Drillbit Taylor (2008)

User Rating:

6.0/10   

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 | Nerd | House Party | Large House

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)

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:

This is the second movie Owen Wilson and Leslie Mann have been in together, the other being The Cable Guy (1996).

Goofs:

Audio/visual unsynchronized: In the fight scene at the end when Filkins throws the soda can at Ryan, the can is unopened. However, when the can hits Ryan, it makes the sound of an empty soda can.

Quotes:

[repeated line]
Drillbit Taylor: Hoorah!

Movie Connections:

References First Blood (1982)

Owen Wilson: Army of One

It's been a while since I wrote one of these but thanks mainly to Owen Wilson for another hilarious (yes and interchangeable) role, this movie was funny enough to get motivated once again.

The premise is obviously pretty simple and has been done before in both bodyguard and teen movies (Superbad and My Bodyguard come to mind...duh). The beauty of this movie it combines the two genres with Owen Wilson's natural comedic talent and three capable younger actors resulting in a mostly funny comedy that is unique from the rest.

There was an interesting metaphor contained in one of the trailers showing Drillbit telling the kids he's taking them under his wing. The reason I say this is interesting is because this is how it mostly worked for the movie's humor. It took almost 15 minutes for it to really get started. Don't get me wrong, there were some funny parts that didn't involve him like the bodyguard interviews (gotta love Frank Whaley's cameo), Ryan's rap off with the bully and the two hitting each other but the biggest laughs for me were from Owen Wilson. To be fair though, Owen was at his best when the kids were involved. I loved the way he approached this "job" with one part seriousness, one part B.S. and two parts hilarious. I was dying when he was holding up that kid's burning popsicle stick project up to the sprinklers and just the general training conversations just to illustrate that recipe.

Overall, this storyline was nothing brilliant but as in You Me and Dupree, Owen Wilson manages to take something that could be rather mediocre turning it into an enjoyable and endearing comedy. True, he really didn't do it by himself as I'd try to make you believe. I mean the way the bullies were portrayed was a very convincing and effective factor that helped sell this one as well and who could forget the lovely Leslie Mann in an interesting and sometimes funny romantic subplot. To sum it all up, if you liked the trailers you're going to like this movie. And a shout to all the people who replied in my thread that convinced me to go myself. You were right.