2004 was an excellent year for movies, especially for comedy. I consider the 2000s to be the last great decade for comedy. The pure comedy film has always been something that can bring friends together for a fun Friday night, but it is almost a lost form of art these days. The recent trend has been that a film has to be comedy plus (drama, action, horror, fill-in-the-blank). It’s time to take a look back at some of the popular and unsung comedies from this momentous decade and hopefully spark more interest in revisiting these delightful pictures, starting with Steven Brill’s 2004 hit – Without a Paddle.
Known for his more popular films like Heavyweights, Mr. Deeds, and The Mighty Ducks trilogy (as a writer), Steven Brill is no stranger to comedy. With this film he does something a little different. He brings three character actors (Seth Green, Matthew Lillard, and Dax Shepard) together as a lead trio. And the end result is nostalgia-filled camping adventure with bears, waterfalls, crooked cops, pot-growing hillbillies, and free-spirited tree-huggers (or tree-dwellers in this case).
The movie starts with a group of four kids who grew up together but then moved apart after high school. Ten years later, one of them dies, and the other three decide to go on an adventure that they discovered was planned and mapped out by their deceased buddy. While some call this crazy (including one of the participants), my college friends and I would be down for something like this in honor of our departed companion. In fact, it was the passing of a very dear college friend that prompted me to revisit these 2000s comedies that we used to enjoy together nearly two decades ago. So, this last hurrah that these young men embark on is easily understandable, if not strongly supported.
Genuine friendship can bring out the best in people, and in this wild adventure these three friends push each other to the next level in overcoming various fears that each of them are dealing with. Whether they are running from the bad guys (wonderfully played by Abraham Benrubi & Ethan Suplee), being attacked (and nurtured) by a bear, or snuggling half-naked with one another for warmth, these young men grow even closer than they ever were before.
This film is a blast to watch with a group, and it can be enjoyed by anyone 18 or older. There is some crude humor, but it is rather mild compared to most comedies that were coming out at that time. With so many memorable one-liners such as “thanks for breaking glass where my kids play” and “I am not an astronaut; I’m an American,” Brill and his team of writers know how to speak to the chaotic randomness of the human psyche. It’s the arbitrary, off-the-wall quotes like these that stick with us and make us want to revisit the source, and those are what is missing in modern Hollywood comedies today.
Although I still consider this to be a “pure comedy,” it does have a lot to offer in the realm of adventure and drama. The adventure part is pretty self-explanatory, but it also has a lot to say about friendship, dealing with grief, growing up, and getting out of our comfort zone. There are several “manly moments” (my favorite things to discuss in my podcast) in this film that we can take as little life lessons, which can be overshadowed by the comedy if one isn’t paying enough attention. But they are there for the taking.
I would like to see more movies like this. One might call this The Goonies for grown-ups, and it seems as though that is about how long we have to wait for buddy adventures such as these. We are absolutely due for another one, and I hope someone in Hollywood is reading this. Let’s bring it back. For Billy.
Currently streaming on Netflix.
