A Walk in the Woods Review
RYAN: This comedy costars Robert Redford and Nick Nolte, who all along, I kept thinking looked a lot more like Gary Busey than Nick Nolte.
CHUCK: (laughs)
RYAN: Gary Busey got a big movie role after The Celebrity Apprentice, but no… this is Nick Nolte. He’s so gruff in this movie. What happened to his voice?
CHUCK: What has happened to him, in general. I wondered why I hadn’t seen much of him in the last few years but after looking it up, it appears he has been working steadily. I don’t know what’s wrong.
RYAN: It’s as if he was reprising his character from the movie Down and Out in Beverly Hills. He looks homeless. He’s the future version of that homeless man who falls into the pool of Richard Dreyfuss and Better Midler.
CHUCK: Maybe that’s the theory. (laughs)
RYAN: There are some good comedic moments and the audience we screened this will was really bursting out with laughter. I didn’t LOL but did find it amusing. That’s the problem with this movie though. It’s shot like a typical Hollywood comedy and thus completely misses the major opportunity to feature the environment as a third character. I mean, they’re filming on the Appalachian Trail for heaven’s sake. Instead of taking advantage of that beauty and shooting creatively, it’s all very static and straightforward. They would have been walking anywhere.
CHUCK: Agreed. It was shot like an 80s comedy that had no artistic value whatsoever, yet they’re in one of the most gorgeous national treasures this continent has. I’ve seen more creative filming in specials I’ve seen on the Smithsonian Channel. It detracts because the point is these older gentleman go on the hike of a lifetime and yet if feels like they’re just on a stroll.
RYAN: It’s The Odd Couple Goes Hiking.
CHUCK: It never goes into what would really happen if they were hiking. Their feet would be bleeding. There would have been struggle.
RYAN: That would have added some much needed layers. I kept thinking of the recent Reese Witherspoon movie Wild. That was a trek! That was a drama, but still, this comedy could have worked better and the movie would be improved, had they made it feel more authentic. They’re not without their challenges in this film but it always goes for the comedy before the reality. And real would have been funnier.
CHUCK: Totally.
RYAN: I hiked for the first time this year, in Door County and I experienced more in an hour than they seemed to experience in months.
CHUCK: Yeah this was too episodic and they meet some personalities and some funny moments but it’s pretty basic.
RYAN: The highlight for me was Emma Thompson. She bookends the movie and is barely in it.
CHUCK: These guys are great actors but they really don’t have too much to work with. Their characters are the Odd Couple. I thought a lot about Planes, Trains and Automobiles, which I think they were going for, but they never got close to as good as that movie was. Bob Hope and Bing Crosby were better in their buddy-road movies.
RYAN: Some supporting actors have decent moments – Nick Offerman, Kristen Schaal. She’s a bit of a scene stealer but I was disappointed with the ending of this movie. There are loose ends that are annoying.
CHUCK: Mary Steenburgen was also good but leaves more to be desired in terms of story. As far as the comedy, I didn’t laugh once. But the audience did react pretty loudly.
RYAN: It’s filled with missed opportunities. It’s a movie with potential that’s never fulfilled. The characters were one note – Robert Redford basically played determined and in love but never anything more. It’s too focused and static. If you’re flipping through the channels on cable someday, you could enjoy it on the couch, but you don’t have to run out to catch this one.
