Drillbit Taylor (2008)

Three kids hire a low-budget bodyguard to protect them from the playground bully.

Director:

Steven Brill

Writers:

Kristofor Brown (screenplay), Seth Rogen (screenplay),

Stars:

Nate Hartley, Owen Wilson, Alex Frost

1 win & 2 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Nate Hartley	...	Wade
Troy Gentile	...	Ryan
Ian Roberts	...	Jim
Owen Wilson	...	Drillbit Taylor
Casey Boersma	...	Chuck
Dylan Boersma	...	Nick
Lisa Ann Walter	...	Dolores
Beth Littleford	...	Barbara
David Koechner	...	Frightened Dad
Matt Walsh	...	Not for Pot Driver
Janet Varney	...	Attractive Woman Driver
Lisa Lampanelli	...	Ronnie's Mom
Billy O'Neill	...	Dean (as Bill O'Neill)
Shaun Weiss	...	Bus Driver
Jordan Valacich	...	Cute Girl on Stairs (as Jordan Valley)

Storyline

Homeless veteran Bob 'Drillbit' Taylor manages to enjoy life anyhow and even saves some cash for his dream, an 'all-paid' move to Alaska, even if that may take many years. His dream comes within reach when clever nerd Wade, has fat friend Ryan 'T-dog' and cocky shrimp Jim, all new to junior high-school, are bullied so badly by emancipated Filkins and his buddies that they advertise for a bodyguard. Only Drillbit seems affordable and not crazy, so he's hired and drains their pocket-money and home content. He's clueless how to protect them but gives them (bogus) self-defense classes.

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Plot Keywords:

bodyguard | bully | nerd | reference to blade runner | fat kid | 

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Taglines:

You get what you pay for.

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Genres:

Comedy

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for crude sexual references throughout, strong bullying, language, drug references and partial nudity

Details

Official Sites:

Official site Paramount [fr]

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

21 March 2008 (USA)

Also Known As:

Drillbit Taylor: Budget Bodyguard

Filming Locations:

3rd Street Promenade, Santa Monica, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$40,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

£724,738 (UK) (28 March 2008)

Gross:

$32,853,640 (USA) (13 June 2008)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Paramount Pictures, Apatow Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

110 min 102 min (original)

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital SDDS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Adam Baldwin has a cameo as a bodyguard being interviewed. During the interview, he comments on how stupid it is for a bodyguard to protect kids from bullies, while wearing an identical costume to the one he wore in the movie My Bodyguard where he played a bodyguard to protect a fellow student from a bully. Baldwin still owns the jacket he wore in My Bodyguard and convinced Steven Brill to let him wear it.

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Goofs

When Wade approaches Brooke during lunch there is a girl in a pink top sitting next to Brooke. In the next cut the girl in pink is no longer sitting there. There are two other girls sitting on the opposite side of the table as Brooke so that Wade can sit down.

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Quotes

Ronnie: Holy crap, you guys are retarded!

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Crazy Credits

The end credits show a scene of a kid walking into the nurses office asking for help (similar to what Drillbit did when he got punched). Drillbit appears as the school nurse, who then asks the kid who punched him and promising him it will "never happen again".

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Connections

Features Fight Club (1999)

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Soundtracks

"Happy Birthday To You"
Written by Mildred J. Hill and Patty S. Hill

User Reviews

I actually liked it

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.