By Bob Garver<\/p>\n
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It happened again. A film playing on less than 2,000 screens beat out the big bad wannabe blockbuster (\u201cThe Transporter Refueled,\u201d which indeed is very bad) playing on over 3,000. That film is the Appalachian Trail travelogue \u201cA Walk in the Woods,\u201d and though it may not have gotten to your area yet, its box office performance this past weekend will likely result in an expansion, so it may soon be coming to a theater near you.<\/p>\n
The film stars Robert Redford as Bill Bryson, an aging travel writer in need of some time away from society. There\u2019s a lovely little section of the Appalachian Trail near his house and he\u2019s inspired to walk the whole thing: over 2,000 miles from Georgia to Maine. He\u2019s not even making the trek for a book, it\u2019s just something he needs to do for himself (though the movie is based on a book by the real Bill Bryson, so it\u2019s not much of a spoiler to say that the movie ends with him deciding that he has another book in him after all). His wife (Emma Thompson) discourages the trip, citing his age, health, and numerous articles about the dangers of the trail. And she absolutely refuses to let him make the trip alone. He reaches out to just about everyone he knows unsuccessfully, until he\u2019s contacted by long-lost acquaintance Stephen Katz (Nick Nolte), who\u2019s inexplicably happy to keep him company. Bill\u2019s wife is dismayed \u2013 she meant that he was supposed to go with someone more able-bodied than himself, and Katz is in very poor shape. But Katz does fit the criteria for companionship, and so the two are off on a trip that nobody thinks they\u2019ll be able to complete.<\/p>\n
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 The rest of the film follows Bill and Katz as they push their bodies to the limit and get into all sorts of trouble along the way. Their missteps include a tumble into a river, a neck-deep waddle in muck, an encounter with a pair of grizzlies, harsh rain and snow, a potential affair for Bill, a potential affair for Katz, and a climactic fall off a precipice onto a precarious ledge. Although there is an emphasis on seclusion, they meet plenty of people on their journey, mostly fellow hikers who tell them they\u2019re doing everything wrong.<\/p>\n
The best thing about the movie is the chemistry between Bill and Katz. Bill is a know-it-all and Katz has a history of debauchery, but they have a way of bringing out the best in each other. It\u2019s mostly funny stuff with the occasional touching moment thrown in. The worst thing about the movie is that very little of it is exciting. That list of potentially exciting things in the last paragraph amounts to minimally dramatic conflict at best. The movie is mostly just the two guys talking in the wilderness, which is fine if you\u2019re up for a movie about two guys talking in the wilderness, but it\u2019s a bit dry for everyone else. Also, even the talking may wear thin quickly for some viewers if they have a low tolerance for Nolte\u2019s badly-beaten voice. Some will think there\u2019s a seasoned charm to its scratchiness, others won\u2019t be able to stand that it sounds like he\u2019s snoring when he\u2019s awake.<\/p>\n
\u201cA Walk in the Woods\u201d is a perfectly OK movie for people who demand nothing more from their movies than that they be OK. It\u2019s a nice enough break from the bombardment of action movies that the summer season typically supplies. Just know going in that this is a film that, much like the characters, takes the scenic route.<\/p>\n
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Two Stars Out of Five.<\/p>\n
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\u201cA Walk in the Woods\u201d is rated R for language and some sexual references. Its running time is 104 minutes.<\/p>\n
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