Danny and Wheeler are partners for an energy drink company called Minotaur touring schools and speaking to kids about drugs. Wheeler (played by Seann William Scott, American Pie, The Rundown) absolutely loves his job while Danny (Paul Rudd, The 40-Year Old Virgin, Knocked Up) despises every minute of it. The 10-year anniversary party Wheeler throws for him doesn’t make it any better. As if it were possible, to make matters worse, Danny’s girlfriend (Elizabeth Banks, Zack and Miri Make a Porno) dumps him because of his negative outlook on everything, which pushes him off the deep end.
Bad Boys, Bad Boys
After breaking numerous felonies ranging from destruction of property to grand theft auto, Danny and Wheeler have two options: jail time, or community service. For fear of being raped they choose community service and are placed in Sturdy Wings, a Big Brother-type group for children. Study Wings is led by a kooky ex-junkie named Gayle Sweeney played by Jane Lynch (The 40-Year Old Virgin), who accuses the duo of constantly feeding her bullshit. Almost as if it were a joke, she places Danny and Wheeler with two of the worst candidates to be what they call their “Littles,” Ronnie (Bobb'e J. Thompson) and Augie (Christopher Mintz-Plasse, McLovin from Superbad).
Meet the “Littles”
Ronnie is a foul-mouthed, sex-craved, racist, 10-year old black boy and Augie, the oldest of all the Littles, is an outcast obsessed with his live-action role playing, which is really just reenacting medieval wars in the park. The ironic pairing of Wheeler with Ronnie and Danny with Augie was clever.
Sex Sells
At first, especially with Ronnie, it seems like this attempt at avoiding jail time was futile. When at first meeting Ronnie shouts out “No I won’t take my pants off!” and later, he locks Wheeler out of his car and pulls out onto a road going in the wrong direction. This problem child is finally broken when Wheeler finds a common interest in the boy: women; boobies, in particular. Wheeler gives him tips on the ladies and introduces him to Kiss, who he explains wrote songs about sex and have been getting laid for the past 30 years. Ronnie then begins to idolize the rock band.
Forlorn Meets Fantasy
Danny, who despises life and ultimately his reality, finds himself in Augie who also despises the real world. Both of them were forced into Sturdy Wings and have no interest in partaking in the organization whatsoever. Augie finds sanctity in L.A.I.R.E., his fantasy live-action role playing hobby and is crushed that his parents are 100% unsupportive of it. After realizing the much-needed distance Augie craved from his parents, Danny learns the preciousness of this activity as well, ultimately choosing to help Augie win the battle than to appear at his court hearing.
Originality Beats Cliché
The movie did have the typical disconnection of characters that moved onto a common ground, and then the relationship is broken when Danny and Wheeler both screw up, but everything is happy again when they make amends for their mistakes. Even with the cliché plot, the characters were tight and witty and the content was hilariously original allowing for a very funny movie.
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