Without a Paddle (2004)

After their friend dies, three men decide to fulfill their childhood dream by going on a camping expedition for the lost D. B. Cooper bounty, with calamitous results.

Director:

Steven Brill

Writers:

Fred Wolf (story), Harris Goldberg (story)

Stars:

Matthew Lillard, Seth Green, Dax Shepard

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Matthew Price	...	Young Tom
Andrew Hampton	...	Young Jerry
Jarred Rumbold	...	Young Dan
Carl Snell	...	Young Billy
Antony Starr	...	Billy Newwood (as Anthony Starr)
Dax Shepard	...	Tom Marshall
Matthew Lillard	...	Jerry Conlaine
Seth Green	...	Dan Mott
Nadine Bernecker	...	Angie
Danielle Cormack	...	Tony
David Stott	...	Dick Stark
Bonnie Somerville	...	Denise
Scott Adsit	...	Greasy Man
Morgan Reese Fairhead	...	Sandi
Liddy Holloway	...	Bonnie Newwood

Storyline

Three friends, whose lives have been drifting apart, reunite for the funeral of a fourth childhood friend. When looking through their childhood belongings, they discover a trunk which contained details on a quest their friend was attempting. It revealed that he was hot on the trail of the $200,000 that went missing with airplane hijacker D.B. Cooper in 1971. They decide to continue his journey, but do not understand the dangers they will soon encounter.

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Plot Keywords:

tree house | homoeroticism | environmentalist | homophobia | underwear | 

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Taglines:

Three lifelong friends... One lost treasure... What could go wrong?

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Genres:

Adventure | Comedy | Mystery

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for drug content, sexual material, language, crude humor and some violence

Details

Official Sites:

Paramount [United States]

Country:

USA New Zealand

Language:

English

Release Date:

20 August 2004 (USA)

Also Known As:

Jusqu'au cou

Filming Locations:

Huka Falls, Taupo, Waikato, New Zealand

Box Office

Budget:

$19,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$13,528,946, 22 August 2004, Wide Release

Gross USA:

$58,169,327

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$71,274,967

Company Credits

Production Co:

Paramount Pictures,De Line Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

95 min

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Dax Shepard, Seth Green, and Matthew Lillard all did a majority of their own stunts.

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Goofs

When the guys are in the tree with the girls, they call for help on a CB radio. The bad guy hears and responds to them on an FRS radio. This is impossible since the CB works in the 27 MHz range, and the FRS radio works in the 440 MHz range.

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Quotes

Jerry Conlaine: How do you guys get supplies?
Flower: When we need supplies, we radio the Earthchild Support Network.
Jerry Conlaine: [encouraged] Radio? You guys have a *radio*?
Butterfly: Yeah. We haven't used it since that last big thunderstorm. Remember that Flower?
Flower: [smiling] Oh my god. That thunderstorm was *so* spiritual. Earthchild's limbs were waving and heaving back and forth like she was dancing to the rhythm of the thunder. It was like, BAM! BAM! BAM! Full on... fanatric... orgasm.
Jerry Conlaine: So where is this radio?
Dan Mott: Tree had an orgasm?
[...]

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Connections

Spoofs Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969)

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Soundtracks

Let It Flow
Written by Ali Dee, Vincent Alfieri & Zach Danziger
Performed by Chris Classic
Published by Spirit One Music o/b/o Canvas One Music (BMI)
Courtesy of Spirit Music Group o/b/o Deetown Productions

User Reviews

Better and More Clever Than I Expected

The whole rating system is kind of skewed. Some people rated this film low because it wasn't Larwrence of Arabia but then it wasn't meant to be. It's like comparing actors when they play different roles. You can only really compare them playing the same role.

Anyway I went to the film expecting a goofy stoner type of mindless entertainment. Just a laugh. But I was pleasantly surprised that not only was it funny but some deeper thought had gone into it. The plot was more substantial than I expected, there were bits of philosophy sprinkled throughout which accentuated the positive side of life, and the cast was pretty good too. I'm not sure what inspired Burt Reynolds to play his character but he did it well as did all of the players.

But mainly the movie was funnier than hell. I almost embarrassed myself I laughed so hard during the first bear sequence. 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. And surprisingly while I think it appeals to the stoner crowd it's cool in that it incorporates it without promoting it though it doesn't avoid it either. In fact I was struck by the fact that the bad guys were red neck smokers and the good guys were dopey beer drinkers but apparently nothing more.

Lastly the film cleverly pays homage to other films throughout. Deliverance, The Matrix, and others are covered and probably a few I missed.