Role Models (2008)

Wild behavior forces a pair of energy drink reps to enroll in a Big Brother program.

Director:

David Wain

Writers:

Timothy Dowling (story), W. Blake Herron (story),

Stars:

Seann William Scott, Paul Rudd, Christopher Mintz-Plasse

3 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Seann William Scott	...	Wheeler
Paul Rudd	...	Danny
Christopher Mintz-Plasse	...	Augie
Bobb'e J. Thompson	...	Ronnie
Elizabeth Banks	...	Beth
Jane Lynch	...	Sweeny
Ken Jeong	...	King Argotron
Ken Marino	...	Jim Stansel
Kerri Kenney	...	Lynette (as Kerri Kenney-Silver)
A.D. Miles	...	Martin
Joe Lo Truglio	...	Kuzzik
Matt Walsh	...	Davith of Glencracken
Nicole Randall Johnson	...	Karen
Alexandra Stamler	...	Esplen (as Allie Stamler)
Carly Craig	...	Connie

Storyline

Danny and Wheeler, well into their 30s, lack something: Danny feels stuck; he's sour and has driven away his terrific girlfriend. Wheeler chases any skirt he sees for empty sex. When they get in a fight with a tow-truck driver, they choose community service over jail and are assigned to be big brothers - Danny to Augie, a geek who loves participating in a weekend Medieval reenactment society, and Wheeler to Ronnie, a pint-size foul-mouthed kid. After a rocky start, things start to go well until both Danny and Wheeler make big mistakes. Can the two men figure out how to change enough to be role models to the boys?

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Plot Keywords:

big brother | boy | love | fight | jail | 

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Taglines:

I am not a ROLE MODEL.

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Genres:

Comedy

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for crude and sexual content, strong language and nudity

Details

Official Sites:

Sturdy Wings Universal [us]

Country:

USA Germany

Language:

English

Release Date:

7 November 2008 (USA)

Also Known As:

Big Brothers

Filming Locations:

Boys & Girls Club of Venice - 2232 Lincoln Blvd, Venice, Los Angeles, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$28,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

£2,330,145 (UK) (9 January 2009)

Gross:

£8,130,392 (UK) (13 February 2009)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Universal Pictures, Relativity Media, Stuber/Parent

Technical Specs

Runtime:

99 min 101 min (unrated)

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital SDDS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Many lines in the film were improvised. The writers did constant rewrites and came up with ideas during filming but had to stop because of the 2007 Writers Guild strike.

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Goofs

When Beth moves out of Danny's home, she drives off and a big white "wall" can be seen off the car's reflection.

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Quotes

Gayle Sweeny: Watch your language, Ronnie.
Ronnie Shields: My language is English and this mother fucker tried to grab my junk.

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Crazy Credits

Halfway through the end credits, we cut back to Gayle Sweeny repeating her suggestive use of a hot-dog toward Jim Stansel (continuously pushes the end out of its bun while he sticks it back in).

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Connections

References Wet Hot American Summer (2001)

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Soundtracks

"I'm Not Gonna Teach Your Boyfriend How to Dance with You"
Written by Black Kids
Performed by Black Kids
Courtesy of Almost Gold Recordings and Columbia Records
By Arrangement with Sony BMG Music Entertainment

User Reviews

Yes it is funny

As a comedy this movie delivers. I review movies for my part time job and after seeing 10+ movies a week, you get pretty numb to most of the stuff out there. This is one of the few comedies I've laughed out loud at in a while. There are lots of funny scenes throughout that kept me laughing the entire movie, instead of most comedies that just have lots of hit and miss scenes. This is up there Adam McKay's stuff, and better than most Happy Madison films.

Many people have given this movie a bad review/rating based on its lack of story. Um sorry to break the news to you, but comedies are about one thing - humor. The story is only a background element to make a comedy, same as every other comedy out there. You rate a drama based on its story, not a comedy.