Drillbit Taylor. Probably, everyone who is more or less familiar with the films with the participation of Adam Sandler becomes clear that there is a certain “Sandler Corporation”. In the sense that the directors who worked with him, one way or another, either continue to cooperate with the comedian or in their new films play actors who also encountered Sandler. Even writers work on the same line. And so Steven Brill, who directed Survival School, belongs to this special comedy cohort of filmmakers. He began his career with the comedy “Fat Booties”, where he played Allen Covert, who was not only an actor in films with Sandler, but also their producer. And then began the films with the participation of Sandler himself: “Nikki, the devil is the junior” and “A Millionaire involuntarily”.
But the film “School of Survival” passed Sandler, this time the main role was given to Owen Wilson, although, to confess, Sandler in the image of a homeless man who decided to easily “cut down” money on the naivety of schoolchildren would be good, such roles are clearly about him. But it was Owen Wilson and that was a fact. The script of the film belongs to the pen of Seth Rogen, who was also noticed by the screenwriter and in other films of Sandler, and then became a popular comedy actor, even playing with Adam in the film “Funny”. It was also written by John Hughes himself. More specifically, he wrote a story for Survival School. Unfortunately, the next year after the release of this film, John Hughes, who wrote the scripts for Home Alone, Holidays, Flabber and Curly Sue, will die, and with him almost the entire era of the best Hollywood comedies of the family type.
According to the plot, someone Drillbit Taylor (actually speaking, here is Owen Wilson himself), who lives in the woods and eats what will be served on the freeway, that is, generally homeless, takes on teaching three boys self-defense skills. He himself does not understand anything in this matter, but the thirst for profit, as well as the possibility of robbing the house of one of the “employees”, takes over and Drillbit enthusiastically begins to tell the boys how to behave. His teaching looks, to put it mildly, stupid, but his natural charm and ability to lie eloquently help Drillbit to lead the boys by the nose. Soon he even manages to find himself in their school, where, by a fad, he becomes a teacher. There he finds a passion for himself. But do not forget what Drillbit got involved in, because the most notorious bully of the school constantly gets boys, and one of the friends of Drillbit still set out to rob the house... What will take over from Drillbit? The film is comedic and you don’t have to be an oracle to know what will win in this case. And, believe me, this is not a spoiler, because in this kind of movie it is interesting how everything will fit into the framework of the mandatory happy ending.
The comedy itself was not so successful. Honestly, I never managed to laugh openly. The film evokes fragments, episodes condescending smile for its lightness and mood, but nothing more. Pure entertainment, designed still more for the age category of high school students, the rest of the picture is unlikely to be very interesting. Only a few segments of the tape still absorbs curiosity. For example, when Drillbit turns out to be at school or when the apogee comes and the main characters need to finally bring down the arrogance of the bully and bully. That’s probably not enough for a good comedy. By the way, the bully himself, played by Alex Frost, almost ruined the whole picture, so unnatural he was. Actor pickers are a fat minus for that! Owen Wilson, as always, is enchanting in his role, at first he seems a notorious egoist and crook, and then suddenly becomes a universal favorite. Typical of Wilson, but still a good one. Leslie Mann will also appear in the unexpected role of an unbridled teacher (she will star more than once in the films Sandler & Co., and in The Jokers and together with Rogen more). And the trio of schoolchildren Nate Hartley, Troy Gentile (the same looks like Rogen in childhood!) and David Dorfman (the boy with big eyes from “The Bell”) looked quite tolerable by schoolchildren who got the unenviable fate of the main losers and objects of ridicule.
Survival School is a movie that won’t be remembered because it’s a one-off movie, but if you want to see something positive with Owen Wilson, you can watch it. You can choose something else, though. In general, it is up to you to watch Survival School or not.
6 out of 10