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Movie Review - Without a Paddle (2004)
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(What this rating means)
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| Director: |
Steven Brill |
| Starring: |
Seth Green, Matthew Lillard, and Dax Shepard |
| Rated: |
PG-13 (for drug content, sexual material, language, crude humor, and some violence) |
| Length: |
95 minutes |
| Genre: |
Comedy |
| Tagline: |
The call of the wild, the thrill of adventure. The mistake of a lifetime. |
| Studio: |
Paramount |
| Website: |
Without a Paddle |
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PLOT
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Three friends (Green, Lillard, and Shepard) are reunited when their old friend Billy dies. When they
find a map left by Billy, they decide to go on one last canoe trip together - in search of D.B. Cooper's
lost treasure. Encounters with bears, raging waters, and psycho mountain men ensue.
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JOHNNY'S TAKE
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I'm not sure what you're expecting, but this is a movie about three guys on the cusp of 30 who set out
IN SEARCH OF D.B. COOPER'S LOST TREASURE! Still not clear? I'll explain further. There is an extended
sequence where Seth Green is wearing tighty whities, a fanny pack, boots, and a watch. Does that sound
funny to you? I found it hilarious, but your taste may vary.
How much you enjoy this will depend largely on what you think of the three leads. I've always liked
Seth, and Matthew can be very good (especially in Scream). All I know Dax from is his work on
Punk'd, but he's pretty good here. The three have great chemistry, and I really bought into the
idea that they were all childhood friends who had become distant over the years. But once they got back
together and started reminiscing, the friendship rekindled. Been there.
For you to fully appreciate this movie it's important that you have the ability to be a big dork
because there's a lot here that is completely illogical (hippie chicks living high up in the trees?). I
mean, come on, a bear picks Seth Green up and treats him as her cub. How likely is that? Not very. But
there's something just so funny about Dax yelling, "ABORT THE FETAL POSITION! ABORT THE FETAL POSITION!"
all while the bear picks up tiny little Seth and carries him around in its mouth.
There are a lot of little subtle things that I found really funny - Seth listening to Clay Aiken in his
car, Seth being the only one who thinks the small tree house door seems the same size as when they were
kids (Seth is only 5'4" ya see), and the Indian dude dead-panning, "Thanks for breaking glass where my
kids play." It's stuff that a lot of people won't get. Plus, I'm one of those guys who used to pray daily
that I wouldn't hear a Creed song as I scanned the radio stations, so I can appreciate it when the guys are
lost in the woods, but then they hear music and Dax says, "Is that Creed? I never thought I'd be happy to
hear something that sounded like Creed."
A lot of my enjoyment came from the fact that the characters and their reflections on their past friendship
made me a bit nostalgic. I'm nearing 30 myself, so my friends and I are definitely children of the 80s and did
a lot of the same things as these three jokers. I could totally relate to the scene in the tree house after
Billy's funeral where they're looking through their time capsule box and come across some childhood items.
A Brian Bosworth rookie card? All my friends thought he was gonna be awesome. I actually know somebody who
thought Stone Cold was a great movie. But I don't have much room to talk. I'm the guy who actually
saw Hard Target at the theater. TWICE! It must have been Van Damme's cool mullet that brought me back
for more.
Seth Green's C3PO figure? Dude, I had almost every single Star Wars character, and just like Seth, I added
voices to each one of them. I never had an Indiana Jones compass though, so I'm a little jealous of them because
of that.
Then they find their old tape where they did DJ intros for cheesy songs. Come on; let's see a show of hands, how
many people here made tapes with their own DJ intros? You know you did. I used to sit by my $20 Lloyd's tape
player recording stuff from the radio. Janet Jackson's Nasty Boys, Europe, Poison, all sorts of embarrassing
stuff. Andy, Elzey, and I even formed a band. And by "band," I mean we were three 6th graders who had no clue
how to play any instrument, but we thought it'd be cool to say we were in a band.
Then came the fateful day when we broke up, and I embarked on a solo career. Folks, check out the picture to
the left. That is the actual cover of my solo record that I personally made back in 6th grade. DJ Kid Creole?
This time it's war? That is just painfully embarrassing, and you're lucky I shared this bit of my past with
you.
Anyway, it's within this little box of memories that they find Billy has left them a map pinpointing D.B.
Cooper's treasure. Naturally, they decide they've gotta go looking for it. Plausible? Not really. But man,
don't dwell on that. This movie is not about plausibility, it's about making you laugh regardless of how
crazy or ridiculous the situation is.
Once the trip starts; the real fun begins. The boys tool along in an old station wagon singing along to their
DJ tape, they confront a local hick sheriff, they pick on each other as they peacefully canoe down the river,
they get tossed into rapids, they're chased down by Deliverance-like guys with big guns, they run through a
marijuana field that goes up in flames thanks to some flares and in turn get unintentionally stoned (loved the
small Matrix parody), and of course, there's a final confrontation that involves whether or not they find their
desired treasure.
There's one scene in the movie where all three guys are cold, they're in their underwear, and it starts
raining. The only way to keep warm is for all three to huddle together. That much you've probably seen
in the trailer. I won't say anymore, but the scene continues, and what transpires is something I'd never,
ever watch with my mom in the room, but I must shamefully admit it made me laugh pretty hard. I'm just
thankful it's something I definitely can't relate to.
Anyway, it's this kind of silly, reminiscent humor that makes the movie work. I might need to give a couple
of friends a call. I'm in the mood for a canoe trip.
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ODDS & ENDS
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- Seth Green was born exactly one year and one day before Johnny. Johnny realizes this means absolutely
nothing.
- Seth Green recently referred to this as Goonies for older people. Obviously, this was a nod
to Josh Brolin who played Brand in The Goonies.
- Todd Snider wrote a song entitled D.B.
Cooper in which he states his own humorous theory regarding what happened to the legendary
hijacker.
- Seth Green claims he feared for his life once during filming when he was sucked under water by some
class 5 rapids.
- Johnny Betts has survived a class 4 rapid.
- There were reportedly 11 screenings of Without a Paddle in Memphis, and somehow Mr. Shade
managed to not see a single one.
- Seth Green was in Pump Up the Volume with Christian Slater who was in Bed of Roses with
Josh Brolin who was in The Hollow Man with Kevin Bacon.
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MAMA'S APPROVAL
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This isn't as offensive as you'd think, but it's still not exactly mama's type of movie. There is some crude
humor and elements of sexuality (no nudity), but it's not extreme. It's most appropriate for older
teenagers, but the people who'll enjoy this the most are those in their 20s and early 30s.
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TRAILER COMPARISON
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I thought the trailer showed potential, but I'm glad to report the movie is even funnier than the trailer
suggests. Watch as little of the trailer as possible though. It gives away some jokes that will be much
funnier when seen for the first time in the movie.
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THE GIST
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Unless you were shocked by the ending of Twisted, then it should come as no
surprise to you that a lot about Without a Paddle is silly and ludicrous. But everybody involved is
aware of that, and that's what makes the movie so fun. This is a movie about three guys approaching 30 who
have one last chance to toss aside all their worldly cares and be kids again. The mayhem and hijinks that
ensue are what makes their trip and the movie worthwhile. Call your buddies, sneak in some snacks, leave
your "How to Overanalyze a Plot" book at home, and enjoy Without a Paddle.
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