Comedy second-bananas Seth Green, Matthew Lillard, and Dax Shepard star as childhood pals (and Central Casting clichés) who reunite, after the funeral of an adventurous friend, for one "last chance to do something incredibly stupid together"--namely, getting lost in the Oregon waters and woods while hunting for the missing loot of legendary skyjacker D.B. Cooper. Of course, all of them will overcome prefabricated hang-ups and discover that "being alive is the treasure" by way of predictable misadventures: they go over waterfalls and have run-ins with bears, a redneck sheriff, heavyset and heavily-armed hillbilly pot farmers, a mysterious mountain man (wild-bearded Burt Reynolds), and a pair of sexy tree-sitting flower children with shaved pits but hairy legs. Each perfunctory episode begets a few choice one-liners ("I don't have to outrun the bear. I just have to outrun you!"). But the laughs aren't steady and the performances aren't vibrant enough to forgive the unstructured, unimaginative plot. It's as if everyone involved had a few yucks, and then bailed out (like Cooper himself), leaving the movie adrift--and appropriately titled. Not a necessary purchase. [Note: Available in either widescreen or full screen versions, DVD extras include audio commentary by director Stephen Brill, onscreen video commentary by Brill and costars Dax Shepard, Seth Green, and Matthew Lillard, an episode of MTV's Making the Movie (18 min.), 24 minutes of 13 additional scenes with optional commentary by Brill, six MTV Interstitials (3 min.), and trailers. Bottom line: a solid extras package for a lame comedy.] (R. Blackwelder)[Blu-ray Review—May 26, 2009—Paramount, 98 min., PG-13, $29.99—Making its first appearance on Blu-ray, 2004's Without a Paddle features a nice transfer and includes Dolby TrueHD 5.1 sound. Blu-ray extras are identical to the standard DVD release, including audio commentary by director Steven Brill, onscreen video commentary by Brill and costars Dax Shepard, Seth Green, and Matthew Lillard, an episode of MTV's Making the Movie (18 min.), 13 additional scenes with optional commentary by Brill (24 min.), six MTV interstitials (3 min. total), and trailers. Bottom line: better looking in Blu, but still a lame comedy.]
Without a Paddle
Paramount, 95 min., PG-13, VHS: $31.99, DVD: $29.95, Jan. 11 Volume 19, Issue 6
Without a Paddle
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