Forking over $10.50 to see "Role Models" is like paying for a 2009 Mustang and getting a 20-year-old model with rebuilt engine, new paint job, CD player and GPS system. A fun ride with nifty accessories, but at these prices don't we deserve something new?

The five people credited with the story and script have crafted some good lines and two solid characters. But they assembled “Role Models” from used parts, stealing from other films about childless men mentoring children in childish fashion.

Guilty of criminal stupidity, Danny (Paul Rudd) and Wheeler (Seann William Scott) are sentenced to community service, assisting several hapless kids. As in “The Mighty Ducks.”

Kids and adults clash. “Bad News Bears.”

When the nerdish Augie (Christopher Mintz-Plasse, who appears to be playing a cousin of McLovin, his “Superbad” character) is bullied, Danny comes to his rescue. “Bad Santa.”

When Wheeler fails his kid, Ronnie, the irresponsible man questions his own priorities. “About a Boy.”

In the final reel, as you surely know, immature males of all ages band together, learn life lessons and triumph over assorted tormentors. “Bears,” “Ducks,” “Santa,” “Boy.”

What sets “Role Models” apart from its predecessors is — well, not much, other than two original performances. Ronnie (Bobb'e J. Thompson) is a wised-up runt with a foul mouth, a precocious appreciation for the female form and a savvy grasp of how a black kid can exploit white men's racial insecurities. His maniacal cackle, issued just once in “Role Models,” is among the film's high points.

Ronnie and Augie hang out at Sturdy Wings, a combination day care center/Boys' Club/Big Brother clubhouse run by Gayle Sweeny (Jane Lynch), a recovering cocaine fiend who wants to do good in the worst way. Tightly wound and battle-scarred, she's not high on life. She's strung out on life.

Saddled with Danny and Wheeler, she laces into these losers with an unsettling blend of sexual innuendo, tangled metaphors, low impulses and high purpose. Lynch's character is a self-promoter capable of self-sacrifice; she's terrific.

Alas, neither Rudd nor Scott can keep pace with her. Danny is disgusted with himself for a dead-end job, foisting caffeine-rich “energy drinks” on grade school students, and a dying relationship with his lawyer girlfriend, Beth (Elizabeth Banks, slumming between Oliver Stone's “W.” and Kevin Smith's “Zack and Miri Make a Porno”). Rudd's anger and condescension, initially funny, quickly curdles.

Scott is an accomplished player of genial idiots (see his “American Pie” work). But Wheeler's sudden acceptance of adult responsibility is as unbelievable as the furry costume he wears while peddling “Minotaur” energy drinks.

During a Sturdy Wings camp out, a clueless counselor (A.D. Miles) sings a feeble ditty that he insists is a Wings tune. It's not, but the song is bad enough to make the claim plausible.

“Role Models” isn't as fun as “Bad News Bears,” as insightful as “About a Boy” or as scabrous as “Bad Santa.” But there are times when it sounds close to the real thing.

“Role Models.” Rated: R. Running time: 1 hour, 35 minutes. 2.5 stars.

To find out more about Peter Rowe and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com.

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