Video: Paul Rudd and Seann William Scott in “Role Models”

If you haven’t seen David Wain’s Wet Hot American Summer, you should have by now, if only to see Christopher Meloni at his insane best. You’ll also then understand why Wain’s Role Models, which re-teams him with Paul Rudd, will be a must see when next March rolls around.

Of course, the new project looks a bit more mainstream than the quirky 80s summer camp parody, but since the current comedy movie climate is mostly about taking mainstream concepts and making them better than they usually are, a movie about guys bonding with troubled kids and learning how to be men can be a lot more fun than one might expect. Rudd plays Danny, a surly energy-drink pitchman who hates his job and everything else, while his partner Wheeler (Seann William Scott) is, well, free-wheeling and generally loves everything, including dressing up like a minotaur to sell sugar-water. When Johnny Law strings the pair up for some vandalism charges, Danny’s ex (Elizabeth Banks) gets them community service instead - meaning they have to act as Big Brothers for a couple of ne’er-do-well kids. Danny is paired up with a nerdy fantasy-loving McLovin (Christopher Mintz-Plasse, proving he can get work beyond Superbad) while Wheeler gets the impossible brat Zak (Tajh Bellow). They hate it at first, but grow to not hate it so much.

A trite story in the wrong hands, sure, but it’s most certainly in the right hands. Check it out, won’t you? It looks good.

Watch the trailer for Role Models right here on Fancast.