Drillbit Taylor

Judd Apatow and Seth Rogen may very well be comic geniuses.

At first glance, it seems that the only person with a motive to watch Owen Wilson's new movie, Drillbit Taylor, would be a psychiatrist searching for clues related to Wilson's suicide attempt. However, as mundane as the idea of high school freshmen hiring a body guard to protect them from the upperclassmen bully sounds, add Rogen as a writer and Apatow as a producer, and the result is a surprisingly funny movie.

When fatty Ryan (Troy Gentile), skinny Wade (Nate Hartley) and hobbit-like Emmit (David Dorfman) start high school, they quickly become the target of the psychotic school bully Filkins (Alex Frost). Life soon becomes a living hell, and the boys decide to place an online ad for a personal bodyguard. Enter Drillbit Taylor (Owen Wilson)-a homeless bum just trying to make enough cash to run off to Canada. Taylor fools the boys with his bluff of being an ex-army man with fighting techniques. But it doesn't take long for the deception to spiral out of control, and the boys soon have to take matters into their own hands.

The acting is excellent on all fronts. Despite being nearly unheard of-Gentile's biggest roles have been playing a young Jack Black in Nacho Libre and Pick of Destiny-the three young boys are perfect for their roles, and Wilson returns to his roots, delivering absurd lines with the straight-faced, awkward intonation that made him a star. Even Apatow's wife, Leslie Mann, is spot-on as a teacher with a strong crush on Drillbit.

The movie plays out almost like a PG-13 version of Superbad. In what is quickly becoming a hallmark of Seth Rogen's writing, the humor is unabashedly low-brow but spiked with smart, quirky ideas. As expected, the resolution comes together nicely. Despite its predictability, the movie will make you laugh. Drillbit Taylor is a movie that anyone can enjoy, and even skeptics will find themselves laughing unexpectedly.