Blu-ray Movie Reviews

Seann William Scott and Paul Rudd star in "Role Models" as Danny and Wheeler, two salesmen who trash a company truck on an energy-drink-fueled bender. Upon their arrest, the court gives them a choice: do hard time or spend 150 service hours with a mentorship program. After one day with the kids, however, jail doesn't look half bad.

This is a movie in the same vein as Superbad that plays the adult humor card with kids involved. Only this time around, the kids are even younger. The film definitely has some outrageous moments that will have you laughing out loud, but the storyline isn’t quite as clever as some of the other more popular comedies of late. Rudd and Scott actually play off each other quite well and I’m sure we’ll see more of these two together after this.

Universal does a great job with this HD transfer. The image has plenty of vibrant color and definition. Contrast levels vary from time to time but black levels are good for the most part and shadow detail is solid. Colors can appear a tad oversaturated at times but this was obviously the intent of the filmmaker and it lends itself quite well to the visual appeal of the film. Detail is strong throughout, though not quite as razor sharp as some of the best Blu-rays out there.

The 5.1 soundtrack is about what I would expect from a comedy. There are plenty of upbeat song selections that do a great job playing off the mood and direction of the film. Surrounds do a nice job with ambiance but directional effects are minimal. Dialogue sounds natural throughout and imaging across the main soundstage is solid.

Universal has included both cuts of this film via seamless branching, a feature I am coming to appreciate more and more with Blu-ray releases. You also get the U-Control treatment allowing you to watch a picture-in-picture production feature with behind the scenes footage and interviews with the cast and crew. Deleted scenes and more on set footage are also included along with a look at role playing. This title is also BD-Live enabled.

While not the best comedy I’ve seen this last year this was certainly funny enough. Universal once again delivers a really strong presentation and plenty of extras making this an easy recommendation for fans of the genre.