Drillbit Taylor DVD Review
Owen Wilson Stars in Failed Comedy Lacking Bite
The second film having been released since Owen Wilson's highly publicized personal problems (and alleged suicide attempt last August 2007), Drillbit Taylor is a barely passable comedy, burdened by its star's rehashed antics, which doesn't help the film at all.
The Plot
Three teenage kids, overweight aspiring rapper Ryan (Troy Gentile), skinny yet determined Wade (Nate Hartley) and diminutive Emmett (David Dorfman), are eager to start fresh on the first day of their high school careers. Unfortunately, they never planned on crossing paths with local menace Filkins (Alex Frost), the school's most feared and anger-fueled delinquent. After several run-ins with this villain, the trio decides to post an online ad for a paid bodyguard to come to their rescue. Their only (affordable) hope? Drillbit Taylor, alleged ex Army Ranger and martial arts master, in fact a conniving homeless drifter who went AWOL from the Armed Forces on his second day in the field. The movie develops the relationship between the three kids and their saviour, who is only looking to help them out in order to gain enough money to head for Canada, perhaps finding a few lootable items in the process.
Problems with Drillbit Taylor as a Premise
The main problem with this movie is its attempt to convincingly provide an endearing character in the titular role. However, Owen Wilson's usual schtick of faux zen wisdom only hurts the final product. Whereas this worked for him in projects such as Armageddon, Zoolander and Shanghai Noon, this time you can almost feel his younger stars looking at their watches, as Wilson goes through his paces, building up his own hype to try and come off as an effective bodyguard. This would normally be played for laughs, however most of his supporting cast can't help him steer this ship back onto its proper course.
The producers can't be blamed for the failure of this film. An effective script treatment by current beloved comedy figurehead Seth Rogen and his writing partner Kristofor Brown, could have provided this flick with a decent chance at big laughs, if put in the right hands. Instead, one feels that the casting is to blame, rather than the film's execution.
The picture boasts other comedic talents such as Stephen Root (Newsradio) and supporting player Danny McBride, however neither of them are given enough material to make a distinctive mark on their own.
Leslie Mann (a.k.a. The Love Interest) had some success in her last few Seth Rogen related projects (namely 40-Year Old Virgin and Knocked Up), unfortunately in this film she is reduced to a handful of scenes with Owen Wilson, yet she too has very little to work with. You almost wish Seth Rogen had been available to star in this movie himself, rather than pass it on to who came next.
Fun Fact: Ultimate Fighting Championship veteran Chuck Liddell appears in a tongue-in-cheek cameo as one of the several bodyguard applicants who interview for the position.
Drillbit Taylor DVD Extras
Despite its thespian shortcomings, the DVD does offer several extras. The usual gag reel is always appreciated, as is the insightful audio commentary by the director, co-writer and youthful cast members. There are a number of deleted/extended scenes offered as a bonus, though most of them were useless or downright slow, and were removed form theatrical release with good cause. The best feature is a short yet informative audio segment starring Seth Rogen and co-writer Kristofor Brown, where they discuss the many ideas they had for this film in the production stage. This brief glimpse into the creative process provided a fairly accurate Hollywood look into how the greatest of ideas do not always translate well to the big screen. Again it's a pity that this movie didn't benefit from having a more involved star who didn't bring so much baggage to the project.
