Everyone has a bad day. Since the dawn of time, every human being on this planet has been through their share of bad days. Even Judd Apatow, the mastermind behind comedies such as The 40-Year Old Virgin, Superbad, and Knocked Up, can have a bad day. After being on top of the comic world, Apatow seems to have hit a wall. His last two films, Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story and Drillbit Taylor, have been far below his normal comic glory. The man everyone thought could do nothing wrong with film has done the unthinkable and produced an average comedy. I am not saying this film is bad. The film is quite average for a Apatow comedy, which are usually extraordinarily alarming in the comic department. Drillbit Taylor lacks this alarming trait that usually coats Apatow comedies.

After being hounded and mugged by a bully during their first week of high school, three geeky teenagers take it upon themselves to get rid of their bully problem by placing an ad in Soldier of Fortune magazine for a bodyguard. What they get is Drillbit Taylor (Owen Wilson), an AWOL soldier and budget bodyguard. He's actually a homeless veteran discharged from the military for unauthorized heroism who is willing to fake his bodyguard duties because he could desperately use the cash. Taylor and the geeks soon learn their true abilities about standing up for one's self.

I expected a lot more from a screenplay written by Seth Rogen, who also wrote the comic hit, Superbad. This film seemed to be a water-downed version of Superbad with sex being substituted for teen violence. This film is Revenge of the Nerds meets The Bodyguard, without Whitney Houston.

Owen Wilson plays the down-on-his luck veteran with high spirits, but he has seen better days. Coming off his brilliant comic performance in Wedding Crashers in 2005, Wilson followed up the next year with the box office dud You, Me, and Dupree. Things didn't get any easier for Wilson when in August 2007, he attempted suicide suffering a dramatic meltdown. Wilson has the acting pedigree to be a great actor if he would apply himself with challenging roles and be more careful about which comedies he stars in. Drillbit Taylor was not a wise choice.

Even though this film is a comedy, the subject of this film should not be taken lightly. Teen violence and bullies are issues threatening millions of kids in school every year. These issues are nothing to joke about. The parents of the geeks during the film reacted as many parents do in the real world: they ignore their child's feelings thinking the child is only acting out for attention. Listen to your child. This is a serious problem.

From the trailers, this film seems innocent for children under the age of 16. Parents be warned. This film is not what it seems. With a rating of PG-13 for crude sexual references, strong bullying, language, drug references and partial nudity, parents should be advised about taking children to this film.

Learn more about this author, Kyle Leinen.
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