A Walk in the Woods
Seeking to reconnect with his homeland, Author and adventurer Bill Bryson (Robert Redford) decides to take on the seemingly impossible Appalachian Trail. Accompanied by salty and out of shape acquaintance Stephen Katz (Nick Nolte) the two set out to conquer mountains, fields, and streams. Finding out what’s important in life will come from lessons on the trail, but, it’s how the lessons manifest themselves that just might break these two.
Based loosely on the book by Bill Bryson this breezy romp through the woods contains tones of “Wild” mixing with “Grumpy Old Men;” fun, but sadly never reaching a genuine richness and instead relies heavily on intentional omission of detail, implying depth, but not actually giving clarity. As for story arc, that’s a tough non-Euclidian shape to fathom this go round, rather a straight line seems to be the outcome. But, for folks looking to spend some time with a few warm hearted old men grumbling about their ailments in the forest, you could do a lot worse. Plus, Nolte’s voice has developed into the perfect mix minus gravel, vocal cords surely steeped in fine oak barrels from the cellar’s of kings, and that in and of itself is a treat. Probably best enjoyed on the Lifetime channel later, A Walk in the Woods is rated R.