Reviewed by Johnny McNair 

 

Paramount Home Entertainment – 90 mins – 2009 – Rated PG-13 – 1080p Widescreen 2.35: 1 – Dolby TrueHD 5.1 Master Audio

 

 

The original Without A Paddle movie came out in 2004, and maybe I didn’t get the memo, but I don’t recall anyone ever wishing a sequel would be made. But whether you wanted it or not, five years later the next chapter in the Without A Paddle series has arrived on Blu-ray from Paramount Home Entertainment, and if you’re a big fan of computer generated squirrels, then Without A Paddle: Nature’s Calling has your name written all over it.

 

THE MOVIE

 

The first Without A Paddle movie starred Seth Green, Matthew Lillard and Dax Shepard as three buddies who go into the wild looking for D.B. Cooper’s lost fortune. The sequel has an entirely new cast, all unknowns, who have been passed the torch to have their own wild adventure. Nature’s Calling stars Oliver James as Ben, Kristopher Turner as Zach, and Rik Young as Nigel, who have no relation whatsoever to any of the characters from the first film.

 

Starting out with Ben and Zach as freshman in high school, Ben becomes obsessed with the girl of his dreams, Heather, who is a hardcore nature lover and environmentalist. Being too shy, he never gets to be with Heather, and goes through the rest of high school just watching her from the sidelines. Years later, Ben who is now a lawyer, and Zach, who works in a retirement home are still buddies, but not very close. When Zach learns that one of the old ladies in his retirement home is dying and asks him to find her grand daughter who lives in the wild, he accepts the task when he discovers that the girl is actually Heather.

 

Ben, still in love with Heather is convinced by Zach to go in search of her, and they are joined by the old lady’s nephew, a British oddball named Nigel. As you would expect in this type of setting, a series of zany antics occur in the wild, which includes gunmen who are on their trail, scantily clad girls, and of course a pack of killer squirrels.

 

Without A Paddle: Nature’s Calling is harmless, and it’s obvious why this went the path of direct-to-video, because no one would pay to see this in the theater. Not even anyone from the original movie makes a cameo to make this film look like a legitimate sequel, such as the American Pie videos did. Yeah, Seth Green keeps himself busy with Robot Chicken, but they couldn’t grab Matthew Lillard? It’s not like he’s in demand these days and could probably use the work.

 

Also this film would have benefited more if it just went for the teen audience and been R-Rated with a lot of T&A to distract you from the lame premise. Without A Paddle: Nature’s calling may be entertaining if you’re watching it on a plane and can’t sleep, but with so many other movies available on Blu-ray, this one will be pushed to the back of the shelf and never seen again.

 

VIDEO

 

Presented in full 1080p in a 2.35:1 aspect ratio, Without A Paddle: Nature’s calling doesn’t look bad, but it’s not show off Blu-ray material. The image quality is sharp and colors are bright, but it only looks slightly above what you’re going to get from a standard DVD.

 

SOUND

 

Offering a Dolby TruHD 5.1 sound mix, the film sounds acceptable, but there are no bells and whistles. Dialogue is crisp and the background sounds of nature sound solid, but other than that, not much was put into this direct-to-video sound mix.

 

EXTRAS

 

There’s really nothing here, but a few things were tossed in just to technically say on the back of the box there are special features.

 

Up The Creak is a ten-minute behind the scenes look at the film that is just a cut and paste series of interviews with the cast and crew. Basic promotional material, and nothing more.

 

Furious Nuts is a quick featurette on the CGI squirrels that are the only highlight of the movie.

 

Treehouse Tales shows how one of the prime sets of the film was made.

 

Finally there are deleted scenes and a gag reel that once they’re over you won’t remember.

 

Oddly, there is a Digital Copy of the film, even though it’s not labeled on the box, but it’s only for viewing on your PC and will not play in an iPod/iPhone or Zune. So WTF?

BOTTOM LINE

 

Let’s face it, this is a sequel that no one was asking for, and even as a direct-to-video title there’s not much there to hold your attention. The Blu-ray’s image and sound quality are acceptable, but won’t jump out at you. Overall this is a hard one to sell.

 

SCORES (Out of 10):

 

The Movie: 2.0

Video: 3.0

Sound: 3.0

Extras: 1.5

Bottom Line: 2.0