‘Drillbit Taylor’ short on plot, long on laughs

Casey Phillips: To me, “Drillbit Taylor” is a hard film to pass judgment on. The plot’s premise is referred to numerous times during the film as “The dumbest thing I’ve ever heard,” and I couldn’t agree more. Owen Wilson plays the titular Taylor, a homeless man hired to protect three socially inept victims of a sadistic high school bully. Sealing this deal is a tacked-on romantic subplot with Leslie Mann, who last co-starred in producer Judd Apatow’s film “Knocked Up.”

Holly Leber: Honestly, I’m a bit ashamed at the amount of times I laughed at “Drillbit Taylor,” because the humor is base and rife with puberty references. There was also an abundance of sight gags involving an outdoor shower and Wilson’s bare backside, although his nonchalant “thank you, ladies” in response to a whistle was one of the moments I was less embarrassed to have laughed at.

This role does nothing to stretch Wilson’s acting muscles, but he and the three boys under his care fit solidly into the archetypes written for them.

One certain archetype was the role of the bully, Filkins (Alex Frost). As a rule, I don’t find bully humor funny. This film is no exception. The refusal of any adult to believe the younger boys was bothersome, and the backslapping congratulations when the bully is finally defeated is borderline offensive. Why, if so many were pleased at the nerd victory, did no one come to the little guys’ defense sooner? It sends a bad message.

Casey: You’re spot on about Wilson. Drillbit is exactly the type of lovable doofus he’s been playing since “Zoolander” and the “Shanghai” films, but the problem is, he’s good at it. In fact, with the exception of Mann, whose relationship with Wilson did nothing for me, the film was fantastically well cast. “Drillbit Taylor” does rely heavily on stereotypes, but Troy Gentile, Nate Hartley and David Dorfman are all convincing respectively as Wade, the fat outcast; Nate, the skinny outcast and Emmit, the ultra nerd.

I thought Alex Frost’s performance as Filkins was one of the film’s best. His completely unrealistic methods of torture would probably send up red flags in Geneva, but I feel Frost really took delight in the overacting his role required.

Holly: The film was twodimensional, even when it tried not to be, such as a thread of Drillbit’s buddies encouraging him to rob the upper middle class adolescents. Still, I found myself actually feeling touched at times, especially when Wade is being made to feel like an outcast in his own home, seeking advice on a girl, or when Lisa (Leslie Mann) is describing her poor judgment with men. I felt for them.

But on the note of Leslie Mann — she is pretty, charming and completely superfluous to the film. It’s obvious that Apatow wanted to give his wife some work (the last movie in which she appeared that he wasn’t involved was 2002’s “Stealing Harvard”). Perhaps writers Kristofor Brown and Seth Rogen wanted to add a romantic subplot that might make the movie appeal to females and help sweatypalmed 15-year-old boys score points with their dates. Unlikely.

Casey: Touched? By this film? Not likely. Still, even though “Drillbit” pushes absolutely no boundaries and didn’t manage to pluck a single heart string, I found myself liking it. The writing is tight, and some scenes are brilliant, especially Nate and Ryan’s attempts to learn to fight by beating each other near senseless. I think teens, in particular, will like that kind of physical comedy, but then again, that is the film’s target audience. Overall, the plot didn’t do it for me, but if taken on a scene-by-scene basis, “Drillbit” is enjoyable.