Youngsters who were forbidden to watch last year’s
R-rated “Superbad” now have the opportunity to make amends for their loss with a cleaner in language movie that focuses on a similar theme: “Drillbit
Taylor.”
Coming from writer Seth Rogen and producer Judd Apatow, the
102-minute comedy approaches the problems of three outsiders, who find
themselves the targets of a bully.
It’s the first day of high-school and every student acknowledges
that the beginning of this period will depict how their years of high-school
will look like. This perspective is even more worrying for Ryan (Troy Gentile)
and Wade (Nate Hartley), two geeks who form a peculiar group, one overweight, and
the other on the verge of flying, blown by the wind. They also include
super-dork Emmit (David Dorfman) in their ‘gang.’
The main enemy of every geek is obviously a bully and Ryan,
Wade and Emmit are in no lack of foes. Ruthless tough guys Filkins (Alex Frost)
and his pal (Josh Peck) promise them from the very beginning that there is no
way out from their punches. Though they earn the sympathy of other freaks, they
fail to do the same thing with the school’s Principal Doppler (Stephen Root) or
Wade’s stepfather, a former bully himself.
This is why our protagonists start looking for a protector,
reminding us of another movie, 1980’s “My Bodyguard.” After a desperate search,
the trio finds Drillbit (played by a freshly returned Owen Wilson), who creates
a savior's aura around him, claiming that he is a professional soldier of fortune
and invoking experience in a top secret military project.
Drillbit is in fact a seeker of fortune, who will make every
effort to leave his present homelessness on the Santa
Monica beaches for Canada.
In order to accomplish his goal, he uses his hero-image and while teaching the
three some self-defense strategies, he will also steal valuable objects from
their homes.
The protector watches the boys’ backs undercover,
making everybody think that he is a substitute at school, including the English
teacher (played by Leslie Mann) with whom he makes out from time to time.
As it happens in most movies, the dissimulator starts to
like the three freaks and, corroborated with his English teacher love interest,
his qualities and good feelings start to surface and his initial plan begins to
fade. Drillbit will have to overcome some cognitive dissonances, engendered by
his homeless friend Don (Danny McBride) who tries to make him forget about sympathy, empathy, friendship and other human feelings.
Even though the confrontation scenes are a lot more violent
rather than funny, Owen Wilson saves some of the intended amusement, making a
good act in the movie, especially with his deadpan expressions. Let’s not
forget that it is the first production in which he gets involved after his
August alleged suicide attempt. Although he soon made a full recovery after the sad
incident, he had been keeping a low profile for several months, keeping away
from the media and leaving behind his partying habits. His performance as
Drillbit is as remarkable as his courage to overcome this past episode and he
should get the most of credit for the movie.
No matter how much feedback and encouragement geeks need in order to
face the bullies, we still think that “Drillbit” remains a bit clichéd, making
a retrospective of a series of movies including “My Bodyguard,” “Knocked Up,”
and obviously “Superbad,” whose script was written by the same Seth Rogen.
However successful and funny all these may have been, a recap of them won’t guarantee
a remarkable amount of laughs from the audience.
Movie Type: Comedy
MPAA Rating: PG-13
Directed By:Steven Brill
Cast: Owen Wilson, Alex Frost, Matt Gallini, Troy Gentile, Nate Hartley
Released: March 21st, 2008 (wide)
