Did you catch Drillbit Taylor at the weekend?
The problem with being Judd Apatow, one suspects, is that film critics' current obsession with everything you do makes it kind of hard to squeeze out something poor in between perfectly crafted comic gems such as Knocked Up and Superbad.
Drillbit Taylor is one of four movies that Apatow is producing this year, and it has even got a script by Seth Rogen, star of Knocked Up and co-writer of Superbad. Throw in Owen Wilson, a man whose comedy nous is as pleasingly off-centre as his nose, and we should really be laughing all the way to the bank. The critics, however, are being extremely tight-fisted with their praise.
"It's hard to imagine a bigger disappointment ... or a more casual squandering of audience good will, than Drillbit Taylor," writes Sukhdev Sandhu in the Daily Telegraph, while our own Xan Brooks reckons "Judd Apatow's reputation as Hollywood's new king of comedy looks set to take a mauling".
"It's not Superbad (and definitely not supergood)," writes Total Film's Jamie Russell, although he concedes the film "teases out some laughs". The San Francisco Chronicle's Mick La Salle, meanwhile, feels sorry for Wilson, who he says "deserves better".
La Salle adds: "Drillbit Taylor is another dreadful, not-funny Owen Wilson movie, in which Wilson is the best thing in it. His comic timing, his distinct look, his versatility, his combination of darkness and light, his verbal dexterity, his ease in his body and his engaging personality all argue in favor of an actor who should be banking one terrific movie after another. Instead, Wilson movies such as The Big Bounce, You, Me and Dupree and Drillbit Taylor are built on the actor's back."
Dear me. Did you catch Drillbit Taylor at the weekend? Is it really that bad, or just a let-down after Apatow's previous outings?
