The story begins with a flashback into the main characters’ childhood through something that wants to appear like family video footage. Through archives of four neighborhood kids the audience gets to experience the how recklessly they build tree houses, jumped over streams with BMX bikes, and pretended to be Indiana Jones on dangerous quests. This risk taking seemed to have stayed within the four boys as they graduated high school. Billy, the most prone to take risks, is the first to leave the small town after high school graduation. The three friends later follow Billy's example as they end up in different parts of society.

Years later the three boys have become adults and they all face the age of 30 with some level of anxiety. The once careless youth that faced the world with nonchalant bravery are now forced to deal with the responsibilities of adulthood, as they are doctors, businessmen, and drifting loners. On the day of Jerry Conlaine's (Matthew Lillard) dating anniversary his mom calls with sad news as Billy has passed on. Jerry calls Dan Mott (Seth Green) and Tom Marshall (Dax Shepard) about the sad news and they all participate in their lost friend’s funeral.

In reflection of the past, the three friends enter the backyard where their tree house still exists, and they discover a secret treasure map. The map is connected with an incident regarding an old robbery and it appears that Billy had planned a trip for his friends to uncover the treasure. This opportunity makes the three friends once more feel young as they enter the quest for the treasure in the name of Billy. Before they know it they are in too deep for their own good as they enter the dark woods of Oregon through a slow moving river much like that in Deliverance (1972), but it is far from a similar cinematic experience.

Without a Paddle is directed by Steven Brill who also made Mr. Deeds (2002) and Little Nicky (2000), and this time Brill makes an entertaining mix with seriousness and humor. However, comedy is about timing and Without a Paddle seems to be off in its timing. The film has its moments, but some moments are awkward such as when Jerry attempts to untie his gym shoes to outrun a bear. In the version that is more commonly told among friends, the person wears heavy boots and as the boots are too heavy for escaping a bear the person unties them and takes them off. This untying of the shoes is an example of the lack of originality and misses as the timing seemed to be wrong. The film also leans heavily on "borrowing" from other films. For example, there is a sequence borrowed from Star Wars: Episode VI - Return of the Jedi (1983).

There have been other films that have borrowed much from other films such as the hilarious Spaceballs (1987) by Mel Brooks; however, Brooks' film is timely, goofy, and off the wall. Without a Paddle tries to be funny in this way, but never achieves this level of comedy because the timing is off. This generates an awkwardness that appears to stem from Brill's attempts to incorporate serious undertones through existential philosophy, and it completely purges the comedy. Thus, Without a Paddle leaves a similar imprint as guidance counselors leave on many teenagers by asking existential questions in regards to planning. It is relevant, but out of context as most teenagers do not focus on long term planning. Despite the negative aspect of the film there are several moments when the audience will burst out in bellyaching laughter.

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USA

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