection and Scott's bozo bonhomie do gel with a satisfying stickiness. They handle the gaping innuendo with such delicacy we know that they know they're better than this.

    Jul 6, 2010 | Full Review…

    Tom Charity

    CNN.com
    Top Critic

  • Role Models could have been another formulaic comedy, fresh off the assembly line. Instead, the work of Paul Rudd and Seann William Scott here is worthy of praise and one of the funnier films this year.

    Jul 6, 2010 | Rating: B+ | Full Review…

    Laremy Legel

    Film.com
    Top Critic

  • 'Role Models' isn't trying to reinvent the wheel, just polish it up a little. What emerges is a memorable slice of modern slapstick, with charm to spare and just a touch of soul.

    Jan 9, 2009 | Rating: 4/6 | Full Review…

    Tom Huddlestone

    Time Out
    Top Critic

  • The upbeat ending is inevitable but the script's undercurrent of scalding sarcasm keeps it fresh.

    Jan 9, 2009 | Rating: 3/5 | Full Review…

    Wendy Ide

    Times (UK)
    Top Critic

  • Role Models is exuberantly staged, fitfully funny and boasts a glorious supporting turn from Jane Lynch as the demagogic onetime addict.

    Jan 9, 2009 | Rating: 3/5 | Full Review…

    Xan Brooks

    Guardian
    Top Critic

  • Neither Rudd nor Scott are naturally funny performers, and neither are nearly as effective as their two young charges. Lynch's Sturdy Wings manager is easily the best bet for laughs.

    Jan 9, 2009 | Rating: 2/5

    Derek Malcolm

    London Evening Standard
    Top Critic
View All Critic Reviews (162)

Audience Reviews for Role Models

  • May 24, 2015
    Too much fun! Two men-children become big brothers to a fantasy geek and a foul-mouthed delinquent, and heartwarming hilarity ensues. The inside look at the LARP community and the integration of the KISS motif culminates in some great deadpan humor, victorious redemption, and of course, ye olde goofy Englishisms.
    Alice S Super Reviewer
  • Jan 03, 2013
    "Role Models" is funnier than a lot of the self-proclaimed 'raunchy' comedies of late because it's not as mean as them. On the outside, it seems like another simplistic, foul-mouthed flick about two deadbeats corrupting the youth, and while, in a way, it is, it's also a lot nicer, more sustained and has a sweeter message. It's quotable and likable, and Paul Rudd and Seann William Scott have some great comedic chemistry with one another. The main reason that it works is because it doesn't try to be anything more than a pleasant outing and that's precisely what it is. (A.D. Miles has the best character of the bunch. His "Love Me Take Down (To the Streets)" quotes are priceless.)
    Stephen E Super Reviewer
  • Nov 30, 2012
    Wain should be directing more films like Role Models. It is full of pop culture and a cast full of Wain characters from over the years. A good cast adds weight to a storyline that is designed for quick jokes, but you don't get so many of these. Role Models is funny and one of the better modern comedies that deserves a bigger core audience. 08/05/2019
    Brendan N Super Reviewer
  • Nov 06, 2012
    Brilliantly funny comedy Sean and Paul play their parts well but I must admit it's Bobb'e J that shines in this film he's really funny and cocky.
    Jamie C Super Reviewer
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