Drillbit Taylor Extended Survival Edition
Filed Under: Film, Reviews | Article Tags : DVD review
By: The Dweeb
July 2008
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The endless recycling of creative material almost never ends with Hollywood doesn’t it. Owen Wilson stars in this rehashed comedy that is similar in nature to the classic 80′s film My Bodyguard. But its not entirely rehashed, Bodyguard was a drama and dealt seriously with the problem of dealing with bullys in school. In fact the film pays homage to the original with a cameo by Adam Baldwin (the actor who was the original bodyguard). Was it funny? Sure it has its moments, but for most of the film its fairly mindless, and allows Owen ample opportunity to ham it up for the audience. The premise of the film is fairly simple, nerdy boys are picked on by bullies starting their first day of high school. Nerdy boys hire a bum (unbeknownst to the boys) who claims he will protect and teach them ways to defend themselves while just milking them for money. As movie goes on, boys discover he is a fraud and in the process learn to fend for themselves. Predictable, it almost certainly is but still somewhat entertaining.
Owen as Drillbit Taylor is not stretching it by any means. He is his usual slacker persona with major issues confronting violence added in. That’s the joke, he’s not really a violent guy and in fact gets his own ass kicked repeatedly, which gets old really fast. He can’t stand the thought of having to fight someone, he’s only in it for the money. He’s a homeless bum with no outlook on what he wants to do with himself, he’s just trying to go north. Eventually he scams his way into becoming a teacher, which actually provides some of the films funniest moments. But the in school tryst with another teacher (Leslie Mann) could have been removed as it didn’t add much to the main storyline. Of course being married to the producer of the film mandated she gets a role in here somewhere, but I digress. Owen can hold his own in a movie, as most of his body of work comprises of ensemble casts usually so its a slight departure for him. His interaction with his younger actors works fairly well.
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peaking of young actors, our three hapless freshmen are of course the main focus of the film. Receiving their daily beatings, these three schmucks (portrayed by Nate Hartley, Troy Gentile, David Dorfman) endure something beyond cruel and unusual from their tormentors. As usual, school administrators and parents turn a blind eye to their plights. With the eventual no help from Drillbit, they learn to fend for themselves, sort of. That rap off scene with Ryan and main bully Filkins (Alex Frost) was really awful though, almost to the point of hitting the chapter forward button. But in general for kids, they turn in a decent comedic performance. The physical comedy is good, and it tends to stray into the brutal zone at times. Hope no one gets any ideas from this.
This edition of the film is the whole enchilada. Not only is it an extended version, it also has a surprising amount of extra materials as well. Its not going to be some super mega edition but for a film like this it will do. There are some nice little mini documentaries and gag reels, although the Line-O -rama thing could have been folded into the gag reels as it was just a bunch of outtakes. What I don’t get is the conversation with the writers which was a recorded phone call. Uh hello, this is a visual medium, not talk radio. It was an odd thing to have on there.
Its not completely my cup of tea, but for some mindless comedy it might be worth a shot if nothing else compels you.
Reviewer’s Opinion: RENT IT!!
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