Paramount Pictures’ “Drillbit Taylor,” a new comedy starring Owen Wilson as a bodyguard hired by several high school students to protect them from a psychopath in training, will have its opening Friday, March 21. How big this opening will be, it remains to be seen, as the movie seems to be nothing but a faint re-make of “Superbad,” one of the best comedies of last year (about three nerds humiliated en route to a party) and the 1980 middle-school fave “My Bodyquard.”

Produced by Judd Apatow and co-written by Seth Rogen (creative minds behind “Knocked Up” and “Superbad”), this high school comedy suggests that Apatow’s laughing machine may be breaking down.

As the movie opens, two teenage geeks are bracing themselves for their first day of high school. Wade (Nate Hartley) is a shy, skinny egghead, while his best friend Ryan (Troy Gentile) is a chubby, curly-haired smartmouth. They are fresh reminders of Michael Cera and Jonah Hill from “Superbad,” but with fewer penis jokes.

Of course their debut goes spectacularly badly: Wade and Ryan unwittingly wear the same dorky bowling shirt, then attract an annoying pint-size tagalong named Emmit (David Dorfman) and the wrath of sociopath school bully Filkins (Alex Frost).

Over the next week, Filkins stuffs the trio in lockers, soaks them in urine and evades prosecution by the school’s clueless principal (”Office Space’s” Stephen Root).

Out of desperation, the three unfortunate friends place an online add for a bodyguard and the best they can afford is an AWOL homeless soldier named Drillbit, played by Owen Wilson (“Meet the Parents,” “The Royal Tenenbaums,” “You, Me and Dupree,” A Night at the Museum,” The Life Aquatic,” “Zoolander” and “Wedding Crashers”).

Wilson’s character is a shiftless bum who camps in Santa Monica bushes, looking for some easy cash. And, he thinks he’s closer than ever to achieve his goal of skipping town and heading to Canada when meeting the three pals. He plays the good guy, but his real motive is to rob them and their parents.

Like so many contemporary comedies, “Drillbit Taylor’s” plot doesn’t make a lick of sense. For example, Los Angeles rich kids like Wade and Ryan would certainly not be attending public school, much less one in which the principal is so indifferent to the violence taking place right beneath his nose. Even more puzzling is the plot twist that has Drillbit entering the school and being confused for a substitute teacher — and then returning day after day, calling himself “Dr. Illbit,” and even beginning an affair with a randy English teacher named Lisa (Leslie Mann, who’s too good an actress to be taking parts that give her this little to do).

And as if this wasn’t bad enough, Steven Brill (Mr. Deeds) seems to have directed the show in a carefree mood: the scenes are crisp, and the action flows with uncomplicated ease.

One thing is positive about this “Drillbit Taylor”: Owen Wilson, as this is his first movie since suffering from depression last August and being hospitalized for a week after an apparent suicide attempt. However, not even an actor like Wilson can save this movie from drowning.

And still, “Drillbit Taylor” could be the best from a list of five movies all opening this weekend: “Shutter,” (a PG 13-rated movie about a newly married couple that discovers ghostly images in photographs developed after a tragic accident); “Tyler Perry’s Meet the Browns”(also a PG-13 rated movie about a daughter meeting her late father’s family for the first time); “Snow Angels” (an R-rated drama that interweaves the life of a teen with that of his old baby-sitter, her husband and their daughter) and “Paranoid Park” (about a teenage skateboarder whose life begins to fray after he is involved in the accidental death of a security guard).

Drillbit Taylor: Comedy

Opens Friday, March 21

Directed By: Steven Brill

Written by: Seth Rogen and Kristofor Brown

Starring: Owen Wilson, Nate Hartley, Troy Gentile, Alex Frost, Josh Peck and David Dorfman

Running time: 102 minutes

Rated: PG13 (crude sexual references throughout, drug references, partial nudity, gleeful profanity, and bullying)

Welcome Home Roscoe Jenkins.’ Comedy about a TV star who heads South for a rowdy family reunion. With Martin Lawrence, Mike Epps, Mo’Nique. Director: Malcolm D. Lee (1:54). PG-13: Crude and sexual humor, language, drug references. At area theaters.

Having gotten all the sweetness out of his system with the 2005 sleeper “Roll Bounce,” Malcolm D. Lee caters to a wider audience in his raucous reunion comedy “Welcome Home Roscoe Jenkins.” He’ll probably find the success he’s looking for. Spiking sentimental family values with crude hilarity isn’t the recipe for an award winner, but it will feed crowds hungry for a good time.

Martin Lawrence is Roscoe, a Jerry Springer-style talk-show host with the seemingly perfect L.A. life: fame, fortune and a gorgeous fiancée named Bianca (Joy Bryant).

A recent winner of “Survivor,” Bianca sees life as one big competition - which is fine, since Roscoe does, too. This attitude brings him success, but it doesn’t leave much time for family. Still, at the urging of his son Jamaal (Damani Roberts), he reluctantly agrees to attend a 50th anniversary celebration for his parents (James Earl Jones and Margaret Avery) back home.

Of course, things don’t go quite as planned once Roscoe arrives in rural Georgia. Though he’s hoping for a hero’s welcome, nobody much cares that he’s a big star. In fact, everyone seems far more impressed by Clyde (Cedric the Entertainer), Roscoe’s car-dealer cousin and longtime nemesis. Making matters worse, Clyde is now dating Lucinda (Nicole Ari Parker), Roscoe’s childhood crush. As his brother (Michael Clarke Duncan), sister (Mo’Nique) and cousin Reggie (Mike Epps) point out, Roscoe needs to decide where his home really is.

In case that sounds a little too sugary, keep in mind that Lawrence’s co-stars are more than ready to provide salty humor while creating a loose, almost improvised feel.

Although Lee relies on too many lame gross-out jokes, this cast does know how to have fun - which may come as welcome relief to audiences desperate for laughs during a cold month at the movies.

Walt Disney’s 3-D movie “Hannah Montana & Miley Cyrus: Best of Both Worlds Concert” topped movie box offices, raking in $29 million for the biggest opening over a normally slow Super Bowl weekend, according to studio estimates on Sunday.

With U.S. professional football’s championship game dominating the entertainment landscape, the 3-D movie of Cyrus’ (aka Hannah Montana) 2007 singing tour brought teenage girls streaming into theaters with their parents, said Mark Zoradi, president of Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures Group.

“We’re looking at this and realizing we made a little piece of movie history,” Zoradi said. “This has been a family movie, and we’ve had lots of parents exiting theaters saying, ‘thank you because we couldn’t get into any of her concerts.’”

Supernatural thriller “The Eye,” starring Jessica Alba, took the No. 2 slot at U.S. and Canadian box offices with a $13 million weekend. The No. 3 movie was romantic comedy “27 Dresses” with $8.4 million, according to industry tracker Media By Numbers.

Rounding out the top five were teen pregnancy comedy “Juno” at No. 4 with a weekend haul of $7.5 million, bringing its total ticket sales to $110 million. In the No. 5 position was last week’s champ, action adventure “Meet the Spartans,” with $7.1 million for the weekend and $28 million overall.

 Box-Office Top Five#1 “Meet the Spartans” ($18.7 million)#2 “Rambo” ($18.5 million)#3 “27 Dresses” ($13.6 million)#4 “Cloverfield” ($12.7 million)#5 “Untraceable” ($11.2 million)

It was a sequel 20 years in the making, but “Rambo” couldn’t live up to the hype as “Meet the Spartans” drew “First Blood” at the box office, taking in $18.7 million to win the weekend. After last year’s “Epic Movie,” the “300″ parody is the second consecutive spoof flick from the writing and directing team of Jason Friedberg and Aaron Seltzer to come in at #1. And the best part? It’s just in time for Oscar season!

“Rambo” was just a tick behind with $18.5 million in its first week. But while Sylvester Stallone was counting dollars and cents for the franchise’s first installment since 1988, we were counting words and deaths. As in, which were there more of in “Rambo”? My money’s on deaths.

Speaking of deaths (this is why I’m a writer, people — smooth transitions), “Cloverfield” dropped like the Statue of Liberty’s head, falling 68.3 percent in its second weekend to come in fourth place with just $12.7 million. It’s the biggest second-week drop in history for a movie that made over $20 million in its first week, and just a shade off the biggest second-week drop for any movie. Sorry J.J. — the secret’s out: If “Cloverfield” ends its run short of a $100 million haul, it’ll be the movie with the biggest-ever debut to do so. Monstrous indeed.

Proving there’s nothing quite like counterprogramming, “27 Dresses” continued to impress in its second weekend, earning $13.6 million for a third-place finish. “Untraceable,” the weekend’s other big new release came in fifth place with $11.2 million.