Owen Wilson's latest comedy is the Judd Apatow produced, Drillbit Taylor (PG-13). Wilson stars as the aforementioned title character and gets contracted out to protect three “geeky” high school freshmen (Nate Hartley, Troy Gentile and David Dorfman) from a demented bully. Initially Wilson's only in it for the scam but eventually succumbs to the charm of the three high school students.
Ryan: For those hoping for another high-quality comedy from the Judd Apatow machine then one is going to be in for some disappointment. Drillbit Taylor is certainly not as bad as many of the low-brow comedies that gets cranked out of Hollywood on a weekly basis but it is definitely not up to the standard that Apatow and company have set for themselves. With its similarity to Superbad (with a story centering around three high school dorks) the movie lacks some originality. But even more unfortunate it lacks the comedic touch of Superbad.
Andy: It's hard to characterize Drillbit Taylor as anything but a letdown. It's too bad, because the concept is a pretty decent one. It's basically Superbad for thirteen and fourteen year olds. The kids actually look the age they are supposed to be and the course language they banter back and forth with is somewhat realistic. But pretty much every aspect of the plot is unrealistic or simply dumb. Add to that the fact that the title character is a boring, watered down version of characters we've seen Wilson play time and time again, and you've got a movie that doesn't bring much to the table.
Ryan: We have documented throughout this column that we like Owen Wilson. He's made some fantastic films but--and I believe Andy would agree with me--Wilson's also made some pretty low-quality movies. For every high quality Wes Anderson movie there's a The Big Bounce. For every Wedding Crashers there's a You, Me and Dupree. What I'm saying is that even though Wilson is always enjoyable to watch on screen his movies are far from being automatic comedic gems. While I admire Wilson's unique comedic persona one never knows what kind of film one's going to get when Wilson stars in a movie.
Andy: I'd say that's spot-on analysis of Wilson's career thus far. Considering the talent involved in this one, it looked like it had potential. Obviously that potential was not lived up to. Don't get me wrong, there were some very laughable moments in the movie, and it was impressive how much it pushed the boundaries of its PG-13 rating. It is a generally entertaining movie, but it's really just not very good.
Ryan: One of the biggest issues with Drillbit Taylor is the uneven tone of the film's story. The three high school kids not only look like real high school students but act like it as well. This lends authenticity to the movie. Regrettably this clashes with the absurdness of basically everything else going on in the movie. One never fully grasps what Wilson's character is really all about. Worst of all the entire bully storyline and portrayal is so over-the-top (as well as being completely ridiculous) one knows how the film is going to turn out within the first thirty minutes of the movie.
Andy: Along the same lines, the movie was structured in a sloppy way. In spite of the title, the movie is really about the three high school kids. So pretty much every scenes that shows Wilson's Drillbit character on his own is a little awkward and seems mostly unnecessary. And as the story plays out according to stereotype, the viewer gets more and more bored with the plot.
Drillbit Taylor has several amusing moments, but never really gets off the ground. Final grade: C.
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