Without a Paddle (2004)
Who is this film for? Teenagers
hoping to see a goofy gross-out comedy will have absolutely
nothing to enjoy here. There's no testicle rolling
down a hospital corridor. There's no pastries full
of dog semen. Nobody fucks a pie. Hell, nobody even
farts in this film. What the fuck? Isn't this film
aimed at 12-year-olds? That's what the marketing makes
it seem like.
No, "Without a Paddle" is aimed
at guys in their late 20's, presumably gay guys but
also perhaps some of those closets bisexuals (you
know, the kind who make up "Maxum" magazines readership).
There's about 15 minutes where stars Matthew Lillard,
Seth Green and Dax Sheppard run around in their underwear
while soaking wet from the rain. You can't beat that
if you're a big old 'mo like me! So yes, I loved this
film.
There's also a few funny (read:
not hilarious) jokes in the film to help you get through
it all. And then towards the end Burt Reynolds has
a really good time playing a hermit, evoking the in-joke
idea (and marketing ploy) that the film is some sort
of spoof of Reynolds' 1972 film "Deliverance." (It
isn't). And there's a heartwarming and touchy- feely
theme that life is all about enjoying each and every
moment as we grow older. All in all, not bad stuff.
But those 13-year-old boys who paid
8 bucks to see the film and maybe see some girls in
bikinis are going to be pissed. Not only will they
think the movie is "gay," (and God help me, it is)
but they'll also be scratching their head trying to
figure out just who the fuck Burt Reynolds and D.B.
Cooper are. (Cooper's story is integral to the plot
here, by the way).
So if your male, over 25 - and your
gay - or you think you're straight but you read "Maxum,"
check out this film. Your heart will go pitter- patter.
(And some other organ might be throbbing a little
bit for about 15 minutes as well).
Notes:
Loads of pop songs fill the score
including some by The Faces (whose "Ooh, La, La" is
sort of a motif here), Culture Club (whose "Do You
Really Want to Hurt Me" is used in the plot), The
Rolling Stones (whose "Can't You Hear Me Knocking"
is used in a drug scene), .38 Special ("Hold on Loosely")
and R. Kelly (who has a song used for comic effect).
A band called Spiderbait does a cover of "Black Betty"
which is used over the end credits.
Viewed in Austin in August, 2004.
