March 27, 2008 06:37 pm
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There’s a fine line one must walk when reviewing an actor’s first movie after a breakdown.
With some, like Mariah Carey in “Glitter,” the requisite waiting time before jokes is approximately three seconds. But that is because Carey has the nerve to continue releasing albums. For an actor like Owen Wilson, who hasn’t necessarily done anything to the general public (at least not on so grand a scale as Ms. Carey), the reviewer must be a little more careful.
So, in the interest of good taste, I will forgo any attempts at levity at Wilson’s expense, and instead focus on my critique of the film.
“Drillbit Taylor” follows three high-school freshmen who hire the AWOL homeless man to protect them from school bullies.
Co-written by Seth Rogen, who also co-wrote “Superbad,” the three main characters come off as the younger, less humorous brothers of Seth, Evan and McLovin. Sadly, where “Superbad” was funny and intelligent, this retread premise almost screams from exhaustion. Rogen and his producing partner, Judd Apatow, try to throw their marketing muscle behind the film, but it fails because they didn’t throw in their spark and creativity to round it out.
The film is guilty of the worst crime a comedy can commit: It is boring. Not good, not bad, just dull. Sitting in the auditorium, there was a thundering indifference that cut through the silence. It’s a shame to see Apatow and Rogen squander the good will and strong brand that they have created with “The 40-Year-Old Virgin” and “Knocked Up,” but with a few more films like this, their endorsements will begin to lose meaning.
The three young leads (Nate Hartley, Troy Gentile and David Dorfman) are mostly forgettable, making them a good fit for the film. While I’m sure the writers and director had hoped to create a trio that everyone could relate to on some level, what they end up with is a composite of stereotypes of all of the less fortunate high-school cliques. In trying to make a group relatable to everyone, they used such broad strokes as to make them annoying to all. Heck, at one point, I would have liked to take a couple of punches.
Wilson has shone when working with Wes Anderson in a myriad of movies. Outside of these, though, he basically plays the same character in every film. Cocky yet charming, with a smugness that’s endearing, you could pluck his character from “Shanghai Noon” and drop it into “You, Me & Dupree,” then move it right over into “The Wedding Crashers.” His roles are sometimes funny, yet all smack of a sense of “been there, done that.”
While I’d like to think that he would show in his acting some of the talents seen in his writing (he had a hand in “Bottle Rocket” and “Rushmore,” and was nominated for an Academy Award for “The Royal Tennenbaums”), he seems content to cruise through his career while varying little. If you’re already a fan of Wilson, the character of Drillbit will feel like slipping into a well-worn pair of favorite shoes. If you don’t care for his style, this movie will do little to persuade you that you’re wrong.
“Drillbit Taylor” will come and go quickly at the box office, leaving a slight aftertaste and a hazy memory. Like a bad dream, it will fade with time, leaving just the vague recollection that I wasted nearly two hours of my life.
Address correspondence to Benji Tunnell, c/o The Joplin Globe, P.O. Box 7, Joplin, MO 64802 or benjitunnell@gmail.com.
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Benji Tunnell
