Role Models  (Rated R)
Gavin Grade:  B
I had a lot of hope for this comedy staring Paul Rudd and Sean William Scott.  That’s because creators David Wain and Ken Marino are two of the masterminds behind the cult sketch comedy MTV show from the ’90s, “The State.”  It’s a classic buddy comedy where two guys find themselves put in a position of court-ordered Community Service at a group for kids.  The two they’re paired up with is a foul mouth kid, who’s played by newcomer Bobb’e Thompson and a Renaissance Fair nerd played by Christopher Mintz-Plaase, who you’ll recognize instantly as McLovin from “Superbad.”  Don’t get me wrong, the movie is funny; but I expected more.  Wain and Marino created two other movies called “Wet Hot American Summer” and “The Ten.”  Both are in my Top 30 favorite comedies of all time.  The trap I fell into was expecting that again.  Those movies are quirky, weird and not for everyone.  “Role Models” is more mainstream.  So that means that just because I didn’t like it that much, you probably will.

Rachel Getting Married  (Rated R)
Gavin Grade:  C+
Oscar Alert!  If I were a betting man, I’d say this movie will appear as an Oscar nomination for Best Actress.  Anne Hathaway is the only recognizable name in this movie about a 20-something sister named Kim, coming home from a drug rehab to attend her sister’s wedding.  Oh yeah, her sister’s name is Rachel.  It’s directed by Jonathan Demme, who gave us such amazing movies as “Philadelphia” and “Silence of the Lambs.”  I saw this movie expecting it to be a powerhouse performance piece based on the recommendation of my best friend, Joe.  What I got instead was a movie split in two.  The first half sets up a promising story and intriguing characters as they prepare for this wedding.  We can see drama building as devastating family secrets are piled on top of each other.  But then the second half just becomes a mess.  Details are forgotten and never resolved and we get so bogged down in aspects of the wedding that it becomes almost laughable.  However Demme does an utterly amazing job at making you feel like you’re part of this wedding.  It’s all shot with hand-held cameras, which makes you feel like you’re watching a home movie or even sitting with the guests at the wedding.  Hathaway shows a very vulnerable side and stuns in some scenes as a tragic, pain-in-the-ass, headcase of a woman.