Butler's Cinema Scene

Griffin Dunne, Stuart Margolin

“THE DISCOVERERS” My rating: B- (Opening Aug. 22 at Cinetopia)

104 minutes | No MPAA rating

In “The Discoverers” a dysfunctional modern family find themselves frustrated yet drawn together when they spend their vacation as historical re-enactors.

Justin Schwarz’s indy effort boasts of a strong cast, some clever ideas, a bit of heart and a few whopping improbabilities. But it’s a pleasant little ride.

Make that a pleasant little walk.  Because depressed academician and failed novelist Lewis Birch (Griffin Dunne) and his two sullen offspring (Madeleine Martin, Devon Greye) find themselves suckered into participating in a cross-country trek with a bunch of folk who annually relive the Lewis and Clark expedition.

The Birch clan get involved because of Lewis’ father (Stuart Margolin), a crusty old bugger with a loaded flintlock and a coonskin cap who wants more than anything to complete one last hike before he dies.

Of course, they’re wholly unprepared for the primitive life demanded by the purists around them.  They must get rid of their modern clothing and shoes, surrender their cell phones and wristwatches, and be prepared to eat what they can scavenge or kill.

And they are expected to obey the commands of the expedition’s leader (David Rasche), whom you suspect looks forward to these events as the only time in in his life when he can order around other people.

It’s pretty much preordained that after a period of griping and rebelling, Lewis and his grumpy teens will slip into an early-19th-century groove. It helps when  love flickers around the campfire.

And the wishy-washy Lewis (nobody in Hollywood plays comic depression quite like Dunne) starts to get a grasp on what he wants to do with his life.  Nothing like a few days in the woods eating jerky to focus the mind most wonderfully.

There’s nothing earth shaking going on here, and on occasion the proceedings deteriorate into pure silliness. But “The Discoverers” is gorgeous to look at (Christopher Blauvelt’s cinematography does full justice to the vibrant fall foliage through which our reluctant adventurers trek), and the cast is astoundingly deep (John C. McGinley, Ann Dowd, and Scott Adsit, among others).

| Robert W. Butler