Critics Consensus: Drillbit Taylor Flunks; Guess Shutter's and Meet the Browns' Tomatometer!

This week at the movies, we’ve got a wacky bodyguard (Drillbit Taylor, starring Owen Wilson and Leslie Mann), a wild family reunion (Meet the Browns, starring Angela Basset and Rick Fox), and paranormal Polaroids (Shutter, starring Joshua Jackson). What do the critics have to say?

Everybody has their off days, even Judd Apatow, whose critical winning streak comes to an end (temporarily, at least) with Drillbit Taylor. This Apatow-produced comedy stars Owen Wilson as the title character, a man who has been hired as a bodyguard for three oft-bullied teens; it turns out Taylor is wilder and crazier than he first appears. Pundits say the problem with Drillbit is that it just isn’t very funny: it doesn’t build on its premise, and offers mediocre gags, despite some decent performances. At 17 percent on the Tomatometer, Drillbit is a little dull. And it’s the worst-reviewed movie Apaptow has ever been involved with. (Apatow discussed his favorite movies with RT; click here to check it out.)

Seth, Evan, and McLovin: the early years.

The other two wide openers this week, Tyler Perry’s Meet the Browns and Shutter, were either embargoed or not screened for critics. Meet the Browns is the story of a single mom who goes to the funeral of her father (who she never knew) and finds her extend family is pretty wild. In Shutter, a pair of newlyweds find spectral images in their photos. You know what time it is: guess those Tomatometers! (And check out this week’s Total Recall.)

“Wait a minute… what’s my girlfriend doing with Elliot Spitzer?”

Also opening this week in limited release:

• Planet B-Boy, a doc about an international breakdancing competition, is at 89 percent.
• The Belgian import Irina Palm, starring Marianne Faithfull as a desperate woman who takes a job in a sex club, is at 71 percent.
• The Hammer, starring Adam Carolla as an over-the-hill pugilist looking to make a comeback, is at 63 percent.
• Christophe Honore‘s Love Songs, a musical starring Ludvine Sagnier and Louis Farrel as a couple on the rocks, is at 62 percent.
• The Grand, an improv comedy set in the world of high-stakes poker starring Woody Harrelson and David Cross, is at 57 percent.
• Under the Same Moon, starring America Ferrara in the tale of an illegal immigrant and the son she left behind in Mexico, is at 50 percent.
• Olivier Assayas‘ Boarding Gate, a thriller starring Asia Argento and Michael Madsen, is at 33 percent (check out our take from Cannes here).

“Hey, settle down. We know you’d win in a game of one-on-one.”

Finally, props to dethburger for coming the closest to guessing Doomsday‘s 34 percent Tomatometer. Just think: if we could eradicate mad cow disease, he could change his name to lfeburger.

Recent Judd Apatow-Produced Movies:
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74% — Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story (2007)
87% — Superbad (2007)
90% — Knocked Up (2007)
64% — The TV Set (2007)
72% — Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby (2006)