Owen Wilson stars as Drillbit Taylor (Paramount)
By Tony Galindo
Drillbit Taylor: Not your normal comedy staring Owen Wilson. Then again it's exactly what he's done before. With such movies as Wedding Crashers and Night at the Museum under his belt this actor has partaken in many unusual funny films.
In Drillbit Taylor (opening March 21 throughout San Diego) he plays the title character but we don't meet him right away. Instead our attention is focused on our two teenaged main characters, Wade and Ryan, preparing for their first day of high school. As the film progresses, Wade's attempt to help one kid out of a bullying situation proves to be a mistake that lands our characters on the hit list of the school bully. I use the term "hit list" because for some reason this bully really wants to kill someone. Something that hopefully would never happen at a real high school you would be attending.
After their first impression of high school goes horribly wrong, the story truly begins to unfold and we are introduced to the main attraction for seeing the film - Owen Wilson as Drillbit. The boys hold an interview session to try and hire a personal bodyguard to protect them in the halls and after school so they can just get on with there geeky lives. Since the boys are short on cash, many professionals turn them down -- until the one and only Drillbit Taylor shows up to save the day. With his army "expertise" he begins to help the kids out for the reasonable price of all the money they have and an occasional bowl of cereal. Not knowing that their new found friend Drillbit is actually a homeless military deserter, they end up paying him for what turns out to be useless protection services. To make a long story short, it doesn't go so well for the boys. They soon find out that their new friend isn't who or what he says he is. So they decide to stick up for themselves and everyone finally recognizes them.
This movie wasn't completely horrible. It felt like the stupidest thing at the time I was watching it but it was a great movie to just sit back and enjoy. Not a lot of thinking was required to enjoy the funny moments in the film, and the cast was great. I could believe the geeks were geeks and that Drillbit was a homeless army dropout. The only thing that got to me was trying to believe that the bully they were up against really wanted to kill them. This along with the fact that even going to the school principal didn't help. That didn't seem believable. Maybe that happens across the country but growing up here in San Diego I can say that schools really do try to help with your problem and care about the students, especially if you bring a screaming, pissed off parent in. Other then this problem, the movie was fun to see, especially if you're with your friends and just looking for a good time. If you want to see a movie with a purpose then this probably isn't the one for you.
-- Tony Galindo is a senior at Mount Miguel High. He was recently accepted at the Art Institute of San Diego where he wants to major in game art design and pursue a career in environmental design. Writing is a hobby of his as well as watching movies, so he thought it would be great to be able to share his opinions on film with people.
