Movie Review: ‘Revenge of the Nerds’ junior in theaters this weekend

When a title fails to let on what a film might be about it’s unnerving. When you find out what “Drillbit Taylor” holds you might be pleasantly surprised or annoyed. For most it will probably be the latter.

DT is like the “Muppet Babies” in that it is a version of “Superbad” for the youngsters.

Ryan (Troy Gentile, who looks like a mini Jonah Hill and has a “Sopranos”-like delivery), Wade (Nate Hartley, a gem of an actor in the Michael Cera mold here) and Emmit are all super stoked for their first day at McKinley High. They put on their inaugural duds—two of them accidentally show up in identical shirts—and try to strut onto campus, but are immediately met by Filkins (Alex Frost), who is one of the meanest bullies to ever exist.

He looks a lot like John Cusak 20 years ago, but he’s the anti-John Hughes character— never warm and fuzzy (though John Hughes did help write this film under a pseudonym). Filkins and company proceeds to bring the pain and in turn awkwardness to the freshmen by shoving them in lockers, depantsing (yes it’s a verb in HS) them and throwing water on their crotches. Those incidents are to be expected as initiation for some newcomers. After continual assaults, the boys decide to place an advertisement to hire a bodyguard.

Enter Drillbit Taylor, a down-on-his luck ex-soldier who’s homeless, or as he calls it “home-free.” The sunny-haired BS artist resides by a freeway in L.A. and showers nude on the beach every day. (This mostly comes off as a family friendly film, but every once in awhile we are reminded that it is a Judd Apatow project.) He answers the boys’ ad and starts to “train” them both physically and mentally so that they can stand up to anyone anytime. Drillbit’s teachings include showing them a karate move called the “Panda Express” and telling them they can always “Have it their way.” In the meantime he steals from the kids’ parents’ luxury homes and puts into action a plan to really clean them out, with the help of his transient friends—“Home Alone” style.

Sometime along the line of life coaching the boys, Drillbit’s Grinch heart grows an inch or two and he decides to become a better person. In an effort to step up as a bodyguard, he ends up substitute teaching at McKinley High. As a sub he finds myriad ways to torture the bullies—even leaving them hanging from the rafters in gym class while a tennis ball shooter pelts them.

The story detours and wanes a bit here as Drillbit gets a love interest (that girl from “Big Daddy” that played the former Hooters waitress/lawyer) and yada, yada, yada. Who really cares about a con artist’s love life?

As in all movies having anything to do with high school (or John Hughes), DT ends at a party thrown by the cool kids that the nerds must infiltrate.

If DT were more even-keeled, it would be a smash hit in the shadow of “Superbad.” Instead it (and Owen Wilson) is more like the pubescent 14-year-olds it depicts—in need of a little more development.

Adrienne Mackey is a freelance movie reviewer. Hear her talk a lot more about movies on 'The KLPX WakeUp Call with Scott Barnett' weekday mornings from 5 to 10 a.m. on 96.1 KLPX.

Movie Review<b>

2/4 Stars

Comedy

Run time: 1 hour, 42 minutes.

Rated PG-13 for crude sexual references throughout, strong bullying, language, drug references and partial nudity.

Starring: Owen Wilson, Nate Hartley, David Dorfman, Troy Gentile.

Written by: Kristofor Brown, Seth Rogen.

Directed by: Steven Brill.