A Walk in the Woods

After spending two decades in England, Bill Bryson returns to the U.S., where he decides the best way to connect with his homeland is to hike the Appalachian Trail with one of his oldest friends.

Letterboxd

Add a review

GoWatchIt

See more films

Reviews

  • ★★★½ review by Jeremiah Dollins on Letterboxd

    This story about travel writer Bill Bryson's attempt to hike the Appalachian trail with an old frienemy is one of the summer's most charming films. Going in I thought I was going to be seeing a Robert Redford cinematic sermon about how we need to preserve our forests. Instead I got a pretty funny buddy comedy about growing old, rediscovering roots, and Nick Nolte's general awesomeness.

    And Nolte is awesome. With his ruddy face, phlegmy voice, and unwashed appearance, he steals the film from the monotone Redford and gives one of my favorite performances of the year. His character is an uncivilized goof, a recovering alkie, and a womanizer, but Nolte injects the stereotype with a humanity that only makes his clichéd behaviors not only believable, but charming. One scene in particular has him trying to seduce an extremely heavy woman at a laundromat while helping her remove her panties after they've gotten trapped in the washing machine agitator. It had me rolling in laughter for its trashy honesty.

    The film's journey is pretty standard stuff, but thankfully the chemistry between Redford and Nolte helps the sentiment go down smooth. This isn't quite as good as last year's old man travelogue LAND HO, but it resonated with me much better than the obvious symbolism on display in WILD.

  • ★★★★ review by AverseTeacher0 on Letterboxd

    Robert Redford still has it, but please check this out, it’s a very relaxing and enjoyable movie.

  • ★★★★ review by Cogerson on Letterboxd

    Why I watched this one? Mr. Robert Redford and Mr. Nick Nolte.

    What is this one about? After spending two decades in England, Bill Bryson returns to the U.S., where he decides the best way to connect with his homeland is to hike the Appalachian Trail with one of his oldest friends.

    My thoughts on this one? I really liked this one. Granted there is not much in the form of a story. But hanging out with Redford and Nolte was a fun time. I bought that these were two guys who knew each other for a very longtime. Movie provides so humor and two excellent performances. Emma Thompson as Redford's is also pretty good. Best moment of the movie for me? At one point Redford and Nolte get stuck on a ledge with water underneath them. I could not help but think of Butch Cassidy and The Sundance Kid when they were on the ledge. Final thought: An enjoyable movie...even without computer graphics.

    Ranked 38th of 47 movies on my Robert Redford Movie Ranking Page. www.ultimatemovierankings.com/robert-redford-movies/

  • ★★★★ review by David Burgess on Letterboxd

    NETFLIX

    We had intended to see A Walk in the Woods in the theatres when it first came out but never got around to it. Which, was why I was excited to see it come up on Netflix, finally. A Walk in the Woods is essentially a road trip, buddy film at it's heart. There is very little in the way of drama throughout the movie... just the heartwarming regrowth of a (best)friendship that had lost it's way over the years. The breath taking scenery that is filmed along the way is an added bonus to the film.. and fantastic portrayals by Robert Redford, Nick Nolte and Emma Thompson...(that women knows how to pull off deep emotions) add to a great movie.

  • ★★★★ review by Johnnu Poop on Letterboxd

    Not as good as the book... but what movie is?

  • See all reviews

Tweets