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:

Owen Wilson, Josh Peck, 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
Bill O'Neill	...	Dean
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 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 | high school | nerd | bully | implied sex | 

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Taglines:

The best bodyguard pocket money can buy.

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama

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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 [France]

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:

$10,309,986 (USA) (21 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

Both Wade and Ryan say "What have I just done?" at different points in the film.

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Goofs

Filkins' car doesn't have a front plate, which all cars in the state of California are supposed to have. This could simply be an addition to his long list of misdeeds.

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Quotes

Ryan: [after knocking Filkins down] Everybody, from 9th grade to 12th grade, I promise you, his reign of tyranny is over! I proclaim it! He will never bother us again! And he's getting up!
Filkins: You're dead.
Ryan: And I'm in big trouble!

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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

Spoofs Fight Club (1999)

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Soundtracks

So Deadly
Written by Shane Jason Bunting and Michael Taylor Perretta
Performed by Swollen Members
Courtesy of Battle Axe Records

User Reviews

Another inventive comedy from the Apatow crew

I love IMDb.com. I just came here (after seeing the movie) and saw that John Hughes (using a pseudonym) was one of the writers of this movie. That makes sense, because the movie covers the awkwardness, danger and constant potential for life-ruining humiliation that is freshman year high school. Being "skinny, scared and lonely", as Drillbit Taylor puts it.

One of the other writers is the awesome Seth Rogen, co-writer & co-star of "Superbad" and co-star of "Knocked Up".

Owen Wilson is funny, sexy and heartwarming in this role. The trio of geeky lads who hire Owen as their protector are all played by wonderful young actors. The Apatow organization seems to have a genius for finding great and funny teen actors. I was especially impressed by Alex Frost (he plays the bully) who I think has stardom in his future.

The small roles of the film are filled by standup comics and "The Daily Show" alumni. Good talent all around.

The movie is not perfect. It's front-loaded -- meaning the first half has so many laughs you can't hear all the lines for the laughter. Then it suddenly slows down in the second half. It's still interesting -- just not as funny. And when you get to the violent fighting, that dries up the laughs.

Overall though, any film from the Apatow organization is going to be 6 times funnier and more inventive than the average movie comedy out there. So go have some laughs.