Three geeks begin high school and are mercilessly tortured by a sociopath and his toady. Unfortunately, no one seems to believe this is happening (a weak point, I think--especially when the kids' own parents totally dismiss this criminal behavior). So, in desperation, the kids hire a cute-rate bodyguard, Drillbit Taylor (Owen Wilson). Little do the kids know that Taylor is in fact a homeless con man.

This film was one I never would have sought out--partly because the same idea was handled so well many years ago in MY BODYGUARD and partly because it seemed like a rather lightweight teen film. However, given that I was traveling on a 9-hour flight and I'd already seen two other in-flight films, I was willing to give DRILLBIT a try.

While I certainly didn't like the film all that much, it did do the trick as a time-passer--though the film could have been a lot better. Most of this is because the film suffered from not staying true to itself and needed some re-write. As a family movie, it doesn't quite make it due to the language, some brief nudity and crude language--though it seemed like a family-style film. As a comedy, it doesn't quite make it because its funny moments were far too few. And, unfortunately, the film also stuck too close to formula--and went for the predictable and schmaltzy ending. Had the film tried to be different or daring, then it would have been a much more engaging film. Sadly, with a few small changes this really could have been a very good film.

Back in the early 80s, MY BODYGUARD was a great family movie with a very similar plot involving a kid who tries to buy protection from a sadistic bully. In DRILLBIT, I instantly recognized Adam Baldwin (one of the stars of MY BODYGUARD) in one of the funniest cameos I'd ever seen. If you, too, have seen this other film, look for him during the interview sequences--it's very cute and funny.

Wade (Nate Hartley) and Ryan (Troy Gentile) are two nerdy friends getting bullied in high school by Filkins (Alex Frost) and Ronnie (Josh Peck). The only bigger nerd in school is Emit (David Dorfman) and the two friends can't get rid of him. Wade likes Brooke (Valerie Tian),but it's hopeless. He gets the idea to hire a bodyguard. Drillbit Taylor (Owen Wilson) is a happy amiable homeless guy. He needs the money and gets the idea to lie to the kids.

The bullying is way over the top. The kids aren't particularly cute or appealing. The adults are incredibly clueless. In reality, most teachers know who the trouble makers are. The only thing saving this is the chemistry between the three kids. Drillbit Taylor's lying is horribly unfunny. He really sinks this movie. I can't believe that the kids buy into everything he says. If the movie concentrates on the boys and less on Drillbit, the movie may actually work.

Could one expect more from Drillbit Taylor's script? Sure - it's written by Kristofer Brown and Seth Rogen, Beavis & Butt-head alumni and Apatow mega-star respectively (plus a guy named 'Edmond Dantes', which is really John Hughes oddly enough) - but for what it's worth, as a rental, it's not the worst that could happen. If it is lackluster it's because of the prototypical nerds-vs-bullies element, plus the nerd that wants the girl, and the 'hero' of the story of the title who goes through ups and downs with his "employers". Of course, it's also hard to dislike Owen Wilson, who's like one of those scruffy dogs that comes up and yaps and chases its tail and has a charm and fun time, when it's needed.

Here Wilson is a bum AWOL soldier who by quick luck sees a job posting for a 'bodyguard'. The job is posted by a few freshman kids, two longtime friends and one an even bigger geeky dude than the others, who are looking for protection against a really horrible bully and his cohort (he's the kind of bully that will charge if you put the color red over his face, and of course no one else will stand up to him). It's fun times then seeing Drillbit- named, we later find out, for a pinkie accident in high school- teach these kids to buck up and fight the bullies. It becomes a little cluttered plot-wise with Wilson starting to then date the school English teacher (Leslie Mann),and it's sometimes only mildly amusing when it could be shooting the moon comedy wise.

Then again, I'm not quite the right demographic for this kind of formulaic high school comedy; if you're a 11 or 12 year old kid, you'll like this movie a whole lot, and without sounding too sanctimonious it's a little more appropriate then some of the raunchiest stuff in Superbad (if, again, not as funny). Perhaps it's slightly 'safer' than some of the Apatow productions, even if it's still fairly violent and intermittently crude. A lot of, thankfully in a way, rests on its young actors playing the nerds, the whacked out bully, and Wilson who can go between straight-man and comic relief pretty well. In short, a good rental, though don't rush out for it.