A likeable if mostly average comedy that balances out low-brow comedy, some good-natured silliness and even a stab at some genuine nostalgic pathos over the dreams of our youth, ‘Without a Paddle’ is recommended viewing for us guys whose age matches the early-30s of the protagonists.
Director Steven Brill who ended Adam Sandler’s early hot streak with the dreadful ‘Little Nicky’ after three straight hits got redemption with his commercially successful if still not very good ‘Mr. Deeds’ and followed ‘Without a Paddle’ with another step back, the mediocre ‘Drillbit Taylor’; his work has a distinct director-for-hire feel but the offbeat cast keeps ‘Without a Paddle’ afloat.
Endearing opening credits sequence follow the home movies of four young friends in the wonderful era of being a kid – the mid eighties – where four diverse personalities bond over ‘Indiana Jones’, ‘Star Wars’ and the lost treasure of legendary thief D.B. Cooper who crashed a hijacked plane in the 1972 Pacific Northwest. Had the adventure been pursued, we would have a contemp ‘The Goonies’ but the years pass and the friends only decide to pursue the treasure when one of their own dies before his time.
All joining up ten years later when the fourth member of their childhood troupe, Billy, dies in a particularly flashy accident – para-sailing in Costa Rica – they impulsively decide to pursue D.B. Cooper’s treasure when they find out Billy has been doing research all these years going so far as to map it out. So with Billy’s map, a canoe and liquor in tow, they head off to Oregon for a good old fashioned adventure.
And with a backwoods canoe trip comes a ‘Deliverance’ send-up this time with pot-farming hillbilly brothers that the three pals run afoul of and a ‘Jeremiah Johnson’ish mountain man (Burt Reynolds) who may or may not be connected to D.B. Cooper himself. In addition to these interludes, they also run into a maternal bear and some hippie pro-Earth hippie chicks.
The plot is, of course, fairly inconsequential but it does wear out its welcome the longer it plays out. The gags range from chuckle-worthy to ho-hum yet the cast keeps the inconsistent script and direction from veering too far in the wrong direction. Seth Green is key here keeping the sometimes comically over-reaching Matthew Lillard and Dax Shepard from getting too obnoxious.
The 2.35:1 1080p AVC encode is quite good for this medium-budget film with nice detail, bright colors and just a hint of grain. The pic is nothing spectacular in high-def but it’s a clear step above DVD. The Dolby TrueHD 5.1 track is fine but there seemed to be a few sync issues – not sure if it was my system or not.
Special Features include an audio commentary from director Steven Brill, a video commentary from the cast and director that features a picture-in-picture window showing the cast and Brill talking about the pic, kinda fun. A ‘Making Of’, thirteen ‘Additional Scenes’ w/ optional commentary and six ‘MTV interstitials’ round the special features out. I also found three easter eggs but there could be more.
A decent rental for those in the right age group, the film is neither terrible or a comedy classic. It’s good for a few laughs and the Blu-ray specs are fine so I can give it a mild recommendation. I’d steer clear of the straight-to-video sequel ‘Nature’s Calling’ with none of the original cast, though…that one lives up to the title.
Without a Paddle [Blu-ray] is now available at Amazon . Visit the DVD database for more information.
Your Talkback on this Story