We recently watched Drillbit Taylor because it looked like it would be funny because Owen Wilson was in it. My husband and I think he is funny.

Characters

Drillbit Taylor played by Owen Wilson, Wade played by Nate Hartley, Ryan played by Troy Gentile, Emmit played by David Dorfman, Filkins played by Alex Frost, Ronnie played by Josh Peck, Barbara played by Beth Littleford, and Principal Doppler played by Stephan Root.

The Movie

The movie starts with two geeky kids talking to each other on the phone before starting their first day of high school the next morning. Wade is a really skinny kid and Ryan is a fat kid. They are the kind of kids that constantly get picked on at school. They start school the next morning and they are both wearing the same shirt but there isn’t enough time for one of them to back home and change. This can’t be good.

They get to school and they see another kid getting shoved into a locker by the school bullies, Filkins and Ronnie. Wade decides to help this kid which of course only gets the both of them in trouble with the bullies. They make fun of Wade and Ryan because they are wearing the same shirt and called them “Siamese Queers” and shove one of them inside the other’s shirt so that they are wearing only one shirt.

The next day at school, the kid that Wade “saved” from the locker runs up behind them telling them that his name is Emmit and he was going to stick with them. He was also wearing the same shirt that Wade and Ryan were wearing the day before. Ryan wants to get rid of him because he could only make things worse for them---he was right….

Emmit was now always with them and Wade, Ryan, and Emmit were constantly hiding from them and even went to the principal who wasn’t going to do anything. That only made Kilkins all the angrier and made the bullies want to get them even more. They even chased them down in their car running over sidewalks and people’s yards just to get them.

Wade decides it’s time to hire a bodyguard. They interview a bunch of bodyguards that wouldn’t take the little bit of money that the kids had. Drillbit Taylor did of course. He tells the kids that he was in the Army. He is homeless and he needs money to get to Canada but he doesn’t tell the kids that. He tells the kids he needs supplies that can be found in their house. They go to Wade’s house and he starts taking things that he says can be used as weapons. He takes the loot that he got from Wades house and gets money for it. His other homeless friends tell him that he should keep it up with these kids because he could get a whole lot more out of them.

So Drillbit “trains” the kids on how to stand up to the bullies. They use their “training” at school after Drillbit walked them their and left them telling them ”Just because you don’t see me, doesn’t mean that I’m not there”. Of course the kids think he’s always there. Ryan sees that a bunch of kids were rapping in front of the school along with Filkins and Ronnie. Ryan likes to rap and he decided he was going to it to find “common ground” like Drillbit told them to do. It was more of a stand off and reminded me of something like 8 Mile. Ryan said some things that caused trouble with Filkins and Wade stepped in yet again to protect his friend and gets punched. They tell Drillbit and they were mad at them because he wasn’t there. They plan to have Drillbit pretend he is a substitute teacher so that he can be at the school. After he gets to the school, he seems to be a bit more useful. He has a walky talky and he warns them if the bullies are coming. He has a map of the school and all their classes so he can be their watch out.

Drillbit starts talking to an English teacher named Barbara. They start dating because of the lie that he is telling her. No one knows that he is actually homeless and he is not what he says he is. Wade tells Drillbit that he is a friend and that he hopes that they can stay friends even after this whole thing is over with. Now doesn’t that make him feel like an @@@. After all, he is just using them. How long will his little charade last? These kids trust him and he and his friends are planning on robbing Wade’s home. He’s also dating Barbara who thinks he is somebody he is not.

My Opinion

Owen Wilson did a good job at making us laugh. There were some pretty funny parts in this movie but the whole comedy in this movie is Owen Wilson. If you don’t like Owen Wilson, you may not like this movie. The kids were great. They played their parts pretty well. They were actually believable and I felt sorry for them. Owen Wilson played his part well like he always does. He just cracks me up.

I was surprised that Josh Peck was in this movie. We watch Drake and Josh all the time and I couldn’t believe he was playing a bully. It didn’t seem like he fit the part. I’m not saying I didn’t like him because I do, it just didn’t fit. The story was okay to me. There were some times that I felt like I could fall asleep but then I would start laughing about something.

I can’t believe the parents in this movie though. They acted like it wasn’t a big deal that their own kids were being picked on. They felt like they had to take things into their own hands because the principal of the school wasn’t even going to do anything. Filkins was the one that was made out to be the victim. There was a scene when the 3 of them went to talk to the principal and he asked the kids what they called him. They told him and he started to laugh a little and Wade asked him what was funny. He said nothing was funny and that he had never heard “that one” before and proceeded to right it down like he was going to use it himself later.

This movie was okay. It wasn’t great but there were some funny parts. It turned out pretty good though. I give it an average rating but if you like Owen Wilson, it’s worth watching at least once.


Recommended:
Yes

Viewing Format: DVD
Video Occasion: Better than Watching TV
Suitability For Children: Suitable for Children Age 13 and Older