Writer Seth Rogen and producer Judd Apatow created a couple of winning geeks in Superbad, but this tamer version of the fat kid/thin kid story fails to deliver the same laughs. Based on an idea by John Hughes, it stars Troy Gentile and Nate Hartley as a moderately amusing pair of nerds who fail to impress on their first day of high school (turning up wearing the same shirt doesn’t help). 

After defending Emmit (Dorfman) from the school bully, they become perennial victims and decide to hire a bodyguard, Drillbit Taylor (Wilson). Taylor is a homeless con artist who’s out to rob the children, but their charms grow on him as he trains them up and poses as a teacher to protect them. Wilson’s mix of casual criminality and ineptitude is sometimes funny but rarely endearing: his character’s dark intentions are at odds with the film’s breezy, broad tone. Drillbit Taylor is a bit of a giggle, but it lacks bite and direction: even the old prom showdown routine would have enlivened this aimless comedy. 

Dir Steven Brill 2008. USA. 102 mins. PG. Owen Wilson, Alex Frost, Josh Peck, Leslie Mann, David Dorfman.

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