The Phantom Tollbooth - Movies Reviews Index


Since 1996	Your Gateway to Music and More from a Christian Perspective Slow down as you approach the gate, and have your change ready....


Home Subscribe About Us Features News Album Reviews Movie Reviews Past Movies Movie Resources Concert Reviews Book Reviews Top 10 Contact Us	Strange Wilderness Stars: Steve Zahn, Allen Covert, Jonah Hill, Ashley Scott, Peter Dante, Harry Hamlin, Robert Patrick, Joe Don Baker and Ernest Borgnine Director: Fred Wolf Scriptwriters: Fred Wolf and Peter Gaulke Paramount Pictures Rating: R Running Length: 88 minutes I gritted my teeth to make it through this film. I’ve seen high school filmmakers with better footage and actors than Strange Wilderness. It is no wonder this film was not screened for critics prior to opening. Steve Zahn, who did a spectacular performance in Rescue Dawn sleepwalks his way through the role of Peter, a young man that inherited a nature television show from his father named “Strange Wilderness.” With Peter’s work, and that of his crew, a group that would make any television station nervous, the show is sliding downhill. They manage to get a map that shows the lair of Bigfoot, somewhere in Ecuador. Yes, folks, Bigfoot isn’t in North America anymore, he migrated, probably after watching Strange Wilderness. Harry Hamlin is the villain, who just happens to have a first-rate nature show and wants the headlines for finding Bigfoot. The race is on, though by this time some may be racing for the exit. Actors in this film (who do act) are Ernest Borgnine as an aging camera man who leaves early, Joe Don Baker as the man who supplies the map, and Harry Hamlin as the slick villain. Amusing footage with narration of “Strange Wilderness” shows can give a grin or two, but otherwise this film exists for the sophomoric idea of sexual innuendos for every grimace, posture, phrase or animal that appears in the film. The scene of Steve Zahn and a wild turkey is gross. Sets are amateurish and editing is as crude as the film. The movie earns its R rating for non-stop language, drug use, crude and sexual humor. Who made this film? It is a Happy Madison Production and one of the producers is Adam Sandler. ‘nuff said. Copyright 2008 Marie Asner Submitted 2/7/08