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:

The call of the wild, the thrill of adventure. The mistake of a lifetime.

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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

In the same year, Matthew Lillard & Seth Green both starred in Scooby-Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed.

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Goofs

When the canoe has flipped and the guys are trying to keep together, their shirts are life vests. When they're safe again, the life vests turn back to shirts.

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Quotes

Del Knox: I spent the best years of my life sittin' on the porch, playin' the harmonica, waitin' for somethin' better. And the years have been goin' by faster, and faster, and then, all of a sudden, I was an old man.
Tom Marshall: Well I bet you can play the shit outta that harmonica!
Del Knox: That I can. 'Cept there's no one around to hear me play it. Piece of advice: you can lose your money. You can spend it - all of it. Maybe work hard, get it all back. But if you waste your time, you're never gonna get it back.

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Connections

References Weekend at Bernie's (1989)

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Soundtracks

No Rain
by Glen Graham, Shannon Hoon, Brad Smith, Rogers Stevens (as Thomas Rogers Stevens) & Christopher Thorn (as Christopher John Thorn)
Performed by Blind Melon
Published by EMI April Music Inc. (ASCAP) o/b/o itself and Heavy Melon Music
Courtesy of Capitol Records
Under license from EMI Film & Television Music

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.