The healthy, prepared Reese Witherspoon was nearly destroyed by a long hike in Wild, so how do two cranky old geezers fare on the Appalachian Trail? We’ll find out in A Walk In The Woods, which has just put its first trailer online.
You might think Robert Redford would have an advantage, having proven he can take what Mother Nature can dish out in All Is Lost. But here, he’s channelling comedy and travel writer Bill Bryson, who decided to challenge himself to hike the trail that runs from Georgia to Maine. While he thinks he has a good handle on it, no one wants to come with him, not even his wife (Emma Thompson).
But then he does find a willing, if singularly unsuitable travelling companion in his former friend Steven Katz (Nick Nolte), who sees the trip as a way to sneak out of paying some long overdue debts. And so the unlikely pair sets out for what proves to be a challenging attempt to find a little fun amid the peace and quiet.
Adapted by Rick Kerb and Bill Holderman and with Ken Kwapis calling the shots, A Walk In The Woods also features Mary Steenburgen, Nick Offerman and Kristen Schaal. We’ll see how successfully it draws from Bryson’s wit and wisdom when the film lads in the US on September 2 and here on September 18.