NOW ON DVD

DRILLBIT TAYLOR
Rated PG-13
Owen Wilson, Leslie Mann, Danny McBride, Josh Peck, David Dorfman

Brian’s Rating       

When Judd Apatow, the guy behind The 40-Year-Old Virgin, Knocked Up, and Superbad decided to take a run at playing “nerds and bullies” with Drillbit Taylor, I had high hopes.

For the most part, I am a fan of Apatow’s work and I admire Owen Wilson’s comic chops. I thought the notion of three social outcasts hiring a bodyguard to protect them from a teenaged tyrant at their high school showed promise.

But something doesn’t click with this film, and I put the blame on the writers. It’s just not funny. Or maybe, not funny enough for an Apatow movie.

Not only are the jokes lightweight, they’re so infrequent that the film barely qualifies as a comedy. Wilson and his three “dorkateers” do an admirable job, but there’s just not enough for them to work with.

I’d skip this one even on DVD and see if you can get your hands on a 1980 film called My Bodyguard. Similar story, but much better.