Written by: Joe Russo (Film Critic/SoSF Contributor)
Director: Ellory Elkayem
Actors: Ellen Albertini Dow, Robert Blanche, Madison Bontempo, Will Cuddy, Oliver James, Amber McDonald, Jerry Rice, Madison Riley, Todd Robinson, Kristopher Turner and Rik Young
Release Date: January 13, 2009
Russo Rating = 1/10
In light of Universal’s success converting established franchises into easier and cheaper to produce, straight to video sequels, Paramount launched a new division, Paramount Famous, to bring about new installments of catalog titles. After all Hollywood loves sequels, and name recognition is crucial to help sell a movie.
So if you can put in less money into making the film and marketing it, and still get people to purchase or rent your product, no harm no foul right? Wrong! “Without a Paddle: Nature’s Calling,” the first in Paramount Famous’ release schedule, is missing crucial ingredients that successful straight to video titles still require: a little production value and a decent story.
Having almost nothing to do with the original Without a Paddle, Nature’s Calling puts a new group of city folk out in the wilderness on a hackneyed quest to locate a dying woman’s missing granddaughter. Somehow a love story that requires way too much exposition, hitmen and CGI squirrels make their way into the mix.
The biggest problem plaguing Ellory Elkayem’s film is that the comedy lacks any semblance of laughs. Sure the cast is good looking, but their comedic timing is consistently off and the PG-13 rating doesn’t exactly allow the picture to take advantage of the creative liberties one can get away with on a straight to video format, ie drugs, sex and nudity.
Of course these elements don’t make a movie, but they sure can make a bad one more interesting. Predictability plagues Without a Paddle: Nature’s Calling all the way through, from the story to even the bland physical comedy. Heck even the little old lady’s surprise source of wealth seems blatantly obvious!
Hopefully Paramount Famous will reexamine their DVD slate, which includes future sequels to Road Trip, Grease, Mean Girls, Bad News Bears and Naked Gun and realize that it isn’t just the name that makes the movie.
Why in the HELL is this movie being reviewed on SoSF? This is the furthest thing from a genre picture imaginable. Except, of course, that it’s pure ‘fantasy’ to think that it would be worth a single nanosecond of anyone’s time to even consider watching it, let alone analyzing it to any degree. If you used this DVD as a coaster, it would make the drink you sat on it taste like skunk anus.
please tell me you saw this at a free screening. I would hate to hear someone paid theater price for this
i watched this movie and i liked it alot i thought it was funny, If you dont like it then thats your opinion, not every1 elses, I also know that i like it and that is my opinion and not everyone well like it, but please state a few reasons why you dont like it before you jsut sau its a piece of crap.