Without a Paddle

Director: Steven Brill Steven Brill

Overview

Just as the old saying goes, a trio of hapless city-dwelling friends (Seth Green, Matthew Lillard, and Dax Shepard) find themselves spiraling out of control up a very brown river in this raucous comedy from Little Nicky director Steven Brill. Heading out for a weekend canoe trip in search of an elusive 200,000-dollar treasure, the trio must contend with everything from raging rapids to backwoods mountain men if they're ever going to uncover the secret of the missing booty.

Product Details

Release Date:	10/24/2017
UPC:	0032429287687
Original Release:	2004
Rating:	PG-13
Source:	PARAMOUNT
Language:	English
Time:	1:38:00
Sales rank:	24,917

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits

Seth Green	Dan Mott
Matthew Lillard	Jerry Conlaine
Dax Shepard	Tom Marshall
Burt Reynolds	Del Knox
Ethan Suplee	Elwood
Abraham Benrubi	Dennis
Rachel Blanchard	Flower
Christina Moore	Butterfly
Bonnie Somerville	Denise
Ray Baker	Sheriff Briggs
Bart the Bear	Actor
Matthew Price	Young Tom
Andrew Hampton	Young Jerry
Jarred Rumbold	Young Dan
Carl Snell	Young Billy
Nadine Bernecker	Angie
Danielle Cormack	Tony
David Stott	Dick Stark
Scott Adsit	Greasy Man
Morgan Reese Fairhead	Sandi
Liddy Holloway	Bonnie Newwood
Mia Blake	Giselle
Bruce Phillips	Minister
Kate Harcourt	Old Woman
Gregory Norman Cruz	River Guide,River Guide
Susan Brady	Leslie
Antony Starr	Billy Newood
Connor Carty-Squires	Boy Scout
Christophe Beck	Composer

Technical Credits

Jay Leggett

Mitch Rouse

Steven Brill	Director
Jay Leggett	Screenwriter
Mitch Rouse	Screenwriter
Karl Chisholm	Special Effects
Augie Davis	Stunts
Donald De Line	Producer
Andrew Haas	Executive Producer
Steve Ingram	Special Effects
Sheila Jaffe	Casting
Wendy Japhet	Executive Producer
Richard Vane	Executive Producer
Dave Booth	Special Effects
Trevor Bau	Stunts
Winham Hammond	Stunts
Tim Wong	Stunts

Editorial Reviews

Unashamedly filching its basic premise from City Slickers, this lowbrow comedy succeeds thanks to its three protagonists, who spend the entire movie falling into holes (literally as well as figuratively) and clambering out of them. Matthew Lillard, Seth Green, and Dax Shepard play Philadelphia-based pals who decide to fulfill a boyhood ambition after another friend abruptly dies. They set out for the wilds of Oregon, ostensibly on a white-water camping trip but actually in search of lost treasure -- some $200,000 that vanished along with notorious plane hijacker D. B. Cooper, who parachuted into the deep forest and was never seen again. The main characters are sketched broadly, with basic personality traits: Lillard is more levelheaded than his two friends, the intensely neurotic Green and the cheerfully mendacious and irresponsible Shepard. There’s plenty of fish-out-of-water humor in the laughably ineffectual attempts of these three city boys to master their surroundings, and poor Green usually winds up getting the worst of every situation. Abraham Benrubi and Ethan Suplee show up as dimwitted but murderous marijuana farmers who pursue the three friends after they accidentally come across their bumper crop of pot. Even better is Burt Reynolds, no stranger to rafting adventures, who plays an eccentric recluse who may or may not be the long-missing Cooper. Burt’s surprisingly comfortable in a supporting role, although he can’t resist stealing scenes from the three leads now and then. Director Steven Brill (Mr. Deeds) obviously knew he wasn’t working with sophisticated material here, and his staging of the comedic set pieces is generally heavy-handed. But his cast is genuinely engaging and the setting offers not only visual appeal but also inspires a variety of outdoorsy gags. Without a Paddle certainly doesn’t rate a place in the pantheon of screen comedy, but it’s an amiable little farce that can be depended upon to tickle the funny bone with surprising regularity.