#Role models parents guide series

The last time we saw the actor and several members of MTV’s cult sketch comedy series The State working together, it was on the uneven but often interesting Commandment comedy The Ten. Rapidly becoming the MVP of the entire Bro-mance genre, Paul Rudd has rapidly become a consistently comic foil. Eventually, everyone finds a happy middle ground of acceptance, although their bonds are tested during a Renaissance Fair battle royale. This really pisses off the former drug addict director of the center. Of course, no one gets along at first, our heroes making many mistakes while desperate to relate to these kids. The expected result hopes for a little mature guidance and lots of substitute parent/child quality time. For Wheeler, that means putting up with the F-bomb dropping delinquent Ronnie, while Danny must contend with a D&D obsessed nerd named Augie. Forced to serve their time at a local outreach center known as Sturdy Wings, each man is paired up with a troubled youth. When they end up in some silly accidental legal trouble, energy drink corporate rep Danny Donahue and his arrested adolescent buddy Wheeler are sentenced to 30 days of community service. It’s also one of 2008’s most consistently surprising sleepers. Now there’s another name to add to the ever-growing genre, and while not as consistently funny as the aforementioned efforts, Role Models (new to DVD in an Unrated edition from Universal) provides enough solid snickers to eventually win us over. Each time, the taint of testosterone unfettered overwhelms the notion of subtlety or clear substance. This formula has been followed in several recent very successful laugh riots – Knocked Up, Forgetting Sarah Marshall, and even Superbad.

Some may call them “bros”, or the more high school appropriate “tools”, but eventually, with the help of an understanding gal pal, a bumbling best friend, or a combination of the two, our hapless hero discovers clarity, and in turn, a far more productive outlook on life. You know the type – hard and cynical on the outside, indulging in whatever vice or vices they can in order to make up for the emptiness inside. Apatow introduced us to a middle aged man child with limited sexual experience, the motion picture comedy has been flooded with what could best be described as ‘self-aware slackers’.