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Three childhood friends reunite at 30 when the fourth member of their group dies, and as a tribute, they decide to go on the treasure hunt/camping trip he was organizing for them. What follows is a combination of gross-out comedy and Big Chill–style sentiment. As the three friends, Matthew Lillard, Seth Green, and Dax Shepard all have funny bits and moments, and they generate a nice chemistry. But director Steven Brill doesn’t seem sure what kind of movie he wants to make, and the constant shifts in tone result in an film that never hits its stride. Unlike American Pie, which was able to balance comedy with a sweet message about growing up, Without a Paddle finds those same elements in conflict. Brill has greater success with the comedy: Green in particular wrings laughs from his role as a hypochondriac doctor, and you don’t have to be stoned to enjoy the sequence that takes place in a marijuana field. Still, Without a Paddle would have been better off without the preaching. (95 minutes)
BY BROOKE HOLGERSON
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