2008 Woodie Awards
'Taylor' may fall short of expectations
By: Joe Cunningham
Issue date: 3/21/08 Section: Pulse
Judd Apatow has been on a tear as of late; last year alone he was the driving force behind some of the best comedies of the year, such as "Knocked Up" and "Superbad". He has another for films which he is producing this year, including "Drillbit Taylor", which opens today.
The film tells the story of three kids who look to hire a bodyguard, Drillbit Taylor, played by Owen Wilson, to protect them from a playground bully.
Since Apatow only takes the role as a producer with this film his input is much more limited than his previous productions, though he still has some influence, as a result a majority of the production is left in the hands of others. Most namely Steven Brill, the director of the film, who's previous credits include "Little Nicky" and "Mr. Deeds".
While Brill is far from a bad director, he has far less ability than some on the level such as an Apatow or Jason Reitman of "Juno" fame. As a result though there should be a definite drop off in the amount of quality seen from over the comedies from last year.
The film's cast is capable, including a number of Apatow regulars with Owen Wilson leading the film. Wilson is normally a very good comedic actor, though it will be interesting to see how he bounces back from his incident this past fall, but it still should not have any affect on his overall performance.
"Drillbit Taylor" will surely be worth a few laughs throughout, but in all likelihood it will not be up to the level of quality of such comedies as producer Judd Apatow is accustomed to. As long as one tailors their expectations accordingly beforehand it should still be worth a trip to the movies.
The film tells the story of three kids who look to hire a bodyguard, Drillbit Taylor, played by Owen Wilson, to protect them from a playground bully.
Since Apatow only takes the role as a producer with this film his input is much more limited than his previous productions, though he still has some influence, as a result a majority of the production is left in the hands of others. Most namely Steven Brill, the director of the film, who's previous credits include "Little Nicky" and "Mr. Deeds".
While Brill is far from a bad director, he has far less ability than some on the level such as an Apatow or Jason Reitman of "Juno" fame. As a result though there should be a definite drop off in the amount of quality seen from over the comedies from last year.
The film's cast is capable, including a number of Apatow regulars with Owen Wilson leading the film. Wilson is normally a very good comedic actor, though it will be interesting to see how he bounces back from his incident this past fall, but it still should not have any affect on his overall performance.
"Drillbit Taylor" will surely be worth a few laughs throughout, but in all likelihood it will not be up to the level of quality of such comedies as producer Judd Apatow is accustomed to. As long as one tailors their expectations accordingly beforehand it should still be worth a trip to the movies.
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