Genres: Comedy Countries: USA Actors: Nate Hartley Wade Troy Gentile Ryan Ian Roberts Jim Owen Wilson Drillbit Taylor Casey Boersma Chuck Dylan Boersma Nick David Koechner Frightened Dad Matt Walsh Not for Pot Driver Billy O'Neill Dean Shaun Weiss Bus Driver David Dorfman Emmit Alex Frost Filkins Josh Peck Ronnie Andrew Caldwell Filkins\' Buddy Vincent Malouf Another Kid Directors: IMDB Rating: 6 out of 10 (6181 votes)

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It’s sad to say but I’d prefer drilling a hole in my toenail to ever sitting through Drillbit Taylor again. It’s that painful. Drillbit Taylor’s a product of the Judd Apatow pack (Apatow produced it, Seth Rogen came up with the story and co-wrote the screenplay with Undeclared writer Kristofor Brown, and Apatow’s wife, Leslie Mann, plays the lead female role), but it definitely doesn’t live up to the gang’s standards. Drillbit Taylor’s Superbad-lite with younger actors, mild language, and far fewer laughs.

The Story

Homeless dude Drillbit Taylor (Owen Wilson) is looking to make some money fast in order to move to Canada. Resourceful and semi-charming, Drillbit applies for a ‘job’ as the bodyguard of three nerdy kids who are being bullied at high school by two guys straight out of Teen Movie Jerks Central Casting. No teachers can control these two hoodlums (in fact, none really even try) and the rest of the student body is either in awe of their power or too scared to do anything other than to watch them pick on kids half their size.

Anyhow, the boys hire Drillbit after interviewing half a dozen potential bodyguards including former Ultimate Fighting Championship light heavyweight champion Chuck Liddell and Adam Baldwin (the original bodyguard from My Bodyguard). His goal is to get paid quickly and get the heck out of Dodge. But as he gets close to the three kids, and close to a perky high school teacher with a thing for losers, Drillbit discovers the real payoff isn’t the cash but the friendship he develops with the boys. Ahhh, how sweet…

The Cast

You have to cut Owen Wilson some slack for being game enough to take on a role that just had to read funnier on the page than it played out onscreen. Wilson tries to infuse the film with a little goofy lightness, but ultimately flounders because there’s just nothing there for him to work with. Leslie Mann normally steals scenes from her co-stars but is completely wasted as the teacher with raging hormones and a broken b.s. detector. The young group of actors…well, they may sort of, semi, if you squint really hard and look at them out of the side of your eye, might look like a young Jonah Hill or Michael Cera, but they just aren’t substitutes for the real guys. And David Dorfman’s no Christopher Mintz-Plasse, and that’s too bad because this film could have really used a little McLovin.

The Bottom Line

Granted, there are a couple of funny moments interspersed in this PG-13 rated film. There’s a rap-off that made me chuckle and there are one or two other scenes that feel fresh and fun. But the main problem is that basically the film doesn’t know where to go with the humor. It’s obviously for kids, but the funniest moments are with the adults. There’s a decent comedy in the adult storylines, had the screenwriters opted to turn the spotlight on Wilson, his homeless buddies, and Wilson’s love interest, but that’s not the film’s focus. In aiming to please young teens, Drillbit Taylor sails wide of the mark. The bottom line is Drillbit Taylor’s just not funny.

Rebecca Murray
Hollywood Movies Guide

Plot Keywords: bodyguard, bully, frat-pack, teacher

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