Got invited to an advanced screening of Without a Paddle last night (ok, so I’m bragging a little, sue me), and expectations weren’t high. Although the previews have looked pretty funny, the fact of the matter is that it looked like just another teen style comedy in the same vein as American Pie, Road Trip, Euro Trip, Dude Where’s My Car‚Ķ all of which I didn’t like‚Ķ at all. However, it turned out to be something a little different.
Without a Paddle begins by setting up the strong friendship between 4 childhood friends who grew up together tight as can be. They were inseparable right up until they graduated High School and then semi went they’re separate ways to pursue College, careers and other things. They all still stay in touch and the bond is still there. Flash forward a few years now and the guys are all 30 now. One day they get a call that changes everything‚Ķ one of the guys has died in an accident, bringing the other 3 home for the funeral. The 3 remaining guys decide to take an adventure that the 4 of them always swore to do. And this is where the movie essentially begins.
One of the things that really impressed me about this film was the believability of the bond between the characters. You could see the affection the guys had for each other, and it worked well on the screen. Also, being a 30ish year old myself, the thing that I enjoyed most about this film was that the characters weren’t 19 or 21. It’s a film about a group of friends in my age range, which admittedly helped me to relate with the film a bit more. Guys wrestling with their careers, questioning themselves about marriage and larger life decisions instead of the typical teen comedy dilemmas of “how can I build up the courage to ask Cindy out?” or “How can I get my mom to give me more freedom” or most of all “How can I get laid for the first time?”.
The film does get a bit cheesy from time to time, but you find yourself forgiving it for the odd indiscretion. I very much enjoyed this film. It’s funny‚Ķ not all the time, but it’s funny. Ultimately what really makes the movie work is the performances of Dax Shepard, Matthew Lillard and Seth Green. They just did a really fine job.
So, the bottom line is this. Without a Paddle is a fun, funny little summer road flick with the unique angle of 30ish year old characters instead of the typical 20 year olds. It’s cheesy in spots and far from perfect, but overall it’s pretty damn enjoyable. Check it out this upcoming weekend if you need a giggle or two. I give Without a Paddle a 7/10.
This movie was simply awful. I just saw it last night and, thinking back “what was the funniest part?”, I can remember the best punch lines and THEY were hackneyed jokes; i.e., “I only have to outrun you”. There should be gov’t warnings on movies this bad.
Hey Dave,
I read your site all the time and I like your reviews a lot… but man do we disagree on this one! I was actually at the screening in Hamilton. Admittedly, so much of our opinions can be swayed one way or the other by how the ‚Äúcrowd‚Äù reacts to it, and the audience I saw it with just seemed to love it.
I thought it was much more intelligent (and I use that term loosely here) than Harold and Kumar, which did have some good giggles, but didn’t seem to know how to make you laugh without making shit, or tits or sex in the car, or pot as it’s subject matter. I’m just getting bored of that stuff (or maybe I’m showing my age (gulp). Anyway, I liked Without a Paddle, but like I always say, the most beautiful thing about film is the pure subjectivity of it. G’day.
I was at that screening too (the Paramount, right?) and I thought the movie was awful. There wasn’t a single funny moment in the entire film, and the performances were uniformly terrible. Everything about the movie just seemed so forced, ie Seth Green plays the prissy guy that has to learn how to loosen up. Compare this to Harold and Kumar, which was quite similar in a lot of ways, and there is no comparison really.