By Catherine Sodano
Paramount Pictures proudly presents “Drillbit Taylor,” where the messiah of all comedy, Owen Wilson, fails to disappoint audiences by playing Drillbit Taylor in this slapstick comedy. There is no deep, intricate plotline; yet the movie is fully worth the admission money. Director Steven Brill produced this movie, among many other hilarious blockbuster hits, such as “Knocked Up,” “Mr. Deeds,” “Joe Dirt,” “Big Daddy” and all of “The Mighty Ducks” movies. His experience in the industry surges through onscreen. With humorous taglines and memorable quotes, Brill added the quintessential elements needed to craft a hit.
The plotline goes as follows: three high school boys were in the midst of being bullied around at school and were in need of devising some kind of scheme to keep the bully afar. Sound intriguing? Well, the kids go through a series of interviews to find the right protector. They finally came upon Drillbit Taylor, provides comedic relief through the duration of the movie. Drillbit was the cheapest mercenary they found, and it grew obvious to the boys that he was the right match to their inquiry. They were quite the motley crew, consisting of painfully skinny Wade, Ryan, an anxiety ridden chubby freshman and a skimpy follower, Emmit, whom have all joined together to unite as a posse with Drillbit. The boys revered the idea of high school being the best four years of their lives, and it turned into a daily torture chamber, in which they were desperate to escape.
The corny funny lines in the movie made it what it was; who wants a comedy without the corny humor to top it off? Drillbit Taylor is a martial arts enthusiast and did not hesitate to threaten outsiders by using himself as a human weapon. The kids found him enthralling and inspiring. Their indecisiveness about school ends when they return with their new bodyguard in toe.
Initially, Drillbit promised the kids the world, describing himself as steel, strong, threatening and dangerous; however when the cards were down, his self-description was a complete farce. The superficial, pseudo image that he portrayed of himself grew detectable to the kids and it was then up to him to prove himself edge-wise and show them that he was not a total pushover. The school bully did not have his work cut out for him, and laughed in Drillbit’s presence. Does the gang formulate a plan to conquer the school bully and override their high school fears? Or does Drillbit Taylor live up to the fraud he made himself out to be? In short, this movie definitely was enthralling for all those who admire a comedic movie. The role he played did not vary much from his previous roles in other movies, which is forgivable considering he personifies the perfect character for lead roles in comedies. The three high school boys in the movie gave the little extra touch the movie needed to succeed in the box office. They outshone Wilson in his performance, and their sincerity and comedic timing correlated perfectly alongside Wilson in the movie.
