No one really needs a PG-13 version of Superbad, but
that’s what Drillbit Taylor is. For a totally unnecessary movie,
it’s still pretty enjoyable—albeit in a “Sure, I’d watch that if
it was on TV” sort of way.
Maybe expectations are too high: Produced by Judd Apatow and
co-written by Seth Rogen, Drillbit can’t help but be
overshadowed by last year’s one-two punch of Knocked Up and
Superbad. But while Apatow and Rogen certainly represent, those
they’re working with here—director Steven Brill (Little Nicky,
Mr. Deeds) and co-writer Kristofor Brown (Undeclared, Beavis and
Butt-Head)—just aren’t up to their level.
The plot, and the casting, is familiar. (Had they been born a decade
earlier, Drillbit Taylor’s protagonists would’ve been in
Apatow’s Freaks and Geeks.) There’s the tall, skinny nerd (Nate
Hartley), the fat, loud nerd (Troy Gentile), and the hobbit-y,
showtunes-loving nerd (that creepy-ass kid from The Ring movies). Sick of getting beat up, our dweeb trio hires Drillbit Taylor
(Owen Wilson) as their bodyguard, unaware that their hero-for-hire is
actually just a homeless army deserter running a scam.
There are laughs throughout Drillbit, largely thanks to
Wilson; while our lovable dorks gets a few good jokes, we’ve heard and
seen all of them before. It doesn’t help that the movie quickly
outlasts its premise, nor that Brill’s simply a bad fit—as befits
an Apatow production, there’s a good-hearted spirit behind these
dick-and-fart jokes, but Brill clumsily makes the film sappy when it
should be earnest. But possibly the most underwhelming thing about
Drillbit is a squandered appearance by the usually hilarious
Leslie Mann—who, as the nerds’ teacher and Drillbit’s token love
interest, just doesn’t get to do anything interesting or funny. That
said, she’s easily the hottest high school English teacher ever. So at
least there’s that.
