Bushwhacked (1995/I)

Director:

Greg Beeman

Writers (WGA):

John Jordan (story) &
Danny Byers (story) ...

Release Date:

4 August 1995 (USA)

Genre:

Adventure | Comedy | Crime | Family | Mystery

Tagline:

Wenn er auftaucht, steht die Wildnis Kopf. (If he appears, the wildness stands head.)

Plot:

On the run from authorities, a sleazy courier poses as a scout leader on a camping trip. But he has no idea what he's in for when he has to lead a group of kids.

Plot Keywords:

River | Waterfall | Mistaken Identity | Boy Scout | Helicopter

Cast

Daniel Stern	...	Max Grabelski
Jon Polito	...	Agent Palmer
Brad Sullivan	...	Jack Erickson
Ann Dowd	...	Mrs. Patterson
Anthony Heald	...	Reinhart Bragdon
Tom Wood	...	Agent McMurrey
Blake Bashoff	...	Gordy
Corey Carrier	...	Ralph
Michael Galeota	...	Dana
Max Goldblatt	...	Barnhill
Ari Greenberg	...	Milton Fishman
Janna Michaels	...	Kelsey Jordan
Natalie West	...	Mrs. Fishman
Michael P. Byrne	...	Mr. Fishman
Michael O'Neill	...	Jon Jordan

Also Known As:

Tenderfoots
The Tenderfoot

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for crude dialogue.

Runtime:

90 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Iceland:L | South Korea:All | Netherlands:6 (re-rating) | Netherlands:AL (original rating) | Australia:PG | Germany:12 | Portugal:M/6 | UK:PG (video premiere) | USA:PG-13 (certificate #33654) | USA:PG (edited for re-rating)

Filming Locations:

American River, Placerville, California, USA

Company:

Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation

Trivia:

Bobby Farrelly and Peter Farrelly did an uncredited rewrite of the script.

Goofs:

Audio/visual unsynchronized: When Max tells Fishman to "get the hell out of here", his lips are not moving.

Quotes:

[Gordy's hanging from a ledge]
Max: Hey kid, how's it hanging? Alright, Gordy, I'm coming down to get you.
Gordy: No! You don't know what you're doing!
Max: Of course I do! I'm the Lizard! Remember?
Gordy: You mean the Spider?
Max: Right.

Movie Connections:

References "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno" (1992)

Soundtrack:

Stayin' Alive

Stern is terrific

Max Grabelski (Daniel Stern in full-on Home Alone mode) is a sleazy delivery man perpetually stuck in a 1970's time-warp (puh-lease tell me where I can get one of those shirts). He struts his way down the street to Bee Gees tunes and behaves like Disco Stu from The Simpsons. He's got a little con going on after working hours in which he delivers clandestine packages to some rich guy (a weak Anthony Heald) for big tips. He needs escapism and the mystery of the con makes him feel like a spy. Until that is, when Max is framed for murder and has to run for his life.

While trying to intercept the last in the series of suspicious packages (located in the mountains of the Pacific Northwest) in order to clear his name, Max is mistaken for a world famous Scout Leader and has to lead a bunch of adventure-hungry kids into the wilderness and shake off the pursuing FBI.

Daniel Stern's physical comedy is just plain hilarious and his comic timing is perfect. For anyone who liked him in Home Alone 1 and 2 you'll love him in this also. The kids are surprisingly not that annoying. Usually I hate kids in movies (Jurassic Park, Hook, The awful Von Trapp children) but they had enough character and laughs among them to make it okay.

I only ever had a problem with the ending. It was just too tame for a PG-13 rated movie. Instead of Gordy's far-fetched fall into the ravine I would have preferred that the entire balcony of the cabin to collapse and the bad guy fall to his death. Plus the bad guy is kind of weak, his accent is just plain odd and he has this strange sort of campness and not scariness about him. Too bad since Anthony Heald has played some true scumbags in his time.

These 2 complains aside Bushwhacked is great adventure movie with a lively score by Bill Conti (why is there no soundtrack CD?). It's probably best enjoyed in Spring/Summer and is perfect for the whole family. An admirable amount of laughs indeed.

The DVD is a godsend for anyone who had to suffer the terrible pan-and-scan video (like me), which half the picture missing. Now Bushwhacked is presented in full 2.35:1 anamorphic widescreen and it looks just fine. The sound is simple Dolby 2.0 but it's more than adequate. Extras are thin, consisting of just a Bushwhacked trailer (quite good) and couple of other Fox family movie trailers.

But for the price, Bushwhacked is a must, regardless of extras or not. Though this time I would I liked to have seen some.