Barnes & Noble

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. Ed Hulse

All Movie Guide

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. Jason Buchanan

Product Details

• UPC: 097361430546
• Source: PARAMOUNT
• Presentation: Wide Screen
• Sound: Dolby AC-3 Surround Sound
• Editions: Subtitled
• Time: 1:38:00
• Sales Rank: 15,907

This DVD is also available as part of a box set:

• 3 Movie Comedy Collection

Features: