'A Walk in the Woods' (2015) is the long awaited adaptation of the beloved 1998 book by Bill Bryson. And I have to say, as a huge fan of the book, I was extremely excited to hear that this was finally being made into a movie. I also have to say it was one of the most disappointing cinema experiences of my life. The film follows Robert Redford as author Bill Bryson as he makes an ill attempted trek along the famed Appalachian Trail with his long estranged friend Steven Katz, played by Nick Nolte. Despite the fact that both book and film have the same tag-line premise, this movie was about as far away from the source material as it could possibly get.
Visually speaking, it was incredibly boring. Stylistically reminiscent of a Hallmark Channel flick, I expect to see this movie playing in the waiting room of my local dentist office. Despite the fact that the plot revolves around two geriatrics traversing an expansive and rugged mountain trail, roughly two thousand miles of track stretching from Georgia to Main, well over half of the movie takes place in diners, motels, laundromats, and the local Kmart. What parts of the film do take place on the trail are close shots of camping tents or convenient mountain ledges that vaguely reveal just enough of the surrounding nature that the audience can tell the scene takes place outdoors.
This is robs the film of its core plot line. Director Ken Kwapis took all of the natural beauty from the movie and replaced it with cheap gags and old men bickering to each other.The title of the movie is 'A Walk in the Woods' but maybe a more appropriate title would be 'Stumbling through the Parking Lot'. All of Bryson's rich and moving commentary about the history of environmental thought in America is summed up with an offhand comment by Redford about a tree.
The dialogue and writing is almost entirely composed of tired clichés that I feel like I've seen better in a thousand other films. Kwapis forced the theme of dealing with regrets in later life and having one last adventure before buying the farm. What he ends up with is a few painfully awkward scenes between Redford and Mary Steenburgen as Bryson considers having an affair on his wife (played by Emma Thompson). Nolte's Katz later tries to pick up a woman in the laundromat and the intrepid hikers must escape out a window, just as the audience ponders escaping the theater.
The poor writing and forced jokes are almost unbearable; an opinion apparently shared by the cast of the film, as none of them seemed to want to be there. This leaves the audience to watch stiff, awkward, and disjointed performances from the otherwise talented actors. Redford's Bryson comes across as elitist, judgmental, and boring. While Nolte's Katz is indescribably hard to watch; hobbling along the trail at an improbable pace given his many supposed ailments and gargling out enough F-bombs as to make the dialogue seem lopsided. Thompson almost seems embarrassed to be in the three scenes in which she appears.
It is unclear as to the intended audience for this movie. Instead of making a movie that fans of the book would love, Kwapis made a cheesy drama that I would feel is insulting to fans of the book, all hikers and outdoor enthusiasts, and the elderly community in general. The best parts of the book were removed and replaced with unnecessary drama, dumb jokes that don't even qualify as slapstick, and a hopeless feeling that Bryson and Katz are hiking not towards a better friendship and an appreciation for nature, but towards their failure and regret laden graves.
Overall, this film has absolutely no redeeming qualities. Reading the book inspired me to hike the Appalachian Trail so I could be a part of American history and gain a better appreciation of the natural world. Watching the movie inspired me to hike the Appalachian Trail so I could get as far away from the movie as possible.
Visually speaking, it was incredibly boring. Stylistically reminiscent of a Hallmark Channel flick, I expect to see this movie playing in the waiting room of my local dentist office. Despite the fact that the plot revolves around two geriatrics traversing an expansive and rugged mountain trail, roughly two thousand miles of track stretching from Georgia to Main, well over half of the movie takes place in diners, motels, laundromats, and the local Kmart. What parts of the film do take place on the trail are close shots of camping tents or convenient mountain ledges that vaguely reveal just enough of the surrounding nature that the audience can tell the scene takes place outdoors.
This is robs the film of its core plot line. Director Ken Kwapis took all of the natural beauty from the movie and replaced it with cheap gags and old men bickering to each other.The title of the movie is 'A Walk in the Woods' but maybe a more appropriate title would be 'Stumbling through the Parking Lot'. All of Bryson's rich and moving commentary about the history of environmental thought in America is summed up with an offhand comment by Redford about a tree.
The dialogue and writing is almost entirely composed of tired clichés that I feel like I've seen better in a thousand other films. Kwapis forced the theme of dealing with regrets in later life and having one last adventure before buying the farm. What he ends up with is a few painfully awkward scenes between Redford and Mary Steenburgen as Bryson considers having an affair on his wife (played by Emma Thompson). Nolte's Katz later tries to pick up a woman in the laundromat and the intrepid hikers must escape out a window, just as the audience ponders escaping the theater.
The poor writing and forced jokes are almost unbearable; an opinion apparently shared by the cast of the film, as none of them seemed to want to be there. This leaves the audience to watch stiff, awkward, and disjointed performances from the otherwise talented actors. Redford's Bryson comes across as elitist, judgmental, and boring. While Nolte's Katz is indescribably hard to watch; hobbling along the trail at an improbable pace given his many supposed ailments and gargling out enough F-bombs as to make the dialogue seem lopsided. Thompson almost seems embarrassed to be in the three scenes in which she appears.
It is unclear as to the intended audience for this movie. Instead of making a movie that fans of the book would love, Kwapis made a cheesy drama that I would feel is insulting to fans of the book, all hikers and outdoor enthusiasts, and the elderly community in general. The best parts of the book were removed and replaced with unnecessary drama, dumb jokes that don't even qualify as slapstick, and a hopeless feeling that Bryson and Katz are hiking not towards a better friendship and an appreciation for nature, but towards their failure and regret laden graves.
Overall, this film has absolutely no redeeming qualities. Reading the book inspired me to hike the Appalachian Trail so I could be a part of American history and gain a better appreciation of the natural world. Watching the movie inspired me to hike the Appalachian Trail so I could get as far away from the movie as possible.