Drillbit Taylor

Judd Apatow and company are cash cows and Drillbit Taylor is the first movie out to really prove that they have the golden touch. See, the script and story for this movie have been floating around since the eighties. Eighties giant John Hughes started writing it back in the day and with studios trying to make as much money as possible off Apatow and his troupe, they gave the script to Seth Rogen to polish off, punch up, and turn it into a big winner. That was the hope anyway. Then they gave the script to a director who handles broad comedy fairly well having directed a few Sandler flicks in the past, put Apatow's name as a producer and sat back to wait for the money to roll in. Then Owen Wilson tried to kill himself. I do not mean to sound insensitive but his reluctance to get back in the swing of promotion kind of hurt the movie's chances, but did it really have a shot to begin with?

Drillbit Taylor(Wilson) is a homeless Army Vet looking for $380.00 so he can leave California and go to Canada. Wade(Nate Hartley), Ryan(Troy Gentile) and Jim(Ian Roberts) are three high school freshmen with a serious bully problem. The bully, Filkins(Alex Frost) is an emancipated senior with serious issues. In a montage of bullying the 3 losers are thrown, hit, flushed, crammed into small spaces, made to piss each other etc. They get fed up and decide to hire a bodyguard; enter Drillbit. At first Drillbit is just trying to to sucker the kids out of $380.00 but soon he realizes they are worth more to he sticks around to swindle them out of more money. As part of his protection plan he pretends to be a substitute teacher and meets Lisa(Leslie Mann) a very horny English teacher. In various montages, Drillbit pretends to teach the kids how to fight and how to look and feel tough. But, in the end the kids do have to fend for themselves as the usual trappings of such a comedy expose Drillbit as a fraud and the kids to fight Filkins on their own. There is also a sweet side romance between Wade and a Little Asian girl.

Typically with comedies I loathe or love them; there is no middle ground. Well, Drillbit Taylor finds that middle ground. It is funny enough to make me like it, but too broad and absurd for me to love it. The three kids, especially the pudgy Troy Gentile, are all quite endearing and funny. Rogen punched up the script with some nice one-liners including 1 or 2 that seem for a more adult movie. Owen Wilson is his usual charming self and he finds a way to deliver lines to make them funnier than they ought to be. He works very well with the 3 kids, but it is something Wilson plays often and it would be nice to see him try something new. Unfortunately most of the jokes come in the first 35-40 minutes and the fun action comedy comes in the final 20 minutes which leaves the middle 35 minutes in which the film flounders. Neither the script nor the director seem too sure where they want the focus to be. Drillbit is essentially a supporting role that over stays its welcome because the kids are at the real heart of the movie. The romance between Mann and Wilson is fun and nice but seems out of place and only succeeds in dragging the movie along instead of having it be quicker.

The movie is also very sitcomy with the treatment of parents and teachers. No one question Filkins fake pleasantries even after it is found out the kids went so far as to hire a bodyguard for protection. Also, how not a single teacher suspected Taylor might be a fraud is too convenient to be taken seriously. But it all ends up worth it for the big climatic fight. yes, the fight does happen and for anyone who was bullied (like I was) there is a twisted joy out of watching 3 losers try and pummel a bully. The fight is choreographed very well with pauses for cheers and laughs and the kids all handle it very well. Also, there is never a moment of "violence doesn't solve anything" nonsense, so the movie is never hypocritical as many movies are. In this movie violence is not only necessary but it can help freshmen grow up and learn to have self esteem.

In the end, I laughed full on big laughs for the first section and I was entertainingly cheering on the kids in the end, so I think the movie accomplished its goal. I am sure it will be compared to Superbad because of the look of the 3 kids, but this is obviously not Superbad and anyone expecting that will be disappointed. However, if you just want to kind of laugh at some goofy kids in goofy situations, I recommend this movie. It has heart; it has laughs and it has a fat white kid rapping 8 mile style. What is not to like about that?

Final Grade: B-