Without a Paddle (2004)

Number Rolled: 25

Movie Name/Year: Without a Paddle (2004)

Genre: Action & Adventure

Length: 98 minutes

Rating: PG-13

Director: Steven Brill

Writer: Fred Wolf, Harris Goldberg, Tom Nursall, Jay Leggett, Mitch Rouse

Actors: Matthew Price, Andrew Hampton, Jarred Rumbold, Carl Snell, Antony Starr, Dax Shepard, Matthew Lillard, Seth Green, Nadine Bernecker, Danielle Cormack, Rachel Blanchard, Christina Moore, Burt Reynolds

The movie starts off with four childhood friends. One of them goes off to live a life of adventure, and the other three promise to as well. About ten minutes in you learn that all three of them couldn’t follow their promises and have wound up getting your usual jobs and living your basic existence. Then the one that got to live the adventure dies and the other three are left looking around and wondering what could have been. So, they set off on a trip they all agreed to take when they were young; a camping trip that was supposed to lead up to finding the treasure of DB. Of course, there wouldn’t actually be a movie if it was all smooth sailing from there.

With a cast involving Seth Green, Matthew Lillard and Dax Shepard as the three leads, you know there is going to be some laughs. As three actors playing best friends, their chemistry was pretty good, too. The whole height thing comes into play, which, how could it not since Matt and Dax are freakishly tall and Seth is the exact opposite. Their personalities and biology clash and mesh to make a pretty damn good trio, if you ask me.

The story is pretty good and the script is funny, but it’s the actors that gave this movie any real depth. Even with that, you wind up with something that’s largely unmemorable after the credits roll.

Don’t get me wrong! It’s a cute movie. This isn’t the first time I’ve seen it and it won’t be the last. There’s a reason that – if you look at rottentomatoes.com – you’ll see the critics tanked the movie (12%) but the audience loved it (73%). It’s because it’s got the kind of humor you get in old Jim Carrey and Adam Sandler movies, but with slightly less acknowledged actors. It’s a movie geared toward its target audience <i>not</i> toward the critics; and critics are like three years olds, they throw a tantrum when they’re not acknowledged.

I recommend seeing it once if you think it’s your brand of humor; and not just because of my deep and everlasting love for Matthew Lillard, either. It’s worth the hour and a half of your time and it’ll give you some laughs.

Overall Opinion – 3/5