Ryan (Troy Gentile), Drillbit Taylor (Owen Wilson), Wade (Nate Hartley) and Emmit (David Dorfman) join to beat a high school bully in ''Drillbit Taylor.'' (Courtesy photo)

By Bob Polunsky
Movie Critic

“Drillbit Taylor” is a comedy that suits Texan Owen Wilson’s talents.  The fact that he is the only familiar name in the cast will further his reputation since it makes it sound like he is the whole show. In most respects, he is.  

Drillbit Taylor (Wilson) is a beach bum who lives what he calls a “home-free” existence. It sounds more interesting than “homeless,” but that’s what his “home-free” status means.

He thinks things will look up if he answers an ad in Soldier of Fortune magazine. It also appeals to his ego. But the ad is a cry for help from three obviously desperate kids, and Drillbit feels that his age and experience together can easily handle the challenge.

High school freshmen Ryan, Wade and Emmit (Troy Gentile, Nate Hartley, David Dorfman) sent in the ad. It offers money for “protection” from a school bully known as Filkins (Alex Frost), and the freshman intend to take the cheapest “bid.”

It comes from Drillbit Taylor. He knows it’s not going to be a bundle of cash but it will be a fast buck, and he needs cash now.

Since this is a comedy, we realize the whole thing is likely to boomerang if Filkins is tougher than Drillbit imagines, and, of course, he is. What’s more, the movie is closer to a satire of movie villains than it is about building up egos.

Filkins turns out to be one of the most fiendish troublemakers in fiction. He is a combination of the most evil attributes of such weirdos as “The Phantom of the Opera,” Hannibal Lecter, Darth Vader, Dennis the Menace and all the villains that challenged “Superman,” “Batman” and “Wonder Woman.”

Producer Judd Apatow and screenwriter Seth Rogen wrote the script so “Drillbit Taylor” is similar in some ways to their script for “Superbad” with its references to drugs, liquor and sex. Those references got “Superbad” an R rating. Since “Drillbit Taylor” doesn’t dwell on drugs, liquor and sex from a teenager’s point of view, it’s rated PG-13, meaning it’s more of a “family film.”

One reason is obviously to take advantage of Owen Wilson’s comedic style. He doesn’t need the sensationalism of extreme language to get a laugh. His character is child-like, but he’s still an adult.

The combination of adult reactions to teenaged problems is often the basis for comedies aimed at a family audience. Early Hollywood films built reputations on good entertainment by showing different ways young people are influenced by adults. Some movies showed adverse ways, but most of them emphasized beneficial ways in order to build family audiences.

“Drillbit Taylor” uses character and personality for its basic entertainment value.  It won’t win awards, but it can help Owen Wilson maintain his reputation as a performer with the talent to get laughs in spite of – not necessarily because of – the plots of his pictures. “Drillbit Taylor” relies on him to hold a family-oriented movie together.
 
Studio rating: PG-13
Bob says: “A feel-good movie”      
2 1/2 Stars