The specter of Owen Wilson's brush with suicide hangs over this goofy Judd Apatow-produced comedy about three bullied high school nerds who hire homeless war vet Drillbit Taylor (played by Wilson) to protect them.
The movie fumbles with establishing a relationship between chubby Ryan, scrawny Wade, little Emmit and the man/boy they hire to tutor them in self-defense techniques that never really pay off.
At school, a duo of senior class thugs brutalize the boys daily, cramming them into lockers, chasing them with their car, and generally making their existence miserable.
Drillbit is only too happy to take the boys' money, and pawn store friendly items, in order to save up enough dough to start a new life in Alaska.
Apart from a few mildly funny bits of slapstick, "Drillbit Taylor" doesn't come near the level of comedy that Judd Apatow and screenwriter Seth Rogen are known for.
Rated PG-13. 102 mins.
