It is not too late for “A Walk in the Woods” to see co-stars Robert Redford and Nick Nolte challenge the 2,000 mile Appalachian Trail. The pair hike their hearts out in a movie that has played for an extended run at The Villages movie houses.
Bill Bryson (Robert Redford) is a successful travelogue writer who has lived in England for 10 years. He returns to America with British wife Catherine (Emma Thompson). They settle in the quiet of New Hampshire where Bryson develops a severe case of writers block.
A chance sighting of a sign marking The Appalachian Trail is the spark Bryson needs. He becomes obsessed with the lure of the trek. He needs a partner. Friends refuse one-by-one accusing him of lunacy. After all, he is well beyond the Medicare threshold. Beyond the bottom of his list is Stephen Katz (Nick Nolte) who is a totally out of shape vagabond.
The antagonist in the movie is nature which delivers rain, snow, bears, insects, and slippery rocks but rewards with glorious cathedral-like vistas.
The chemistry between Redford and Nolte makes this movie enjoyable. It is simple and natural.
Kristen Schaal appears in a cameo role of Mary Ellen, a talkative, annoying interloper along the trail. She needed to appear one more time to keep the laughs coming.
“A Walk in the Woods” gets a solid B grade. For seniors, it is an absolute delight for an evening out at the movies.
The show is currently running at the Old Mill Playhouse at Sumter Landing in The Villages.
Jack Petro reviews movies and local theater for Villages-News.om
