Although we’ve enjoyed some great laughs from recent comedy smashes like Anchorman and The 40-Year Old Virgin, it’s also been great to see the supporting players in these films like Seth Rogen branch off and find their own starring vehicles to excel in. One guy who’s been on deck for a bit is Paul Rudd, who not only knocked it out of the park in the two aforementioned flicks, but brings it in the new Reno 911 film along with some supporting work in Rogen’s Knocked Up.
Now, Rudd’s stepping into the batter’s box along with Sean William Scott for a new comedy called Big Brothers, which is being directed by Luke Greenfield (The Girl Next Door) for Universal. They play beer workers who are somehow forced into community service in order to keep their jobs. After becoming mentors in the Big Brother program, they dispense wildly inappropriate advice and hilarity ensues.
I’m not so much concerned about the flimsy plot, because plot never makes these sorts of comedies. To up the ante, it’s being conceived from the ground up as an R-rated picture, so that gives them leeway to go the laughs any way they can get them, which is great. I am concerned, however, with how funny the script will be given that writer Timothy Dowling’s only notable credits are co-writing George Lucas in Love and a film coming out this year called Coxblocker, which also stars Sean William Scott.
I suspect that the supporting cast of this film will probably make it or break it as well.