Subscribers Only Content Area

Home

New Movies

All Movies

New Videos

All Videos

DVD

Search

(About Our Ads) "STRANGE WILDERNESS" (2008) (Steve Zahn, Allen Covert) (R) If you've come from our parental review of this film and wish to return to it, simply click on your browser's BACK button. Otherwise, use the following link to read our complete Parental Review of this film. QUICK TAKE: Comedy: After running his late father's wildlife TV show into the ground, a young man takes his crew on a journey to get footage of Bigfoot in hopes that it will boost their low ratings. PLOT: Peter Gaulke (STEVE ZAHN) is the somewhat dimwitted host of the wildlife TV show "Strange Wilderness" who -- with the aid of audio man Fred Wolf (ALLEN COVERT), cameraman Milas (ERNEST BORGNINE), driver Danny (PETER DANTE), and production assistant Cooker (JONAH HILL) -- tries to carry on the tradition of his late father in making nature interesting. Unfortunately, the show's ratings have plummeted since Peter took over the reins -- especially in comparison to a competing show hosted by Sky Pierson (HARRY HAMLIN) -- and Peter's just been given two weeks notice of its cancellation. Luckily for him, his father's survivalist friend, Bill Calhoun (JOE DON BAKER), has knowledge of a sighting of Bigfoot. Hiring unemployed mechanic and current alcoholic Whitaker (KEVIN HEFFERNAN) as their new animal handler, adding Cheryl (ASHLEY SCOTT) as their travel coordinator, and having stoner Junior (JUSTIN LONG) replace his uncle Milas as their cameraman, the TV crew sets out for Ecuador to find the elusive but legendary creature. With the aid of guide Dick (BLAKE CLARK) and tracker Gus Hayden (ROBERT PATRICK), they hope footage of Bigfoot will boost their ratings and save their show. OUR TAKE: 0 out of 10 Our new reviewing policy for films that aren't shown in advance to critics is that we'll only provide a paragraph or two about the film's artistic merits or, more accurately, lack thereof. After all, life is too short to spend any more effort than that on a movie that even the releasing studio knows isn't any good (which is why they hid it from reviewers before its release). Inept in just about every way imaginable, but particularly in terms of being funny, the pic - based on old skits created long ago by the filmmakers (who oddly named the main characters after themselves) - is arguably one of the worst mainstream offerings ever put on film, and would even give "straight to video" (where it should have debuted and quickly died) a bad name. Skip it at all costs. We warned you, or else you'll end up walking out (as did the two other lone people at our showing) long before the end credits mercifully roll. "Strange Wilderness" rates as a 0 out of 10. Reviewed February 1, 2008 / Posted February 1, 2008