Drillbit Taylor

Year of Release: 2008
Genre: Teen / Comedy
Rating: PG-13 for crude sexual references, strong bullying, language, drug references and partial nudity.
Director: Steven Brill
Starring: Owen Wilson, Leslie Mann, Troy Gentile, Nate Hartley, David Dorfman, Alex Frost, Stephen Root, Adam Baldwin

Date Of Review: April 2008

Do you remember a teen movie from 1980 called “My Bodyguard”? Well if you do, this film will work as a nice throwback to the 1980s, a nostalgia trip of sorts for lovers of that classic little film. However, while “My Bodyguard” was a teen film with a big heart and a certain believability factor, “Drillbit Taylor” is straight down the line broad comedy with a certain un-believability factor that somehow takes away from some of the fun. Nevertheless, “Drillbit Taylor” is a fairly harmless teen comedy with some genuine belly laughs, a school bully that resembles a young John Cusack and all-round good performances from the young teens.  The plot is fairly simple; three teens hire a low-budget bodyguard to protect them from a school bully and his crony. To add to the fun the bodyguard is not another school student nor is he the kind of skilled professional that one would expect if hiring one. The bodyguard comes in the form of a homeless prankster, played by Owen Wilson ("Wedding Crashers" & "You Me And Dupree") . He’s a likeable bum who lives in the bushes, wears a military jacket, survives on the food in-take of leftovers from coffee shop customers, he showers outside “on full display” using the outdoor amenities at the beach and his income stems from washing car windows of passer-bys.

Owen Wilson is pretty much Owen Wilson in this one and you get the usual laid-back quirky style that you come to expect. All the teens are well-cast and do their bit. Troy Gentile does a good job as the chubby teen and resembles Jonah Hill from “Superbad”. Troy is certainly a youngster on the rise having previously played the young Nacho in “Nacho Libre” and the chubby kid in the 1980s pre-credit sequence of “Good Luck Chuck”.  Leslie Mann who was last seen in “Knocked Up” is somewhat wasted in her small role as the English teacher who becomes Owen Wilson’s love interest. Nevertheless, it’s a big kudos to Leslie as she still somehow manages to sparkle even in a small disposable role such as this.  I have a couple of soar points with the film, the first being its length. At 102 minutes, I felt that it was just a tad too long; 90 minutes would have been a much smoother ride.  The film seems to get a bit bogged down in the middle third. Apart from being too long some of the scenarios were also a little bit too unbelievable for my tastes. I had enough trouble trying to accept Wilson easing into the school system as a relief teacher let alone Wilson’s homeless buddies. Seeing the homeless crew pop up in the school staff room as substitute teachers seemed to push things just a little too far for my liking. 

For some reason while watching “Drillbit Taylor” I couldn’t help but think of last year’s “Superbad”, which by the way is a much better film than this one. For me, “Drillbit Taylor” could almost be considered a prequel of sorts to “Superbad” as the 3 teens in this film seem to resemble the teens in “Superbad”. They kind of look the same and even sound the same, although the profanity level is kept to a minimum in “Drillbit” which makes it much more family friendlier than “Superbad”. Also, it almost feels as if the happenings in this film are what happened to the teens from “Superbad” in their first year of high school, while “Superbad” represents their exploits in their final year of high school. The two films certainly feel connected. It’s interesting to note that “Drillbit Taylor” was co-written by Seth Rogan the man behind “Superbad” so I think that the connection is more than just coincidental. Whatever the case maybe, the two films would probably make a great double-bill experience for fans with “Drillbit Taylor” being the perfect warm-up for “Superbad”.

To my surprise the original bodyguard from “My Bodyguard”, actor Adam Baldwin, even pops up in a cameo in this film. He appears a few times during the sequence in which the teens are job interviewing for a potential bodyguard.  It’s a nice nod and a wink to that earlier film but if you haven’t seen “My Bodyguard” you won’t get the joke.  In fact I think I may have been the only one in the cinema that made a reaction when he came on the screen. Nevertheless, I think it was a great idea to have him pop in for a brief moment and it’s a real talking point for nostalgia buffs. I suppose if the filmmakers wanted to make a lasting connection between the two films they could have used Drillbit's tagline, "Budget Bodyguard" as the film's title, which I actually prefer and feel suits the nature of the film more.

For those that think that this film was shot after Owen Wilson’s health problems it is interesting to note that “Drillbit Taylor” was in fact filmed from September to December 2006. Wilson was taken to hospital in late August 2007, almost 12 months after shooting this film. The finished film wasn’t released in cinemas until March 2008, almost a year and a half after the film was completed and about 6 months after Wilson’s hospitalization.  I would say the release of the film was probably delayed due to Owen Wilson’s health issues, whatever the case may be, its delayed release was good timing as it was able to capitalize on the success of “Superbad” and use it in its marketing. Anyway, it’s nice to see Owen Wilson back on the big screen and I hope he continues to lend his laid-back style to many more comedies in the future. “Drillbit Taylor”, although not a great film does manage to entertain for most of its running time and I am sure that most teenagers will have a fun time lapping-up the lunacy.

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If You Like "Drillbit Taylor" we Recommend these DVDs:

My Bodyguard (1980) [DVD]
Touching story of a frail high school boy who hires a hulking, withdrawn classmate to protect him from the school bullies, and the friendship that develops between the unlikely allies. Chris Makepeace, Adam Baldwin, Matt Dillon, Martin Mull and Ruth Gordon star. 96 min. Standard and Widescreen; Soundtracks: English Dolby Digital Surround, Dolby Digital mono, French Dolby Digital mono; Subtitles: English, Spanish; TV spots; theatrical trailer.

Three O'Clock High (1987) [DVD]
A high school nerd accidentally rouses the ire of the class bully, and now must fight him after school. His mounting anxiety and desperate attempts to avoid the inevitable make for a wild comedy. Casey Siemaszko, Richard Tyson, Stacey Glick, Philip Baker Hall star. 90 min. Widescreen (Enhanced); Soundtracks: English Dolby Digital Surround; Subtitles: Spanish, French; theatrical trailer.

Superbad (2-Disc Unrated Extended Edition) (2007) [DVD]
Hilarious and raunchy, this blockbuster comedy follows high school best friends Seth (Jonah Hill) and Evan (Michael Cera) as they attempt to buy booze for a party attended by their respective dream girls. While their nerdy pal Fogell (Christopher Mintz-Plasse) gets mixed up with a pair of offbeat cops, the duo is thrust into a series of misadventures that force them to confront their separation anxiety over attending different colleges. With Seth Rogen, Bill Hader. Unrated, extended version; 118 min. Widescreen (Enhanced); Soundtracks: English Dolby Digital 5.1, French Dolby Digital 5.1, Spanish Dolby Digital 5.1; Subtitles: English, French, Spanish; extended scenes; deleted scenes; featurettes; more. Two-disc set.

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