Danny (Paul Rudd), a cynical underachiever, and Wheeler (Seann William Scott), a sex addict, work for Minotaur, a high-energy drink company. They drive a monster truck around to schools where they promote their product along with a "Just Say No to Drugs" pitch. Danny is an unhappy camper and his girlfriend Beth (Elizabeth Banks), a lawyer, is tired of being dragged down by his negative energy. She decides to dump him, which results in a disastrous day — he crashes the truck and causes a lot of damage to public property.
Luckily Beth is able to negotiate a deal to keep Danny and Wheeler out of prison but ties them down to 150 hours of community service. They are assigned to Sturdy Wings, a Big Brother-like mentoring program run by Gayle Sweeney (Jane Lynch), an eccentric recovering drug addict who knows every trick in the book used by irresponsible people who don't want to change their behavior. She knows from the outset that these two Peter Pan males are going to have a difficult time modeling adult maturity.
Wheeler is assigned to look after Ronnie (Bobb'e J. Thompson), a foul mouthed and angry 10-year-old African-American. This kid is lonely and aggressive enough to make Wheeler cringe. Danny's charge is Augie (Christopher Mintz-Plasse), a nerdy loner who has put all his time and energy into a live-action medieval fantasy role-playing game. His parents are totally opposed to this obsession. Predictably, Wheeler and Danny stumble in their community service causing Sweeney much consternation. The misanthropic Danny tries to reconnect with Beth. His heart softens a bit as he reaches out to Augie who is struggling just like him to find a place in the crazy world.
Role Models is a very funny and crude comedy that is perfectly cast and filled with surprising moments of human vulnerability. Director David Wain spices up the proceedings and keeps the pace just right. This comedy is a valentine to both young and old misfits who are able to reach across the generations and see in each other the wacky and sometimes wonderful oddballs they are.
