Role Models is half of an awesome movie. As cynical as I am, I couldn't help being relieved by the film's fresh start. Its smarmy charm and unconventional attitude impressed me at first. But like Linus and his blanket, Role Models reveals itself to be hopelessly tethered to a sense of routine -- and I became doubly disappointed at seeing a comedy that pushes its subject matter to the brink of edginess, only to scurry back to a comfort zone with its tail between its legs.

Danny (Paul Rudd) and Wheeler (Seann William Scott) are your basic pair of prototypical slackers. The latter loves his job as an energy drink mascot, but Danny has come to the stunning realization that he's  done squat with his life. Unfortunately, the day he decides to change things is the day he and Wheeler cause a scene ending with them facing a month in jail. Luckily, Danny's long-suffering lawyer girlfriend (Elizabeth Banks) has wrangled them a more managable sentence: 150 hours of service with the Big Brothersesque organization Sturdy Wings. The sarcastic Danny finds himself mentoring a fantasy role-playing fanatic (Christopher Mintz-Plasse), while party guy Wheeler is matched with the world's most foul-mouthed ten-year-old (Bobb'e J. Thompson). Despite some awkward beginnings, the guys come to enjoy hanging out with the kids, eventually learning they're not the only ones who have a little growing up to do.

The idea behind Role Models isn't exactly earth-shatteringly original: a couple of curmudgeons have their hearts warmed by some rambunctious kids. The only real change here involves the leads being bitter thirtysomethings instead of -- well -- bitter fortysomethings. For a little while, Role Models looks as if it won't be a complete slave to convention, which would at least make the predictable turn of events easier to swallow. For the film's first handful of scenes, director David Wain and company gleefully give their collective finger to the sort of hackneyed tale they use as the story's foundation. Everyone in the cast seems to be channeling Billy Bob Thornton (pick a role), imbuing the proceedings with a smart-mouthed quality which, in turn, makes the movie a whole lot funnier. Such a spirit runs rampant throughout the first half of Role Models, and I looked forward to seeing it close on an equally anarchistic note. 

Unfortunately, it's not long before Role Models wusses out and becomes the corny, feel-good dreck it tried so hard not to turn into. The climactic sequence in particular appears as one giant game of "connect the cliches," a messy denouement in which everything miraculously turns out alright for the characters. Nothing of the early randy spirit is left to give things a sarcastic twist. Plus, the jokes tend to take their cues from the Will Ferrell School of Random Humor. The actors swear up a storm here, which works some of the time (Rudd is a slice of smarmy gold) but falls flat even more (you'll get tired of Thompson's character really fast). It's a shame, since Rudd and Scott make a solid duo. I hope they'll team up in another, better project someday. In the meantime, Banks sleepwalks through her part, Jane Lynch plays the ex-junkie founder of Sturdy Wings, and while Mintz-Plasse doesn't do McLovin all over again, his character comes across as similarly dorky.

I'm hesitant to recommend Role Models, for while I didn't really like it, some moments are more hilarious than entire movies have been. I didn't care for the boilerplate finale, but I have a feeling other viewers won't mind so much. In any case, individual parts of Role Models are better than their sum. It's a film best seen on DVD, when the ability to fast-forward to the good stuff is just one click away.

MY RATING: ** (out of ****)

(Released by Universal Pictures and rated "R" for crude and sexual content, strong language and nudity.)