Drillbit Taylor (2008)

Director:

Steven Brill

Writers:

Kristofor Brown (screenplay) &
Seth Rogen (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

21 March 2008 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy

Tagline:

You get what you pay for.

Plot:

Three kids hire a low-budget bodyguard to protect them from the playground bully. |

Plot Keywords:

Bodyguard | Bully | Stealing | Homeless | Pawnshop

Awards:

1 win & 1 nomination

Cast

Nate Hartley	...	Wade
Troy Gentile	...	Ryan
Ian Roberts	...	Jim
Owen Wilson	...	Drillbit Taylor
Casey Boersma	...	Chuck
Dylan Boersma	...	Nick
Lisa Ann Walter	...	Dolores
Beth Littleford	...	Barbara
David Koechner	...	Frightened Dad
Matt Walsh	...	Not for Pot Driver
Janet Varney	...	Attractive Woman Driver
Lisa Lampanelli	...	Ronnie's Mom
Billy O'Neill	...	Dean (as Bill O'Neill)
Shaun Weiss	...	Bus Driver
Jordan Valacich	...	Cute Girl on Stairs (as Jordan Valley)

Also Known As:

Drillbit Taylor: Budget Bodyguard (USA) (poster title)

MPAA:

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

Runtime:

110 min | 102 min (original version)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital | SDDS

Certification:

Australia:PG | Singapore:PG | Ireland:12A | Netherlands:12 | UK:12A | Canada:14A (Ontario) | Canada:G (Quebec) | Canada:PG (Alberta/British Columbia/Manitoba) | USA:PG-13 (certificate #43502) | Germany:12 | Sweden:11 | Malaysia:U | South Korea:12 | Spain:13 | Finland:K-13 | Argentina:13 | New Zealand:PG | Iceland:10 | Iceland:12 (DVD rating)

Filming Locations:

3rd Street Promenade, Santa Monica, California, USA

Company:

Paramount Pictures

Trivia:

Adam Baldwin has a cameo as a bodyguard being interviewed. During the interview, he comments on how stupid it is for a bodyguard to protect kids from bullies, while wearing an identical costume to the one he wore in the movie My Bodyguard (1980) where he played a bodyguard to protect a fellow student from a bully. Baldwin still owns the jacket he wore in My Bodyguard and convinced Steven Brill to let him wear it.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: When the Tiger Services bodyguard is being interviewed and puts his hand in the cup of coffee from another table, the smoke moves out of the cup and down, although real coffee smoke/steam would just go up.

Quotes:

Ryan: Remember what that douche bag Drillbit taught us? Mind over Pain!

Movie Connections:

References Crocodile Dundee (1986)

Fairly average but still enjoyable

There's not much new you can really do with a high school comedy, but at least the notion of Owen Wilson playing a jakey posing as a bodyguard promises a few laughs and a half.

It's a decent enough family comedy, and there are a few laugh out loud moments, but they're spread too thin to make this a classic jape. The 3 bullied teens are hugely likable though, and Wilson has such an easygoing charm that it's difficult not to enjoy it, even if he does work better when he's got a proper sparring partner to riff off.

The end result is likable without being lovable, funny without being hilarious and enjoyable without being particularly memorable.