Perhaps the biggest letdown in the movie are not the characters, but rather the abrupt disavowal of one of the films main themes by the closing credits. During much of the movie the kids learn the lesson that violence doesn't work, that they will never solve their problems by being physical. By the all-too-obvious end of the film, it becomes clear that the reason violence doesn't work for the "heroes" is that they're simply not built for it, and that if they were bigger and stronger violence would be the way to solve their problems.
The incredibly hot (and hugely funny and clever) writer/producer/director Judd Apatow is credited as a producer of the piece, and two of his collaborators, Kristofor Brown and Seth Rogen are credited with the story and writing the screenplay (John Hughes also receives as story credit). It is, however, unquestionably one of their lesser works. Perhaps either their pixie dust is wearing off, or far more likely, the piece simply wasn't given the attention it so desperately needed.
It is hard to imagine many people being enthused enough with the film to want to sit through the DVD extras as well, but they do exist. There is a commentary track with Brill, Brown, Gentile, Hartley, and Dorfman, a chat with the writers, deleted/extended scenes, a gag reel, outtakes, some behind-the-scenes looks at how a few of scenes were worked on and filmed, a discussion of directing kids, and a talk with one of the films supporting characters (these last three only appear on the "Extended Survival Edition" DVD release). It goes on and on and on, and does prove that talented people can work hard on a film and still end up with a poor result.
Despite the fact that Drillbit Taylor's main characters have problems to which we can all understand and relate, the film fails to explore them in either a meaningful or funny way. My disappointment doesn't temper my enthusiasm to see future works from the Apatow group (most notably this summer's upcoming Pineapple Express), but it does prove them wholly fallible.
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