SummaryWhen David (David Giuntoli) is left by his fiancé just days before the wedding, Flula (Flula Borg), his relentlessly upbeat best man, insists that the pair go on David’s previously planned honeymoon together: a seven-day backpacking trip through the breathtaking mountains of Oregon. On the trail, the two friends cross paths with a conspi...
SummaryWhen David (David Giuntoli) is left by his fiancé just days before the wedding, Flula (Flula Borg), his relentlessly upbeat best man, insists that the pair go on David’s previously planned honeymoon together: a seven-day backpacking trip through the breathtaking mountains of Oregon. On the trail, the two friends cross paths with a conspi...
If you’re partial to the Northwest outdoors, co-writer and director Alex Simmons (best known for documentaries) makes the long trip a visual treat, too. Indeed it is time for fresh air.
This is, in simplest form, a self-discovery movie with two friends leaving us wondering how much is autobiographical. For the sake of film there's a storyline, a build-up, and a bittersweet completion, but at its core for many of us is an un-embellished look at finding oneself when events occur counter to what we think we have planned.
Flula is Flula, and that's as genuine a portrayal **** best friend that we all wish we had. David's straight man to Flula's energetic persona works because, simply put, their friendship is genuine and on display. David captures identifying self-absorption and the catastrophic self-destruction is can cause exceptionally well. The characters were believable in both strengths and flaws.
The length of the movie was proper. There was no need to over-complicate with additional characters, plot complexity, and gimmick - this movie just works. It feels like it is, two friends in some absurdly odd situations hiking through Oregon's unparalleled nature. And the truth of it is this: absurdly odd situations happen when friends get together and take action on a whim.
The cinematography of the film captures Oregon so well, and even for those of you whom have never been there, it still doesn't do it justice. Alex Simmons's crew did an excellent job with casting, filming, and telling a concise story.
In an era of overproduction, international budgets and marketing, And story lines that are either woefully rehashed from successful predecessors or just overly complex, it's nice to see a movie that's two friends, walking around, helping one another find their own personal cores.
And at the end? This movie identified three necessities for all: You should make time and hike Oregon, you should see this movie, and you should find a friend like Flula.
Beautiful scenery, quirky characters, heartwarming bromance... what's not to love? This movie had my friends and I smiling all the way through! And now I want to go camping...
Giuntoli and Simmons do very good work to help make the film a successful comedy worth a look, but they can’t help being overshadowed by Flula’s larger-than-life personality.
First let me just say --- I haven't seen the Orion Picture's logo since RoboCop in 1987. That would be 29 years ago and they haven't invest a dollar to update it.
This movie starts slow. The main character, David, looks kinda like he is related to Bradley Cooper (the actor in Clint Eastwood's American Sniper). The German, Flula, is charming at first, but gets annoying really quickly (and he drives the ultimate loser mobile - a Smart For Two). Plenty of slow shots of the great outdoor follow - almost like the filmmaker bought a drone first and then wrote a script to maximize the use of their favorite new toy.
At 5:00 the two main characters are downing entire bottles of Rose.
19:00 they down sandwiches and trail mix - which they apparently earned because of the extensive hike they are on. Flula doesn't finish his sandwich because he says he likes fast lunches - which is terrible advice because eating quickly decreases satiety which contributes to over eating and weight gain.
30:00 - Flula swims in a lake or river with ducks - Don't ever do that - lakes and rivers are infested with parasites that can enter your body and cause serious (sometimes permanent) harm.
37:00 - David and Flula down a bottle of champagne presumably with a bag of trail mix. Plot inconsistency - at first they have one bottle of champagne, but when the first bottle runs dry they hit up another one!
47:00 - They run into another group and around the camp fire they create their own "backpacking beer"
by combining carbonated water and a spoon of concentrated 70% alcohol.
58:00 - David drinks the entire bottle of concentrated alcohol without diluting it.
It started slow and never picked up the pace. Probably one of the most forgettable movies I have seen in awhile.