Quartile rating: 6/10 · 1 rating
Dealing with a sociopathic school bully, three high school freshmen hire a low-budget bodyguard to protect them, not realizing he is just a homeless beggar and petty thief looking for some easy cash.
Drillbit Taylor is a middling mid-2000s comedy that coasts on a mildly amusing premise — nerdy freshmen hiring a fraudulent homeless bodyguard — without doing much original with it. The plot is formulaic and predictable, hitting every expected beat of the bully-underdog genre without surprise. Owen Wilson delivers his trademark laid-back charm but is given little to stretch, and the supporting cast (including the young leads) is serviceable at best. Cinematography is entirely unremarkable, standard studio comedy fare. Novelty is low — while the homeless-bodyguard angle offers a slight twist, the film largely recycles John Hughes-era high school tropes in a watered-down fashion. The ending is the strongest element, delivering a reasonably satisfying resolution with some earned warmth, slightly above what the rest of the film merits.