Without a Paddle (2004)

User Rating:

5.7/10   

Director:

Steven Brill

Writers (WGA):

Fred Wolf (story) and
Harris Goldberg (story) ...

Release Date:

20 August 2004 (USA)

Genre:

Adventure | Comedy | Mystery

Tagline:

The call of the wild, the thrill of adventure. The mistake of a lifetime.

Plot:

After their friend dies, three men decide to fulfill their childhood promise by going on a camping expedition for the lost D.B. Cooper bounty, with calamitous results.

Plot Keywords:

River | Oregon | Promise | Funeral | Childhood Friend

Cast

Matthew Price	...	Young Tom
Andrew Hampton	...	Young Jerry
Jarred Rumbold	...	Young Dan
Carl Snell	...	Young Billy
Antony Starr	...	Billy Newwood (as Anthony Starr)
Dax Shepard	...	Tom Marshall
Matthew Lillard	...	Jerry Conlaine
Seth Green	...	Dan Mott
Nadine Bernecker	...	Angie
Danielle Cormack	...	Tony
David Stott	...	Dick Stark
Bonnie Somerville	...	Denise
Scott Adsit	...	Greasy Man
Morgan Reese Fairhead	...	Sandi
Liddy Holloway	...	Bonnie Newwood

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for drug content, sexual material, language, crude humor and some violence.

Runtime:

95 min

Country:

USA | New Zealand

Language:

English

Colour:

Colour

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital

Certification:

Canada:PG | Malaysia:U | Iceland:12 | Argentina:13 | Australia:M | Finland:K-11 | Germany:12 | Ireland:12 | Netherlands:6 | Norway:11 | Philippines:PG-13 | Singapore:PG | UK:12A | USA:PG-13 | Canada:PG (Ontario)

Filming Locations:

Huka Falls, Taupo, Waikato, New Zealand

Company:

Paramount Pictures

Trivia:

The last big rapid that they run before going over the waterfall is a Class 5 rapid, and the scene was performed by stunt doubles since running rapids in a canoe is dangerous and unusual.

Goofs:

Continuity: In the scene just after the funeral where they enter their old tree house it is dark outside but after Dan enters the tree house you can clearly see that it is daytime outside through the cracks and gaps in the wood.

Quotes:

Dan Mott: It crawled straight in my stomach!
Jerry Conlaine: Come on, let's go
Dan Mott: I think it laid its eggs in my stomach!

Movie Connections:

References Blow (2001)

Soundtrack:

Bump N' Grind

Rolling with laughter

"Where are we?", Seth Green asks, clueless, as the guys are standing in a street in a nondescript little Oregon village. "Corner of Bumfuck and You Got a Purty Mouth", Matthew Lillard snarls in way of answer.

Now, you need to know and appreciate John Boorman's thriller classic 'Deliverance' in order to get the full implications of this scene and countless others in 'Without a Paddle'. The film can be enjoyed by all & sundry, but those in the know will be rolling with laughter more often.

'Without a Paddle' establishes itself in a niche of its own among goofy modern comedies. It is really well written, not just the one-liners, but also the situations as such and the exposition and development of material. The actors all shine, especially young Dax Shepard as the loser type of the three buddies in their late 20s that go camping and looking for a buried treasure in a canoe up Spirit River. There they meet up with wild man Burt Reynolds, who was acclaimed for his performance in the original 'Deliverance', actually the character that Shepard inherited in this 'remake'.

There are no actual thrills in 'Without a Paddle' (unlike 'Deliverance'!!!), it sets its sight on glorious comedy. The huge surprise is that the gags are relatively 'tasteful', for want of a better word. It is not ALL about tits, dicks and feces.

Recommended. Absolutely.