Drillbit Taylor

I recently went to see the sneak preview Tuesday, going in I thought it'll be so-so in the humor department. This isn't a smart make you think comedy, but it had heart in the right places and it was very funny none the less. It has a few plot holes, but nothing too obvious to the viewer.

I really enjoyed watching the characters, Owen Wilson is really great at these types of comedies. In the end though I've got to say that the kids they casted really stole the show. They fit their roles perfectly.

In the end all I can say is that this movie is redemption for geeky fresh meat everywhere.

Gosh. Forget that this was a flop, and you simply cannot enjoy it in any way. And forget that you simply cannot watch this desperately lost character without reflecting on the actor.

Instead follow this as another in the Hughes-inspired genre, where the story matters less that the cleanliness of the stereotypes. That's really what this is all about. It innovates not at all in the whiny simpy Jew, and earnest fat kid, and that's too bad because we could well be rid of them. But it does innovate a bit in the bully (who is here not a jock), the love interest (here a bespeckled Asian girl), and of course with the Wilson character.

Its in this experiment that the film relies and fails. There's this oft-used balance between mental unbalance and the fantasy of the ideal. Depp does this well, with perhaps the touchstone being his Brando-inspired Don Juan DeMarco. I may have seen a score of popular movies in the last year that use this. My own central reference is "They Might Be Giants."

But in order for this to work, you have to yearn for the fantasy yourself. You want K-Pax. You want romance, clarity, purity. I suppose it could work for fidelity and family as they try here, but not by the route they chose. I guess they simply banked on Owen being inspired and charming us independently of the character box they put him in. That's what the love interest here is for: to be our surrogate watcher, one who accepts.

Ted's Evaluation -- 1 of 3: You can find something better to do with this part of your life.

I fully intended to not like this movie. I received free tickets from work and took my two boys because I thought they would like it. Owen Wilson was funny and sweet (and looks pretty good naked!) I didn't recognize the three young boys but they were great in their roles. Owen Wilson and Josh Peck were the only two actors I recognized. But I can see the other three boys being cast in other movies like this. They were believable in their roles (as much as the idea of kid's hiring bodyguards could be, on par with missing the plane and staying HOME ALONE. I was pleasantly surprised. All of the actors were great and I was surprised at how the time flew. The ending surprised me it wasn't what I expected at all! I would definitely recommend this movie. Enjoy!

Drillbit Taylor is the latest Apatow/Frat Pack movie. It isn't great and it isn't awful. Rogen's screenplay disappointed me, he did such a good job on Superbad. This movie will be compared to Superbad and rightfully so. It basically serves as a prelude to Superbad. Owen Wilson does his usual. Wilson's charm and improv skills keep this movie afloat. I think that if this movie was rated R it would have fared better with reviews and box office performance. Overall though its a must see for Frat Pack fans and Wilson fans. I also wish Owen well in his upcoming projects and i hope he is well on the road to recovery.

6/10

I'm one of those "indie-films-or-bust" type of people (with my favorite movies ranging from Amelie to the Darjeeling Limited), so when I saw the preview for Drillbit Taylor, it was an immediate turn-off for me. I saw it as boob, nuts, and ass jokes (aka crude teenage humor) and I was not excited to see it. However, an opportunity arose to see the movie well before it came out and I took the chance to see it.

To my great surprise, I thoroughly enjoyed the movie to its fullest. Sure Owen Wilson is funny, but the kids stole the show. The crude humor was left to a minimum and the funniest lines were the really subtle ones that almost everyone missed. This movie had heart and a good message (which you don't normally see in mainstream teenage movies *excluding Juno*). Although I know it's probably not gonna make huge headlines, I feel like this movie needs more recognition than it's gonna get. I want to see this movie go big, and I'm excited to see what people say about it. So take it from me, it's funny and it's not disappointing.