Drillbit Taylor (2008)

Drillbit Taylor follows three tormented friends who desire protection from absolutely anyone to prevent a vicious schoolyard bully from initiating more chaos. However, Taylor must decide between exploiting his services for money meanwhile protecting his identity, the boys, and blending into the school despite being known as an annoying lurker, thief, and beggar.It's no surprise Taylor has a complicated situation but it's merely his fault as with the outcomes among his relationships, interactions, and impending consequences. This especially applies to the main characters who aren't capable defending themselves or being believed when a dangerous individual consistently stalks, harasses, and morbidly abuses them.Despite the film's major efforts to maintain the attention span of its viewers, it struggles to balance comedy, drama, and romance with a seemingly disjointed runtime with some elongated scenes. While some parts are humorous with cheerful moments, others are however dependent on certain characters and subplots that are either useless, unresolved, or unprepared.But so was Drillbit since throughout the film he has a questionable demeanor towards everybody by appearing more as a selfish treacherous recluse than a trustworthy bodyguard, friend, and overall fellow. His actions spoke louder than his monotonous speeches and proved he either deserved what horrific things happened to him or seeking another source to satisfy his greed would be worthwhile.Aside the ridiculous nature with many questionable scenes, the film isn't terrible enough to not be enjoyed but not great enough to be better than what was created. There's some shallowness to the story, as with many characters, at the fault of the conjoined storytelling from three writers including Seth Rogen and John Hughes. The potential to elaborate the effects of bullying and outright menacing behavior by bullies while strategically merging it through comedy and drama are sometimes flat and dishonest. At times it desires being crass and sinister while being lighthearted and romantic but ultimately unbalancing everything due to its restraints on content. Audiences are expected to root for the strangely unlikable Drillbit, and the three hopeless victims, but their relationships remained crucially underdeveloped and sidetracked by other nonsense. It's like watching a fight where nobody is truly harmed until it's either too late or demanded by unsatisfied viewers.As the viewers, the protagonists desired vengeance but were given unreliable protection.

I'll admit it in advance: I'm a real sucker for underdog movies. I know they're predictable, I know they rehash old ideas, I know they could probably be written by robots, but I honestly don't mind any of that. When the plot even vaguely steers towards weird outcasts getting some sort of revenge, I'll see it. So from the start on "Drillbit Taylor" couldn't do that much wrong for me, but that doesn't mean it doesn't have anything else going for it. The acting for instance is pretty good as well, the young cast manages to be pretty likable. I especially liked the kid who tried to be Seth Rogen, that's a cool example to have. The writing is also pretty clever, it piles up clichés but the execution of these tired plot lines couldn't be better. Even the unavoidable love subplots sorta work in this one. Sorta. "Drillbit Taylor" isn't what you'd call great, but it's a wonderful little time-waster.

I have to admit that I didn't expect ANYTHING good from this one. The title is atrocious, the posters are lame, and the plot outline is mediocre. What could you expect?!The truth is that "Drillbit Taylor" is a dark comedy oriented for kids and teens.I mean "dark" because it deals with a hobo that lives a life of crime. Suddenly he's hired as the bodyguard of three wimpy kids.Also, the movie tells the traumatic and truth about being bullied and how hard school is when you're not popular.There are really funny bits and the typical clichés. The final "fight" could be considered the highlight of the movie.The kids got on my nerves. I don't like Owen Wilson but he's great when he plays Owen Wilson.The dialogs are sometimes funny and sometimes just stupid. Guess that's the tone the director wanted.

If you watched this movie and at the end DIDN'T know why kids went on shooting rampages back around the turn of the century and commit suicide now, then you are completely ignorant to bullying in schools and the effect it has on victims.I first saw this a couple years ago as a lead in for a special showing of the Get Smart reboot, and I was ready to walk out less than a half hour of this thing starting and not come back for Get Smart.It showcases the things that bullying victims often go through: a relentless tormentor, parents who are unwilling to listen to their problems or refuse to believe them, and a school that refuses to defend the victims, even at times SIDING WITH the bully. It also shows the desperation that victims go to in hiring someone to protect them because NO ONE else will.The three kids tried to do the right thing until the point where Owen Wilson comes in. They tried to deal with the problem themselves, to talk to their parents, and to the school administrators. What they did and went through is a reflection of what bullying victims go through, in that they see no out from their problems and try to resolve it in the worst way. This movie tries to make light of people who are victimized and whatever moral the writers were shooting for was LOST.The bully at the end got what was coming to him to a point: He was just arrested and shipped off for his parents to deal with; but there was no real punishment shown, which is the giant flaw of Apatow and Hughes' work. If a person (the antagonist) has gotten to the point where they're torturing students and manipulating adults into thinking that his actions are pure, then he cannot be simply "fixed" by his parents punishing him. He is a psychopath.It is sad that this is John Hughes' last film, as it is a sour note to go out on. 1/10, and it's only because I can't give it a 0/10.