Without a Paddle

Plot synopsis:
Ten years after graduating high school, three friends, Jerry (Matthew Lillard), Dan (Seth Green) and Tom (Dax Shepard), find out that their childhood friend, Billy (Antony Starr), died in a para-sailing accident in Costa Rica. After the burial, they take a trip down to memory lane and enter their tree house, where the four hung out when they were children. They find a map leading to D. B. Cooper's lost treasure that Billy has apparently been working on his whole life. Dan takes a break from his job as a doctor and joins Jerry and Tom on a camping trip to find the treasure.They take a canoe down the river and find Grandpa's Nose (a rock formation), and they stay on the riverside for the night. Standing around the camp fire, they discover they forgot to bring food; so Tom goes out to catch some fish. Despite his shining skills, a grizzly bear shows up and chases the group away. Dan trips and is caught up with by the bear, who thinks Dan is its cub. It brings Dan back to its 'nest' and forces him to eat a mutilated dead squirrel. Dan manages to escape and the trio ends up sleeping in a tree. In the morning, they find all their gear ripped up and completely destroyed by the bear - even Dan's cellphone, which the animal swallowed. The bear, they find to their dismay, had also ripped a hole in the map.The trio takes off in the river, but, unable to read the map, they go the wrong way. The split leads them into rapids where they are nearly killed and drowned. The map is lost, and they end up falling off a waterfall, but landing safely in a belly of water. Unfortunately, their canoe has been smashed to pieces. They take off into the woods with a compass and find themselves at a pot farm, in which two violent farmers, Dennis (Abraham Benrubi) and Elwood (Ethan Suplee), mistake them for thieves and start shooting at them. The friends escape into the farm, but the security flares go off and hit the growth, causing a bunch of smoke to wallow around and get the trio effectively stoned. While the farmers, wearing bandannas over their faces, are on their tail, the guys fall into a pond barely escape, using reeds to breathe. The farmers take off, and the guys then run into the woods. In the morning, the farmers find their crop burned and they set off to kill Jerry, Dan and Tom.The trio meets two hippie girls far into the forest, who treat the men with food, communication, and love up in their huge tree. Using the radio, the farmers find them and attempt to cut down the tree, both distressing and enraging the hippie girls. They drop paper bags full of feces at the farmers to distract them while the guys escape. Half naked, the guys are lost into the woods, while it is pouring rain. The only way they have to survive is to hold on to each other for warmth. Suddenly, they are caught by a man living up in the mountains, who takes the them up to his hut and provides them with clothes. The man is named Del Knox (Burt Reynolds), once D. B.'s partner before his death.The next morning, the farmers find them and assault the house. The guys escape while Del Knox shoots at the two bad guys with his revolver. The guys stumble upon the site in which D. B. crashed landed, discovering his corpse along with the suitcase holding the money. It turns out that D. B. burned his share of the money, just for a few more minutes of life. They then toss their valuable possessions on his body, including Dan's C-3PO action figure, Jerry's Brian Bosworth card, and Tom's condom. The only way out of the cave is for Dan to crawl through a small tunnel. The farmers find Jerry and Tom below and Dan comes from the ground and hits them with a log. The farmers fall down and they engage in a brawl with Tom and Jerry, consisting of Tom kicking the gun out of Elwood's hands, Dennis tossing Jerry onto the ground, Then Tom leaps onto Dennis's back so Dennis spins Tom off, then they begin punching, kicking and biting. Eventually, a sheriff (who actually helped Dan, Tom, and Jerry in the beginning) arrives; however, it is discovered that he was working with the pot farmers all along. The three are cornered and Jerry, who took one of the farmer's grenades, flips off the pin but accidentally drops it. Moments before it blows, he throws it towards the bad guys; it explodes, causing a tree to fall on the farmers and sheriff. The three bad guys are arrested afterwards.In the end, Jerry, Dan, and Tom earn half of the remaining money from D. B. Cooper's partner. Jerry proposes to his girlfriend, Dan starts a relationship with one of the hippie girls and gets laid for the first time, and Tom is a camp counselor for a children's summer camp, who ends up telling his troop all about the camping trip.

Tags: violence, romantic, humor, storytelling, home movie

Review:
The film talks about a trio friends(Seth Green,Dax Shepard,Matthew Lillard),later the death a childhood's friend ,they propose the making a hick by canoe into woods of Oregon territory.Their aim is the looking for of D.B Cooper bounty for carrying out the promise they made when were little boys .Cooper was a mythic high-jacker(nowadays famous by character played by Muse Watson in ¨Prison Break¨)who jumped from the airplane(1971) and parachuted,disappearing posteriorly,although his bounty was partially found.The misfit group fulfill a canoeing along the Columbia river where find numerous risks,rapid streams,waterfalls and get worse, besides in the surface encounters dangerous animals like a bear and a drug-cultivating rednecks.But also they know a beautiful girls(Rachel Blanchard and Christina Moore) living on a tree and an older mountain man(Burt Reynolds).The picture mingles comedy,adventures,action,cynical sense of humor and is pretty bemusing.It's a crossover among ¨Deliverance¨even with the presence of Burt Reynolds and ¨City slickers¨as a Philadelphia young people who are going to countryside excursion.The movie displays several ingredients for the entertaining as glimmer outdoors,stirring canoeing,sexy-girls and thrilling pursuits.The humor is intelligent and bold though sometimes is gross-out.Most of the laughters and sight gags galore work acceptably,especially the jokes between the three friends,as when they flee of the dangerous rednecks and dropped underwater or when the damp trio sleep gather together.Wonderful landscapes are splendidly reflected by the cameraman Jonathan Brown and appropriate musical score by Christophe Beck.The motion picture is professionally directed by Steven Brill.
Along the way, they encounter everything from a bear, tree-hugging hotties, and a couple of pot growing rednecks.This film has some of the funniest scenes that I have seen in a long time.
The image of Mott saying 'help' as he looked back while being carried off had me laughing way too high way too long but it and some other scenes were hilarious and I couldn't help it then either.All in all a good film for the genre.
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.
But it you want to cut loose and have fun and laugh 'til you hurt, then this is the movie for you.Seth Green, as always, plays it straight and ends up being the funniest one of all.
They decide to continue his journey, but do not understand the dangers they will soon encounter.Although the cast listing of 'Without a Paddle' is small, it's still got three great comedy stars leading it.
Still, it is not very long and will still make a good movie to watch on a wet day."Help me." - Dan Mott (Seth Green).
Three childhood friends (Seth Green, Matthew Lilard, Dax Sheppard) reunite at a friend's funeral, and go off on a camping trip downstream to try and find the lost treasure they always dreamed of finding in their youth in his honour.
(one finds Dax Shepard riding his motorcycle into the graveyard at the burial of his friend, and bellowing out to the funeral attendees 'Where did you guys park?') The inclusion of Burt Reynolds' crazy mountain man is a comedic plus, but the nature loving hippy-girls and uncouth drug traffickers which pop up periodically aren't as funny as they should be.
The odd laugh will definitely turn up, but there are many better comedies around, so unless you're simply up for an evening of mostly forgettable fun, you might want to leave Without a Paddle wallowing in the shallows.6.5/10.
I didn't even know Dax Shepard was a real actor but after seeing his performance in this movie he most likely won't branch out from comedy.
At first I saw it because I'm in love with Matthew Lillard and Seth Green, but now I'm seeing it again cause it was so funny.The movie had really great actors who really brought the movie to life.
Two of the main characters are named Tom & Jerry which is a perfect choice, because in all of those Tom & Jerry cartoons I've watched, I didn't see them get into as much as trouble as the characters in this movie get into.Just like any other copies of the genre, with the help of all that adventure they encounter, they end up their journey with a moralistic lesson which might be about friendship, or live the moment, or any other thing.
There's also a certain degree of surrealness in the things they encounter - the women who live in a tree to protect it from loggers are a definite high point!Overall it's not a very good movie - the plot is pretty thin, and the vast majority of the jokes are the sort that make you smile rather than the sort that make you laugh.
If you're looking for a film that requires little or no thought but delivers good laughs in a "Road Trip" wilderness-type setting, then this is for you.
Quite what Matthew Lillard and Seth Green, in particular, were thinking when they agreed to this is beyond me.3 childhood friends united in their early 30s when their 4th member dies decide to realise his 'legacy' by going on a treasure hunt he planned in meticulous detail.
When I first saw the television ads for this movie, I thought it looked like another of the countless dumb comedies Hollywood seems to crank out these days.
The DVD cast commentary is quite funny, and you can tell they had a great time making the movie.
Matthew Lillard is obviously one of the worst actors of modern times (his 'work' in the Scooby-Doo masterpieces vouches for it); the storyline is SO old, oh my God, I've probably seen 50 'go for the treasure and end up spiritually lifted' comedies (why didn't they stop with City Slickers?); the two moronic rednecks(you were right about Wrong Turn-a comedy in its own way), the cheesy, totally not funny 'weed jokes'(STOP WITH THE 'dogs on drugs' jokes PLEASE-see Road Trip-)-all of this should be enough to scare off any movie goer.I have all possible respect however for the tree-hippies (the typical teen comedy nude scene was inexplicably amiss however).
I'm a big fan of the Road Trip/Campus Comedy movies, but sadly this movie misses the mark, and was frankly a bit of a let down.It isn't awful, it just lacks laughs too often and can't compete with the likes of Road Trip/American Pie and Old School to name a few.It isn't all bad news, Without a paddle does have some amusing moments, and some interesting characters, but just not enough to become a great comedy.Worth a watch.Just don't expect too much.6/10.
I really expected to enjoy this movie because I looked forward to seeing Matthew Lillard, Seth Green, and the other guy-Dax Shepherd.
The DB Cooper part of the film gave me a good "Goonies" vibe, but the film goes stale trying to hard to be funny.From a bear attack that goes awry, to two of the stupidest rednecks in the history of stupid rednecks (and that is saying something), to dog's tripping on pot (I know Hollywood smokes the green occasionally, so why do they always make heads have visuals.
Burt Reynolds makes a brief appearance and shows us exactly why they say he is the biggest actor to ever star in so many bombs, his range is so limited as seen in this film.The plot is not bad at all, in fact to some degree is somewhat a original spin on an overused idea (White Water Summer, Deliverence, City Slickers, etc.).
i liked this movie.it has been a while since i seen a good movie.at first i didn't care to see it cause i thought it would be dumb but my husband talked me into it.they coulnd have picked a better name cause that name was a little cheesy...after i found out kevin bacon was in it and seth green i knew it had to be good..i give props to kevin!!!I liked the way they went down the waterfall i know if they actually had to do that it would have been real scary..i don't know if i could do somethin like that.the most funny part was when they were under that rock and were cuddled up with each other.the bear was a good scene especially when he carried seth off thinking it was a cub..
My best friends and I watched this in high school, although we live in different places in the country now we still refer to the movie all the time and when we can get together, it's just like the movie in the way we are catching up, doing stupid stuff, and laughing.
Dax Shepard as Tom gives a performance that is entertaining and makes us like his character, much like Zach in the sequel, except Tom doesn't have an equivalent in that movie.I mostly feel sorry for Seth Green here as Dan, but he has his moments.
I appreciated the camaraderie of the three friends (Seth Green, Matthew Lillard and Dax Shepard), the hip soundtrack, the excellent guest appearance of Burt Reynolds and the awesome New Zealand locations.
Its a fun-loving tale about friendship & adventure!'Without a Paddle' Synopsis: 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.'Without a Paddle' works wonders as an entertainer.
Editing is pretty good.Performance-Wise: Seth Green, Matthew Lillard & Dax Shepard are in top-form, enacting the likable leading-men with terrific energy.
I think it was awesome, the fact that these guys are really good friends and at the same time their always insulting each other makes me roll on the floor laughing.
I also loved it when the old man, says "If you want something you got to go get it, and you got to go right now" when it pouring rain outside, so the 3 guys get up and the guy says "Not right now you idiots, I just really laughed there, i think its a great movie.
i liked seth green way more after i saw this movie, same as matthew lillard.
This was a truly excellent comedy!!!!!!!!American Pie meets the Goonies meets Stand by Me!!!I'm the same age as the guys in movie, so guess the movie relates to me pretty well, I laughed all the way through, from the rapids and them going over the waterfall, to hippy chicks in the trees dropping turds on the bad guys.I read the rating on IMDb for this movie and thought it was going to be lame, i was surprised it turned out to be hilarious, cant wait for the DVD release.This wont go down as a classic but will have you in stitches, and the complimentary feel good ending of a good comedy, made this one of the best films I've seen this year.
After all, it's about time Seth Green played a super-nerd and Dax Shepard got a major role in a movie!
I bought this movie on DVD when it first came out and I watch it every now and then when I feel like a good laugh!
Once in the wilderness, they encounter a ferocious grizzly bear, a couple of tree-hugging (and tree-dwelling) nymphets, and two hillbilly pot farmers who look and act like a couple of leftovers from a touring company of "Deliverance." Dax Shepard, Matthew Lillard and Seth Green play the young men who spend most of their time rescuing one another from death-defying accidents or running for their lives from predatory man and beast - with the occasional time out for big-think observations around the campfire about freedom vs.
It was awesome actually being in Oregon and seeing this movie which takes place in Oregon (even though it was filmed in New Zealand), and each time they would mention something about the state or show footage of something that looked like it, the audience responded gleefully.Plot summery: Seth Green, Matthew Lillard and Dax Shephard, all attend the funeral of an old friend in Oregon state.
They decide that in memory of their friend, they will go on a camping trip and find the treasure.What follows is the some of the best comedy I've ever seen in a movie.
I already knew about Seth Green (Dan Mott) and Matthew Lillard (Jerry Conlaine) from prior films, but I had never seen Dax Shepard (Tom Marshall).
It did have some hilarious moments but it still had an almost serious storyline and a good adventure story as well, and as a big fan of adventure films, i really liked the movie.I love comedies as well, but sometimes when adventure and comedy cross together they can become really corny, but seeing as this movie is not a big budget adventure film the comedy fits in perfectly, and after all it is a comedy film.The story follows three old reunited friends on a quest to find their deceased friends' treasure after discovering a map in their old club tree house.The three main characters, played by Seth Green, Matthew Lillard and Dax Sheppard, are so funny together and are perfectly cast.The film has a serious and sentimental side to it.
I have never seen one of Seth Green's movies, but this is the first time and he is a really good actor.
I have enjoyed watching Dax Shepherd on Punk'd, but he is a much better actor in real movies than I think most people give him credit for.
Great laughs and a feel-good movie.
I watched it again and i had to laugh equally loud as i did the first time.This movie has every ingredient a good Road-Trip movie should have.A adventure; seeking the long lost treasure of DB Cooper, hot chicks, redneck weedgrowing hillbillies, a protective bear, and the best of all are the 3 main characters.
The blue river, the green mountain, the fresh air, I wish that I can live in a place like that.Seth green is adorable, I don't know how old he is, but he is like a big kid in this movie, his acting looks natural and naive which made his jokes even funnier.I wish that I can have a fun adventure with those guys in the wild, that would be so unforgettable!.
And a lot of laughs, not least Burt Reynold appearing in the role as the guy had lived alone in the wood for thirty years, looking for his friend Cooper and his fortune!
The acting of the Seth Green, Dax Shepard and Matthew Lilliard as the three friends is superb, as is that of the bad guys; Ray Baker, Ethan Suplee and Abraham Benrubi.In contrast to Deliverance this film has a fine female supporting cast, too, but they just have minor roles.As others have commented, the dialogue is great, the scenes with the female grizzly (played by Bart the Bear!!) were the best bear acting I've seen for a while.Great fun and a bit of depth as well - much better than the critics have given it credit for!
When I saw the previews for "Without a Paddle" i was expecting a stupid, plot less movie that wasn't funny in the slightest way.
This is not a bad little combination that, despite the enormous pitfalls in the story line, played quite decent.The actors in this film were not comedy genius', but the did know how to make you laugh and that worked for me.
Maybe it was the final editing, but you finished this film feeling like you missed a big chunk of the action.Overall, this was a decent little movie that had me laughing at some parts while waiting for others to end.
I thought this movie wasn't only a knee slappin comedy but it was also good cause it had a moral "Love your life and live it everyday" I thought this was a great buddy comedy and it was funny throughout the whole thing.
You should also see it for it's great actors (Seth Green, Mathew Lillard, Dax Shepard) This film may not be as amusing as you hoped cause it is very similar to the diliverance.
But none the less its funny Now for those of you who have seen it (remember the part where Tom came in on his motorcycle and asked "Where did you guys park?") "hahahahahaha",sigh, I also thought it's choice of actors were perfect paranoid Dan (Seth Green), Leader smart guy (Mathew Lillard), Tough guy/slacker (Dax Shepard.) Hope you enjoyed it as much as I did.
Wraping up this movie was FANTASTIC about three guys that need one last childhood adventure with their best friends before realizing what great lives they had and the new ones that start with the others in their lives!!!!!!!!!!I strongly recommend this movie to anyone was has a sense of humor and is not afraid to just burst out laughing along with all the others in the audience!!!!!!!.
I really thought without a paddle was funny.its one of those movies i can see 100 times and don't get tired of it.
some of the comedy was cheap but really good.i didn't see the movie until a few years after it came out and i thought "what have i been missing out on" its not exactly a family film but still OK for older audiences.
Seth Green, I thought was the best as Scott Evil, but this movie made me really like him.
All 3 of the above actors are great, there really funny, and I never thought that with the 3 of them, there would be enough laughs as there are in this movie.
It had an interesting story co-written by Fred Wolf and Harris Goldberg (two screenwriters who have co-wrote some of my favorite comedies of all time), it had Steven Brill as the director, and it starred Seth Green, Matthew Lillard, and Dax Shepard who are all funny guys so I expected the movie to be a laugh riot.