Editing Without a Paddle

{{short description|2004 film by Steven Brill}}
{{Use American English|date=January 2025}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=March 2024}}
{{Infobox film
| name           = Without a Paddle
| image          = Without a Paddle movie.jpg
| alt            = Three men standing in a boat, the water level is half way up their faces
| caption        = Theatrical release poster
| director       = [[Steven Brill (filmmaker)|Steven Brill]]
| producer       = [[Donald De Line]]
| screenplay     = {{Plainlist|
* [[Jay Leggett]]
* [[Mitch Rouse]]
}}
| story          = {{Plainlist|
* [[Harris Goldberg]]
* Tom Nursall
* [[Fred Wolf (writer)|Fred Wolf]]
}}
| starring       = {{Plainlist|<!--Per poster billing-->
* [[Seth Green]]
* [[Matthew Lillard]]
* [[Dax Shepard]]
* [[Abraham Benrubi]]
* [[Ethan Suplee]]
* [[Burt Reynolds]]
}}
| music          = [[Christophe Beck]]
| cinematography = [[Jonathan Brown (cinematographer)|Jonathan Brown]]
| editing        = {{Plainlist|
* Debra Neil-Fisher
* Peck Prior
}}
| studio         = [[Donald De Line|De Line Pictures]]
| distributor    = [[Paramount Pictures]] 
| released       = {{Film date|2004|08|20}}
| runtime        = 99 minutes<!--Theatrical runtime: 99:02--><ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.bbfc.co.uk/release/without-a-paddle-q29sbgvjdglvbjpwwc0zntu3mji | title=''Without A Paddle'' (12) | work=[[British Board of Film Classification]] | date=July 27, 2004 | access-date=July 5, 2015}}</ref>
| country        = United States
| language       = English
| budget         = $19 million<ref name="mojo" />
| gross          = $73 million<ref name="mojo" />
}}
'''''Without a Paddle''''' is a 2004 American [[Adventure film|adventure]] [[comedy film]] directed by [[Steven Brill (filmmaker)|Steven Brill]], written by [[Jay Leggett]] and [[Mitch Rouse]], and based on a story by [[Harris Goldberg]], Tom Nursall, and Fred Wolf. The film stars [[Seth Green]], [[Matthew Lillard]], [[Dax Shepard]], [[Ethan Suplee]], [[Abraham Benrubi]], [[Rachel Blanchard]], [[Christina Moore]], [[Bonnie Somerville]], [[Ray Baker (actor)|Ray Baker]], and [[Burt Reynolds]]. It tells the story of three reunited childhood friends going on a trip up a remote river in order to search for the loot of long-lost airplane hijacker [[D. B. Cooper]].

A direct-to-video sequel, entitled ''[[Without a Paddle: Nature's Calling]]'', was released in January 2009.

==Plot==
12 years after graduating from high school, three friends, Jerry, Dan, and Tom, learn that their childhood friend Billy has died in a [[parasailing]] accident. After the funeral, they revisit the group's old tree house and find a map leading to [[D. B. Cooper]]'s lost treasure, which Billy had worked on for his entire life. Dan takes annual leave from his job as a [[General practitioner|doctor]] and joins Jerry and Tom on a camping trip to find the treasure.

Canoeing down the river, they eventually stop on the riverbank for the night. They realize they forgot to bring food, so Tom catches fish with a flashlight. However, the activity attracts a [[grizzly bear]], which chases them. When Dan falls, the bear treats him like a cub until he breaks free, following the others up a tree. In the morning, they find all their gear has been ripped up and destroyed by the bear.

The trio takes off into the river but cannot read the damaged map and avoid a pair of fishermen, causing them to miss a split in the river and travel the wrong way. They go over a waterfall and survive, although their canoe is destroyed. Venturing into the woods with a compass, they find themselves at a [[Cannabis cultivation|pot farm]], where [[redneck]]s Dennis and Elwood mistake them for thieves and start shooting at them. They escape, accidentally triggering flares which burn down the pot garden. This enrages Dennis and Elwood, who decide to hunt them down and kill them.

Later, far into the forest, after being shot at by the farmers, the trio meet [[hippie]] girls Flower and Butterfly, who treat them in their tree. The farmers find them by answering their distress radio call, but the women drop paper bags full of feces on the farmers to distract them while the trio escapes. They are saved from the thunderstorm by a mountain man, who takes them to his hut and provides them with clothes. He later reveals himself as Del Knox, Cooper's partner before his death.

The next morning, the farmers find them and shoot up the hut. The trio escapes while Del distracts the farmers by shooting at the two with his dual-wield revolvers. The trio stumbles upon the site of Cooper's crash landing, discovering his skeleton and the suitcase he used to hold the ransom money down an old mine shaft. They realize he burned his share of the money to keep warm and survive.

As Dan crawls through a small tunnel to find a way out, the farmers find Tom and Jerry, and a fistfight ensues. Eventually, Sheriff Briggs, who had earlier helped the trio, intervenes. He then reveals himself as the farmers' employer. Jerry arms a grenade taken from Dennis and throws it at the pot dealers. It explodes, causing a tree to fall on the farmers and the sheriff, who are soon arrested.

In the closing scenes, Del gives Tom, Jerry, and Dan what's left of D.B.'s non-burnt money ($100,000), but Jerry and Dan decide Tom needs it more than they do. Del begins his travels to give D.B. a proper funeral. Jerry proposes to his girlfriend Denise, Dan starts a relationship with Flower, and Tom becomes a camp counsellor for a children's summer camp, where he tells his troop an exaggerated version of the trip.

==Cast==
{{div col}}
* [[Seth Green]] as Dan Mott
** Jarred Rumbold as young Dan
* [[Matthew Lillard]] as Jerry Conlaine
** Andrew Hampton as young Jerry
* [[Dax Shepard]] as Tom Marshall
** Matthew Price as young Tom
* [[Burt Reynolds]] as Del Knox
* [[Ethan Suplee]] as Elwood
* [[Abraham Benrubi]] as Dennis
* [[Rachel Blanchard]] as Flower
* [[Ray Baker (actor)|Ray Baker]] as Hank Briggs
* [[Bonnie Somerville]] as Denise
* [[Christina Moore]] as Butterfly
* [[Antony Starr]] as Billy Newwood
** Carl Snell as young Billy
* [[Liddy Holloway]] as Bonnie Newwood
* [[Scott Adsit]] as Greasy man
* [[Danielle Cormack]] as Toni
* [[Bart the Bear 2]] as Grizzly bear
* [[Frank Welker]] as Grizzly bear (vocal effects)
{{div col end}}

==Reception==
===Box office===
''Without a Paddle'' ranked second in its opening weekend behind fellow newcomer ''[[Exorcist: The Beginning]]'', earning $13,528,946. It ultimately grossed $58,169,327 in North America and $14,859,863 internationally, for a worldwide total of $73,029,190.<ref name="mojo">{{cite web |title = Without A Paddle (2004) |url = http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=withoutapaddle.htm |website = [[Box Office Mojo]] |access-date = September 1, 2009 }}</ref>

===Critical response===
On [[Rotten Tomatoes]], the film has an approval rating of 15% based on 124 reviews, with an average rating of 3.9/10. The website's critical consensus reads: "''Without a Paddle'' has a few laughs, but not enough to sustain its running time."<ref>{{cite web |title = Without A Paddle (2004) |url = http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/without_a_paddle/ |website= [[Rotten Tomatoes]] |access-date = March 11, 2025}}</ref> On [[Metacritic]], the film has a weighted average score of 29 out of 100 based on 27 critics, indicating "generally unfavorable reviews".<ref>{{cite web |title= Without a Paddle |url= https://www.metacritic.com/movie/without-a-paddle |website= [[Metacritic]] |access-date = February 1, 2020 }}</ref> Audiences surveyed by [[CinemaScore]] gave the film an average grade of "B+" on an A+ to F scale.<ref>{{cite web |url= https://www.cinemascore.com/publicsearch/index/title/ |title= Without a Paddle (2004) B+ |work= [[CinemaScore]] |url-status= dead |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20181220122629/https://www.cinemascore.com/publicsearch/index/title/ |archive-date= December 20, 2018 }}</ref>

Dennis Harvey of ''[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]'' called it "an unstable—if mostly painless—mix of low comedy, stabs at higher silliness, and schmaltz."<ref>{{cite web |date= August 15, 2004 |last= Harvey |first= Dennis |title= Without a Paddle |url= https://variety.com/review/VE1117924609 |website= [[Variety (magazine)|Variety]] }}</ref>

''[[Entertainment Weekly]]''{{'}}s Scott Brown was more positive and wrote: "There are some genuinely clever moments of physical comedy, and the inevitable crudeness is offset by winning whimsy. Without has all the freshness of moldering Playboys stashed under a mattress, but it evokes what few boys-will-be-boys larks can: chumminess."<ref>{{cite magazine |title= Without a Paddle |last=Brown |first=Scott |url= https://ew.com/article/2004/08/25/without-paddle/ |date=August 25, 2004|magazine=[[Entertainment Weekly]] }}</ref>

==Sequel==
A sequel to the film, titled ''[[Without a Paddle: Nature's Calling]]'', was released direct-to-video on January 14, 2009. None of the cast and crew from the first film returned.

==See also==
* [[D. B. Cooper in popular culture]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
{{wikiquote}}
* {{IMDb title|0364751|Without a Paddle}}
* {{Rotten Tomatoes}}

{{Steven Brill}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Without a Paddle}}
[[Category:2000s adventure comedy films]]
[[Category:2000s American films]]
[[Category:2000s buddy comedy films]]
[[Category:2000s English-language films]]
[[Category:2004 comedy films]]
[[Category:2004 films]]
[[Category:American adventure comedy films]]
[[Category:American buddy comedy films]]
[[Category:American films about cannabis]]
[[Category:English-language adventure comedy films]]
[[Category:Films about treasure hunting]]
[[Category:Films directed by Steven Brill (filmmaker)]]
[[Category:Films produced by Donald De Line]]
[[Category:Films scored by Christophe Beck]]
[[Category:Films set in Oregon]]
[[Category:Films shot in New Zealand]]
[[Category:Films with screenplays by Fred Wolf]]
[[Category:Paramount Pictures films]]
[[Category:River adventure films]]
[[Category:Stoner films]]
[[Category:English-language buddy comedy films]]