# Role Models
**Role Models** is a 2008 American comedy directed by [David Wain](https://www.edgepedia.org/david-wain), starring [Paul Rudd](https://www.edgepedia.org/paul-rudd) and [Seann William Scott](https://www.edgepedia.org/seann-william-scott) as two energy drink salesmen who, after wrecking their company truck, are sentenced to 150 hours of community service mentoring two boys in a youth program. Universal Pictures released it wide in the United States on November 7, 2008.[1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/role_models) • [2](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/64742-ROLE-MODELS)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Director / writers | David Wain; screenplay by Paul Rudd, David Wain, Ken Marino, and Timothy Dowling, from a story by Dowling and Herron[2](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/64742-ROLE-MODELS) |
| Release | November 7, 2008 (wide), Universal Pictures; 99 minutes; rated R for crude and sexual content, strong language, and nudity[1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/role_models) • [3](https://www.commonsensemedia.org/movie-reviews/role-models) |
| Box office | $67.3 million gross in the United States[1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/role_models) |
| Critical scores | 77% Tomatometer from 159 reviews; 74% Popcornmeter from more than 250,000 ratings on Rotten Tomatoes[1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/role_models) |
| Main cast | Paul Rudd (Danny), Seann William Scott (Wheeler), Christopher Mintz-Plasse (Augie), Bobb'e J. Thompson (Ronnie), Jane Lynch (Sweeny), Elizabeth Banks (Beth)[1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/role_models) |
| Production companies | WideAwake, New Regency Productions, Universal Pictures, Relativity Media, Stuber-Parent, and Internationale Filmproduktion Stella-del-Süd[1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/role_models) |
## Spoilers
### Plot and premise
Danny (Paul Rudd) and Wheeler (Seann William Scott) travel from school to school in a truck designed to look like a minotaur, promoting an energy drink to children under an anti-drug message while cynically peddling the caffeinated product itself.[4](https://editorial.rottentomatoes.com/article/how-role-models-made-paul-rudd-a-bankable-leading-man/) Danny, a 35-year-old curmudgeon worn down by the job, reaches a breaking point when his girlfriend Beth ([Elizabeth Banks](https://www.edgepedia.org/elizabeth-banks)) breaks up with him, and the pair crashes the company truck on an energy drink-fueled bender.[4](https://editorial.rottentomatoes.com/article/how-role-models-made-paul-rudd-a-bankable-leading-man/) • [5](https://www.tuftsdaily.com/article/2008/11/rudd-scott-teach-21st-century-comedy-a-lesson-in-role-models)
The court offers a choice: jail time or 150 hours of community service in a Big Brothers-style mentoring program run by Gayle Sweeny ([Jane Lynch](https://www.edgepedia.org/jane-lynch)), a hyper-intense former addict.[6](https://www.comingsoon.net/movies/news/49934-exclusive-wain-scott-lynch-on-role-models) • [7](https://www.filmlinc.org/films/role-models/) Danny is paired with Augie ([Christopher Mintz-Plasse](https://www.edgepedia.org/christopher-mintz-plasse)), a shy teenager obsessed with a medieval live-action role-playing game called LAIRE, while Wheeler is matched with Ronnie (Bobb'e J. Thompson), a foul-mouthed ten-year-old in need of an attitude adjustment.[1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/role_models) • [7](https://www.filmlinc.org/films/role-models/) The Film Society of Lincoln Center's program notes frame the film's central question as "who's really mentoring who," with the mentors forced to grow up as much as the boys.[7](https://www.filmlinc.org/films/role-models/)
## Production and writing
The project began as a directorial vehicle for Luke Greenfield, who remained one of the producers, before David Wain came aboard as director, co-screenwriter, and supporting player.[4](https://editorial.rottentomatoes.com/article/how-role-models-made-paul-rudd-a-bankable-leading-man/) Wain described the film as a project that had been in development without him, and that he, [Ken Marino](https://www.edgepedia.org/ken-marino), and Paul Rudd layered their sensibility on top of a more mainstream package.[8](https://www.newyorker.com/culture/the-new-yorker-interview/david-wains-wet-hot-american-comedy)
**Rudd's first screenplay credit.** The film marked Paul Rudd's first screenplay credit, and his working history with co-writers Wain and Marino dated back to the 2001 summer camp comedy *Wet Hot American Summer*.[9](https://www.screendaily.com/role-models/4041668.article) Wain, a veteran of the comedy troupe The State, had previously directed the sketch-based cult films *Wet Hot American Summer* and *The Ten*; *Role Models* was his first mainstream movie.[10](https://img.slate.com/media/20/11072008.pdf)
The credited crew includes cinematographer Russ T. Alsobrook, editor Eric Kissack, and composer Craig Wedren.[2](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/64742-ROLE-MODELS)
## Cast and performances
Reviewers consistently highlighted the ensemble. Screen Daily called the film "a superbly-cast comedy," crediting the cast's comic timing and familiarity with one another, and noted that Jane Lynch "steals plenty of her scenes" as the program director.[9](https://www.screendaily.com/role-models/4041668.article) The Guardian's Xan Brooks, rating the film three out of five, singled out Lynch's "glorious supporting turn."[11](https://www.theguardian.com/film/movie/126733/role.models) Bobb'e J. Thompson's performance as Ronnie drew particular attention; Screen Daily described his "whirling dervish energy," and a Tufts Daily review wrote that his timing "rivals that of any of the film's more seasoned actors."[9](https://www.screendaily.com/role-models/4041668.article) • [5](https://www.tuftsdaily.com/article/2008/11/rudd-scott-teach-21st-century-comedy-a-lesson-in-role-models) Mintz-Plasse, fresh from his breakout as McLovin in *Superbad* (2007), played a nerdy outcast not far from that role.[9](https://www.screendaily.com/role-models/4041668.article)
## Reception
On Rotten Tomatoes the film holds a 77% Tomatometer from 159 reviews and a 74% Popcornmeter score from more than 250,000 audience ratings, with the site's critics consensus reading: "Role Models is a frequently crude, always funny comedy with the cast providing solid work throughout."[1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/role_models) Roger Ebert, reviewing it on release, called it "the kind of movie you don't see every day, a comedy that is funny," praising it as a fish-out-of-water plot whose characters are "all flopping around in places they don't want to be."[12](https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/role-models-2008) Time Out gave it four out of five stars, arguing that where the directionless-thirtysomethings formula is poorly handled it can be shallow and crass, but that "Role Models works."[13](https://www.timeout.com/movies/role-models) Reviews were not uniformly positive: the Guardian's Philip French found "the amusing moments are few, the scatology relentless,"[11](https://www.theguardian.com/film/movie/126733/role.models) and Common Sense Media judged it "no comedy classic," while conceding that "for the most part, it is" funny.[3](https://www.commonsensemedia.org/movie-reviews/role-models)
The film grossed $67.3 million in the United States.[1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/role_models) A retrospective Rotten Tomatoes feature argued that the film, which Rudd co-wrote and starred in, helped make him a bankable leading man, and noted that its portrayal of Danny's depression and Augie's social anxiety "rings surprisingly and refreshingly true" beneath the raunch.[4](https://editorial.rottentomatoes.com/article/how-role-models-made-paul-rudd-a-bankable-leading-man/)
## Ratings and home media
The Motion Picture Association rated the film R for crude and sexual content, strong language, and nudity; Common Sense Media recommends it for ages 17 and up, citing gross-out humor, sexual innuendo, partial nudity, and near-incessant swearing despite the young cast.[3](https://www.commonsensemedia.org/movie-reviews/role-models) Australia's classification board assigned it MA 15+ for "strong sexual references and coarse language" in March 2009.[14](https://www.classification.gov.au/titles/role-models-0)
Runtime listings differ slightly across sources: the [American Film Institute](https://www.edgepedia.org/american-film-institute) catalog, The Guardian, and Screen Daily list 99 minutes, Common Sense Media lists 95 minutes, and Universal's own home entertainment page lists 1 hour 42 minutes.[2](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/64742-ROLE-MODELS) • [11](https://www.theguardian.com/film/movie/126733/role.models) • [3](https://www.commonsensemedia.org/movie-reviews/role-models) • [15](https://www.universalpicturesathome.com/movies/role-models)
The film is available on digital purchase or rental through Amazon Video, the Apple TV Store, and Fandango at Home, and has circulated on subscription services including Starz and fuboTV; availability varies by region and changes over time.[16](https://www.justwatch.com/us/movie/role-models)
## References
1. [Role Models, Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/role_models)
2. [Role Models (2008), AFI Catalog](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/64742-ROLE-MODELS)
3. [Role Models, Parents' Guide & Movie Review, Common Sense Media](https://www.commonsensemedia.org/movie-reviews/role-models)
4. [How Role Models Made Paul Rudd a Bankable Leading Man, Rotten Tomatoes Editorial](https://editorial.rottentomatoes.com/article/how-role-models-made-paul-rudd-a-bankable-leading-man/)
5. [Rudd, Scott teach 21st-century comedy a lesson in 'Role Models', The Tufts Daily (November 9, 2008)](https://www.tuftsdaily.com/article/2008/11/rudd-scott-teach-21st-century-comedy-a-lesson-in-role-models)
6. [Exclusive: Wain, Scott & Lynch on Role Models, ComingSoon.net (November 4, 2008)](https://www.comingsoon.net/movies/news/49934-exclusive-wain-scott-lynch-on-role-models)
7. [Role Models, Film Society of Lincoln Center, Film Comment Selects 2012](https://www.filmlinc.org/films/role-models/)
8. [David Wain's Wet Hot American Comedy, The New Yorker](https://www.newyorker.com/culture/the-new-yorker-interview/david-wains-wet-hot-american-comedy)
9. [Role Models, Reviews, Screen Daily (Brent Simon, October 30, 2008)](https://www.screendaily.com/role-models/4041668.article)
10. [Slate review of Role Models (November 6, 2008)](https://img.slate.com/media/20/11072008.pdf)
11. [Role Models, Film, The Guardian](https://www.theguardian.com/film/movie/126733/role.models)
12. [Where be thy homework, sire?, RogerEbert.com (November 5, 2008)](https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/role-models-2008)
13. [Role Models, Time Out (Tom Huddleston, January 6, 2009)](https://www.timeout.com/movies/role-models)
14. [ROLE MODELS, Australian Classification](https://www.classification.gov.au/titles/role-models-0)
15. [Role Models, Universal Pictures At Home](https://www.universalpicturesathome.com/movies/role-models)
16. [Role Models streaming: where to watch movie online?, JustWatch](https://www.justwatch.com/us/movie/role-models)
---
*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Films and standalone screen works › Individual films by title and year › Comedy and romantic films (individual works) › Comedies of 2007 to 2008 › Released in 2008*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 20, 2026; Oct 3, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 3, 2026; Oct 25, 2026; Nov 1, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license