Drillbit Taylor: It's No Superbad

By Katey Rich

New York Magazine blog Culture Vulture put together a chart that claims to predict the success of any Judd Apatow movie based on a handful of factors. (Is directed by Judd Apatow = 4 points; Includes McLovin = 10 points). Funny thing is, the chart is pretty accurate, at least for movies that have already been released. But what about Drillbit Taylor, this Friday's Apatow-produced release also written by Seth Rogen? Vulture gives it 1 point, which is just above Anchorman but light-years behind The 40-Year Old Virgin, Knocked Up and Superbad.

Oddly enough, their blind predicting is pretty much spot-on (though their hatred for Anchorman is, I believe, totally unfounded). Drillbit Taylor is pretty much just OK, with a handful of Superbad's screamingly funny jokes but not nearly enough of that movie's actual human emotion and reasonable character arcs. The movie isn't written by Apatow, so it's a given that it won't be quite as grown-up or subtle as what the mega-producer has done as a writer and director. But it's also below the standard Rogen set for himself with Superbad, relying too heavily on rote plot devices and slapstick along with its foulmouthed humor.

Superbad is the best comparison for the movie, both in its three main characters (the palefaced shy charmer, the tubby loudmouth, the pencil-necked squawky uber-geek) and its loosely shaped plot. Three geeks are tormented by high school bullies, so they take refuge in a professional bodyguard, who is actually a homeless war veteran planning to fleece the kids for everything they have. The fact that John Hughes originally wrote the script, before Rogen and "Undeclared" writer Kristofor Brown got their hands on it, is telling. It's the kind of movie, like The Breakfast Club or Pretty in Pink, where the end is clearly in sight once you've heard the concept. The fun is in getting there, of course, and Drillbit Taylor has its good share of laughs, but the predictability gets in the way too much for it to be anything special.

Apatow is spreading himself thin as a producer these days, which means the tepid Drillbit Taylor will be forgotten as soon as Forgetting Sarah Marshall or, more likely, Pineapple Express wows 'em later this year. It's entirely possible that Drillbit will do just fine at the box office-- Anne Thompson sure thinks so, and it can't do any worse than Walk Hard did last fall. But for the adults squirming for another Apatow gem, the wait goes on. The kids will be the ones happy with this one, since it's rated PG-13 and they can finally stop sneaking into Seth Rogen's movies.