Movie aims for cheap laughs but comes up short
On the opening night of “Strange Wilderness,” the half full theater was a mix of college students, older couples and troops of high schoolers. Judging by the age-diverse crowd, the movie had the appearance of being aimed at all ages.
That illusion faded as soon as the movie began.
The opening scene begins with Peter Gaulke, played by Steve Zahn from “Saving Silverman,” lying on his couch and smoking a joint. The easy, and often ineffective, stoner humor began within the first minute and continued intermittently for the remaining hour and a half.
It’s not likely that movie-goers were expecting much to begin with. The film is directed and co-written by Fred Wolf, whose other writing credits include movies like “Black Sheep” and “Dirty Work.” Where these films mixed immature humor with realistic comedy, “Strange Wilderness” only offers the former.
Peter is the host of a struggling wildlife TV show that faces termination if the show doesn’t pull off something big. Armed with a map and a camera, Peter and his incompetent crew go to Ecuador in search of Bigfoot.
As to be expected, ridiculous idiocy ensued. Stupid albeit intelligent humor is expected of his crew, which includes Jonah Hill from “Superbad” and Justin Long (most recognizable from his “I’m a Mac” Apple commercials). However, both actors lose their charm amidst the marijuana smoke and immature jokes.
There are several scenes in the movie where the humor seemed promising. For example, the crew sat around a campfire comparing their childhood bike riding scars to a tough veteran’s war wounds. It initially played out like a humorous version of the famous “Jaws” scar-story scene.
That is until one of them dropped his pants, decisively ending the scene with wincing disgust instead of laughter.
Even though the script seemed to be written by immature high school boys, every teenage male left the theater shaking his head in disappointment.
If contemplating entering this wilderness, I recommend saving your money and staying safely at home.
You can contact Campus Press Staff Writer Morgan Keys at morgan.keys@colorado.edu
