DRILLBIT TAYLOR

"This is a wing and you're under it"

There first day at High School was supposed to be a momentous event in their lives but for Wade (Hartley) and Ryan (Gentile) it turned into a nightmare. It was all because Wade told the school bully Filkins (Frost) to leave the smallest new student Emmit (Dorfman) alone and then he decided to make them his main target. Now with their lives been made a living hell everyday, the trio decide to do something about it and their collective idea is to hire a body guard but as they don't really have to the money to hire the best in the business, the only man who will work for their limited budget is Drillbit Taylor (Wilson) but the question is if he is as good as he says he is.

In Hollywood comedy circles, producer Judd Apatow can do no wrong but can the story of three kids who hire a body guide to protect them from a bully be the one that knocks him off his pedestal?

Producer/director Judd Apatow has emerged as Hollywood's main man when it comes to comedy. Hits like 'Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy', 'The 40 Year Old Virgin', 'Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby', 'Knocked Up' and 'Superbad' have made him a huge name in the movie business and rightly so. While his last movie 'Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story' may have been a slight miss fire, 'Drillbit Taylor' is a really big one.

With a story co-written by Seth Rogen, Kristofor Brown and Edmond Dantes, better known as the great John Hughes, the man behind some of the best teen movies ever made like 'Ferris Bueller's Day Off' and 'The Breakfast Club', expectations were high but they have become unfounded. The movie is virtually a tamer version of 'Superbad'. Look at the commonalities. Three geeky high school kids having a hard time fitting in, desperate to make an impression they will do anything to do so. The problem is that gone are the real life actions of a group of high school students to be replaced by the typical Hollywood portrayal of the educational environment. These are kids that are only slightly rude, never swear but are still obsessed with the opposite sex. While this is still fine for mainstream Hollywood, we expect more from Judd Apatow and his creative collaborators.

The performances are fine however but they are let down by the decidingly average script. Nate Hartley, Troy Gentile and David Dorfman are watchable and funny as Wade, Ryan and Emmit, with all three showing comedic talent. Owen Wilson, is, well, Owen Wilson and his character Drillbit Taylor could be any from his comedy repertoire. Alex Frost however is almost pantomime in his approach as the bully Filkins, which ruins ever scene he graces.

'Drillbit Taylor' is a big misstep for Judd Apatow and his creative collaborators. While the performances from the three kids are good, the lack of originally in the script and the fact that most of the best gags are in the trailer, this is a comedy on rails and on that dare not stay from them, which is surprising for an Apatow comedy.

PICTURE & SOUND

Presented in Widescreen 1.85:1 Anamorphic with a Dolby Digital 5.1 soundtrack, the transfer is good.

BONUS FEATURES

Commentary by Steve Brill, Kristofor Brown, Troy Gentile, Nate Hartley and David Dorfman
The director and co-writer come together to provide a fun and chatty commentary about 'Drillbit Taylor'. Joined part way through by stars Troy Gentile, Nate Hartley and David Dorfman, this is a fun commentary that fans of the film should enjoy.

The Writers get the chance to talk: Kristofor Brown and Seth Rogen (13.59 mins)
Accompanied by behind the scenes images from the movie, Kristofor Brown talks to his co-writer Seth Rogen on the phone about how they came up with the idea and how they wrote the screenplay.

Deleted & Extended Scenes (16.23 mins)
Entitled 'Urinal assault', 'Sidewalk Café', 'Bulking up', 'Bodyguard 'D'', 'Bodyguard 'Frank'', 'Massage chair', 'Training - pool', 'Detention', 'Don teaches history', 'Pawn shop - Night', 'Wade family dinner', 'Drillbit teaches gym' and 'Nurse's office', these extended and deleted scenes suffer from a lack of commentary or introduction to explain why they were removed.

Line-O-Rama (4.16 mins)
Watch the cast improvise different versions of the same line, with hilarious results

Gag Reel (3.57 mins)
Watch the cast and crew have fun on set and make a hash of their lines

Trailers
Previews of 'Iron Man', 'Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull' and 'The Spiderwick Chronicles'

OVERALL

The DVD treatment for 'Drillbit Taylor' is one that fans of the film should enjoy. With a good commentary and funny deleted scenes, this is a decent DVD extras package but Judd Apatow fans would have been expecting more however.

DVD

Superbad

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2008