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Drillbit Taylor a Total Bore

Critics describe high-school comedy as aimless, 'listless'

By Marcia Greenwood, Newser Staff

Posted Mar 21, 2008 7:31 AM CDT

(Newser) – Combine the talents of the creative team behind Superbad and Knocked Up with the considerable charms of actor Owen Wilson and what have you got? The "dispiritingly mediocre tweener comedy" Drillbit Taylor, writes Marc Savlov of the Austin Chronicle. He's far from alone in his assessment of the movie, about three dorky freshmen who hire a homeless Army deserter (Wilson) to protect them from a bully.

MSNBC's Alonso Duralde describes the film as "a listless amalgam" of three superior high-school flicks: last year's Superbad, 1980's My Bodyguard, and 1988's Plain Clothes. The AP's Christy Lemire found Drillbit to be even less coherent: "It almost feels as if these guys just ran around the west side of Los Angeles, from shopping centers to the suburbs, shooting whatever they felt like improvising."

[Images (2)]

[Videos (1)]

From left, Nate Hartley, Owen Wilson, David Dorfman and Troy Gentile star in the high-school comedy "Drillbit Taylor." (AP Photo/Paramount Pictures, Suzanne Hanover)

From left, Seth Rogen and Judd Apatow who worked together on "Superbad" and "Knocked Up," re-teamed on "Drillbit Taylor," with less spectacular results. (AP Photo/Matt Sayles, File)

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Drillbit Taylor a Total Bore