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'Drillbit Taylor' channels the spirit of 'Superbad'

By Steve Persall, Times Film Critic
In print: Thursday, March 20, 2008

Three boys, played by, from left, Nate Hartley, David Dorfman and Troy Gentile, seek help from a homeless vet, Owen Wilson, in Drillbit Taylor.
	[Paramount Pictures]

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Drillbit Taylor should be retitled Superbad: The Early Years, since its high school freshmen heroes are destined to become the undersexed seniors of 2007's sleeper hit.

That isn't surprising, with actor Seth Rogen (Knocked Up) co-authoring both screenplays, determined to work out his raunchy adolescence onscreen.

Names have been changed to protect the illusion of originality. Jokes are sanitized for PG-13 benefits. You'll know Rogen's doppelganger by his curly hair, pot belly and potty mouth. Superbad was about the nerd's quest for sex; Drillbit Taylor is about survival, presumably to begin that carnal quest.

Pudgy Ryan (Troy Gentile) and his gangly pal Wade (Nate Hartley) approach high school, dreaming of popularity. They're rudely awakened and immediately targeted by a bully, Filkins (Alex Frost), after they stick up for runty Emmit (David Dorfman) — this movie's McLovin in training. Dealing with a psycho like Filkins demands drastic measures.

The boys decide to hire a bodyguard, settling on a homeless, dishonorably discharged veteran named Drillbit Taylor (Owen Wilson), who plans to take their money and run to Canada. He bamboozles the kids with bogus self-defense tactics, posing as a substitute teacher to watch over them. That leads to Drillbit falling for another instructor (Leslie Mann), who will make him a better man.

Director Steven Brill fills this shell of a plot with transparent shock gags that sometimes work better than they should. Much of the credit goes to Wilson's patented con artistry (this act was filmed a year before his reported suicide attempt, so don't play armchair psychologist). The kids are all right, too, with Gentile eerily channeling Superbad's Jonah Hill, who was imitating Rogen.

Brill's movie also has its cagey moments, like a cameo by Adam Baldwin, wearing the same costume and saying the "Not interested" line he used in 1980's My Bodyguard, this movie's ancestor. Any derivative movie smart enough to acknowledge an obscure source is fine in my book. Drillbit Taylor fills minor roles with major comedy talent able to milk the material (Lisa Lampinelli deserves her own movie).

The plot's skimpiness is betrayed by detours going nowhere. Why not recruit Drillbit's homeless friends to terrorize Filkins? Once the bully punches Drillbit, his continued presence at school is illogical. The romance angle starts well then practically disappears until the fade-out. Nothing that a fast rewrite wouldn't solve.

Rogen may run out of adolescent memories before he gets the writing thing right. I figure he has at least one more screenplay in him, explaining how Superbad's Seth (or this film's Ryan) reached the point where he could knock up Katherine Heigl.

Steve Persall can be reached at persall@sptimes.com or (727) 893-8365. Read his blog at blogs.tampabay.com/movies.