Robert Redford, Nick Nolte and Emma Thompson star in director Ken Kwapis’ (best known as a director of US TV’s The Office and Parks and Recreation) delightfully funny adaptation of Bill Bryson’s internationally bestselling Appalachian trail diary, A Walk in the Woods.
After spending two decades in England, Bill Bryson (Redford) returns to the States, where he decides the best way to reconnect with his American roots is to hike the notoriously tough Appalachian trail.
When his wife (Emma Thompson) demands he not travel alone, he ends up inviting his old friend Stephen Katz (Nick Nolte) who turns up, wheezing, overweight and mildly infirm, to join in a trip involving high altitudes, inclement weather, hardy terrain and… bears.
Using their journey as a metaphor for leaping into the uncertainty of old age, with majestic footage of the vast landscapes and picturesque small towns of rural America, it’s a hilarious, piquant film made especially enjoyable for allowing Redford and Nolte to flex their comedy chops alongside excellent turns from Thompson and US TV comedy stalwarts Nick Offerman (Parks and Recreation) and Kristen Schaal (The Daily Show).