Drillbit Taylor
Rated: PG-13
Runtime: 1 hour, 42 minutes
Directed by: Steven Brill
Starring:
Owen Wilson - Drillbit Taylor
Nate Hartley - Wade
Troy Gentile - Ryan
David Dorfman - Emmit
Leslie Mann - Lisa
Danny McBride - Don
I wish someone had told director Steven Brill that tonality and timing matter because clearly he was unaware of their importance when he made Drillbit Taylor. If you have a solid co-writer in Seth Rogen and a genius co-producer in Judd Apatow and a cast that can clearly deliver when paired with the right material, then the failure lies with the director, who manages to trip over every punchline and drain every bit of charm from this potentially funny comedy.
Super-dorks Wade, Ryan, and Emmit decide to hire a bodyguard to fend off two overly-sadistic bullies who, were this not a comedy, would probably turn these dorks into the Trenchcoat Mafia rather than courageous nerds. Thankfully, there's homeless con-man Drillbit Taylor (Owen Wilson) who tricks the boys into thinking he's an ex-bodyguard when really he and his homeless pals just want to rob the kids and their families blind. But then Drillbit starts spending more time with the kids and grows to genuinely care about them. Awwww.
Unfortunately, any potential this film had was drained by the absolutely incompetent editing. The film spends far too long showing us the lengths at which the dorks are tormented, too long showing Drillbit training the kids while actually teaching them nothing of value, and screws up the timing of just about every joke. I walked out of the film thinking it needed to be at least twenty minutes shorter but then I realized that such a trim would make the film about eighty minutes, which is barely suitable for the most of ADD of G-rated family films.
Drillbit Taylor is a frustrating film because it's one where a competent editor would have succeeded and instead, it's like some funhouse mirror where we see some grotesque distortion of a good comedy.
Words by
Matt Goldberg
3.26.08