Wilson cons kids in "Drillbit"

"Drillbit Taylor" Directed by Steven Brill Starring: Owen Wilson, Nate Harley and Troy Gentile out of

When you're stuck with the name Drillbit, you're destined to be either the laughing stock of the adult industry, a tool salesman or a bodyguard. Thankfully, Steven Brill's film, "Drillbit Taylor" chose the third possibility.

Three high school freshmen (Troy Gentile, Nate Hartley and David Dorfman) are just trying to survive their first day. Lo and behold, they aggravate bully (Alex Frost), who takes it upon himself to make their lives hell.

Why is this high school thug allowed to get away with the things he does to these kids? He manages to bypass school authority figures with nothing more than charm and charisma.

Filkins' pranks start as sophomoric, but they devolve into homicidal later in the movie. After a while you'll want him run over - or at least off the screen.

No one wants to take this kind of punishment, especially if it's undeserved. But knowing they couldn't punch their way through a wet tissue, the three boys decide to put an ad online for a bodyguard. They get a surprising response.

Enter the homeless Drillbit Taylor (Owen Wilson), who sees the ad, convinces the boys that he's a hardened war veteran and takes them into his care. From there, he just milks the boys dry of their cash, all while posing as a teacher and a judo master on top of his bodyguard alibi.

The whole plot is a basic house-of-cards set up, following Taylor as he tells lie after lie to get what he wants, knowing that a single gust of truth will blow the house down.

In a sense, Taylor becomes the bully he's supposed to defend these kids from, but his laid-back attitude preserves his likability. To get a sense of Taylor, imagine Wilson's character in "Wedding Crashers" but slightly angrier. He's still fun to watch, especially as he interacts with the trio of freshmen.

Co-writer Seth Rogen gets props for more hilarious dialogue that rivals that of "Superbad." But he's not the only one to credit - John Hughes emerged from years spent under the radar to contribute to the story. While "Drillbit Taylor" isn't classic material, audiences will likely reference some of its lines.

The plot's fairly linear and shallow, with the obligatory "love" scenes thrown in for proper character motivation. That's fine ,too. No one walked in expecting "Dead Poets Society" philosophy.

If anything, the movie highlights what bullying does to kids. The plot might be ridiculous in how the three decide to deal with the problem, but it still shows what happens when victims are backed against a wall.

Far from being a dramedy, "Drillbit Taylor" is a comedy through and through, and it's pretty successful at delivering the laughs, thanks to clever dialogue and amusing characters.

While many character interactions are plausible, if exaggerated, the film begs one question: How is it that a bum posing as a bodyguard posing as a teacher gets more action than the high schoolers?