By Callum Goodwilliam

This review contains LARPing.

When energy drink promoters Danny (Paul Rudd) and Wheeler (Sean William Scott) are forced to enrol on Gale Sweeny’s (Jane Lynch) ‘Sturdy Wings’ mentoring programme, they’re paired up with two difficult kids: foul-mouthed Ronnie Shields (Bobb’e J. Thompson) and LARPing expert Augie Farks (Christopher Mintz-Plasse). Life lessons are learnt.

Isn’t it great when a film defies your expectations? When I told a friend I was planning on watching Role Models I was met with a surprised look and the observation: ‘I wouldn’t have thought you’d bother with that kind of film’. To my friend’s credit, he was right, Role Models would appear, at first glance, to be the kind of film that I’d avoid renting let alone watch in the cinema – particularly if you’ve seen the by-the-numbers trailer currently on television. However whilst perusing the interwebs I stumbled across what our American chums would refer to as the “red band” trailer (translation: naughty words included) and to my surprise I actually laughed out loud.

So I decided that since Slum Dog Millionaire wasn’t showing in the local flea pit I’d take a gamble and I’m happy to report that it paid off. Role Models plot is painfully predictable: immature men make a load of mistakes, get taught some life lessons by children/women/animals and end up slightly wiser – otherwise known as the Judd Apatow formula. However, the script (by Paul Rudd, David Wain, Ken Marino and Timothy Dowling) is sharp and apart from the mildly-vomit-inducing closing song from Paul Rudd it rarely descends into the sentimental drivel that hampers most films of this bizarre Apatownian (what a great new word) subgenre.

I’m going to forgive Paul Rudd for the closing song for two reasons. Firstly, he is responsible for my favourite character in Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy (Adam McKay, 2004) as the Panda-watching, sex panther Brian Fantana; but primarily because the rest of the film works due to strong performances from him and an excellent cast – even the distinctly unlikeable Sean William Scott managed to make me laugh without drinking semen. The children are also excellently cast and well written – Ronnie’s foul language and insult gimmick doesn’t dominate the final act, which in a lesser film could have been overused and become pretty irritating.

However most credit has to go to the scene-stealing, ex-junkie-turned-mentor Gale Sweeny (Jane Lynch) who manages to encapsulate every boss/teacher/smarmy git that you’ve ever had to bite your tongue in front of. It was also nice to see that the subject of LARPing (Live Action Role Playing) which dominates the narrative wasn’t ridiculed for the sake of easy jokes and I’m pretty sure LARPers(?) would appreciate the good humour with which the film handles the subject.

Overall, Role Models isn’t big or clever, but it managed to make me laugh out loud on a number of occasions, which is no small feat for a genre film that I’d usually overlook without hesitating. If you fancy an afternoon of immature fun and occasionally hilarious cynicism then this comes highly recommended.