A Walk in the Woods

Caught a screening of this movie in Salt Lake City. The Appalachian Trail Conservancy put it on. What a fun movie, Nolte is great in it!! I was quite surprised on how funny he was. Redford and Nolte make a good team. About time a Bryson book got up on the big screen. I wonder how much of an increase in foot traffic there will be on the AT after this movie gets released. I'm sure next summer will be quite a bit busier. If a movie makes me want to go to the location/s it takes place I count that as a great movie. If you are a fan of the book, actors, hiking, nature or have hiked the AT you should enjoy this one. Well worth the visit to the cinema.

A walk in the woods is a gentle comedy about writer Bill Bryson who decides the best way to connect with his homeland is to hike the Appalachian Trail with one of his oldest friends. I thought this was going to be one of those movies where the sensible one has to put up with his irritating friend from the past but it wasn't like that all . Once I got past the slightly annoying voice of Nick Nolte I actually really liked his character , Stephen. He seemed to be the fun one , the one who was good company whilst Bill Bryson was a bit of a miserable old git. It's a little bit depressing to see two extremely well known actors grow old but there is no doubt they both still have it. There weren't many belly laughs in this but there were plenty of moments that made me smile.

Bill Bryson is a national treasure. His books are so pleasant to read. This book takes us on a natural joyride. This is the kind of thing that would attract Robert Redford, and it did. Redford plays the middle aged Bryson who, after attending the funeral of a friend his age, decides to hike the Appalachian Trail, a hiking trip of over 2000 miles from Georgia to Maine, much to the chagrin of his wife. He joins up with the only guy who is willing to accompany him, an overweight, recovering alcoholic played by Nick Nolte. Bryson/Redford has no respect for this guy. The complaining starts after they've gone about a hundred years. As time goes along, there is a story to tell and it is charming. Unfortunately, the good buddies thing, while entertaining, has been done so many times. Nolte is a really interesting character, while Redford is stiff and pretty boring. It's very predictable. The scenery is great and we get a sense of what is involved in all of this. Not a bad movie. It's just a little lacking in oomph.

I went to see this movie today, having read the original book by Bill Bryson and subsequently listened to a hilarious 'audio book' version narrated by Kerry Shale.

My first comment is that Robert Redford is just too old, way too old, for the part. By my estimate, Bill Bryson was less than 50 when he walked the trail with Katz, whereas Redford is 78. It made a big and substantial difference to my enjoyment of the movie, since a lot of the humour in the book comes from the fact that it's two middle-aged slightly overweight guys who start the walk, not two old men.

Furthermore, I found Emma Thompson's portrayal of Catherine Bryson simply irritating and humourless. Like Robert Redford, I felt she just turned up and did her lines.

Many of the best anecdotes from the book appear in the movie, and yet somehow none is anything like as funny as in the book/audio book. For example, the overweight nasal-sounding Mary Ellen segment just isn't as funny in the movie not least because the actress playing Mary Ellen is not overweight and therefore her jibe at Katz for being overweight misses the joke.

Overall, the movie was light and amusing in places, but bad casting and uncommitted acting makes it just average and with a heavy heart I rate it just 6/10. And trust me, I went in with fairly low expectations yet hoping for a good laugh. It was worse than I expected and not as funny as I'd hoped.

I really enjoyed this movie mixed of light comic touches and thought-provoking scenes. It's not a movie which wins over audience with dramatic turns and characterization. So I would recommend you to enjoy it alone or with someone who has similar patience as you. The story, as the name of the movie suggests, a walk in the wood, takes you for a causal walk into the nature. It leads you to look for the lost good qualities in human beings or make a good reflection on the past. This story is for me like a walk which makes me ponder over what adventures await in my future and how experience changes a person. There are a lot of interesting dialogues sparked with age-old memory and wisdom between these two characters: Katz and Bryson. They are grumpy, funny, and adorable. On top of that, the wood sceneries are gorgeous too.