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	Without A Paddle
	Steven Brill Seth Green, Matthew Lillard, Dax Shepard, Burt Reynolds, Ethan Suplee, Abraham Benrubi, Rachel Blanchard, Christina Moore 2004		A doofus buddy comedy that's better than many of these idiot ballets, "Without a Paddle" still chooses to embrace all of the vulgarity one expects from such broad material. Childhood pals Tom, Jerry and Dan are now floundering, dissatisfied adults. A tragic loss and a secret map inspire them to reconnect on a canoeing trip in the Pacific Northwest. They believe the outing will be more than a bonding experience; it may help them solve the mystery of notorious airliner hijacker D.B. Cooper and his missing fortune. As is a prerequisite for this type of film, the urban boneheads are out of their element in the woods. Yes, there are jokes that reference "Deliverance," with the slickers endangered by psychotic hicks — only here, the yokels are paranoid, drug-addled pot farmers with shotguns. There's a lot of wading through muck and mire, plus tree-hugging hippie chicks and a few didn't-see-that-coming laughs. The three stooges are properly cast, with Dax Shepard as wiseguy spouter-of-bull Tom, Matthew Lillard in his usual loud jackass mode as Jerry, and Seth Green as team whipping-boy Dan. And, of all people, Burt Reynolds is pretty amusing as a mountain man the trio encounter during their trek. It's no tapping-the-zeitgeist signature movie for a generation in the manner of (gulp!) "American Pie." This tipsy dinghy should sink out of sight. But it's not so absolutely awful that it won't serve as an adequate weekend/party-time diversion for teens and twentysomethings.


	Wednesday, December 18, 2024





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