Bushwhacked (film)
| Bushwhacked | |
|---|---|
 Promotional movie poster for the film. | |
| Directed by | Greg Beeman |
| Produced by |
Charles B. Wessler Paul Schiff |
| Written by |
John Jordan Danny Byers Tommy Swerdlow Michael Goldberg |
| Starring |
Daniel Stern Ari Greenberg Jon Polito Anthony Heald Brad Sullivan Natalie West |
| Music by | Bill Conti |
| Cinematography | Theo van de Sande |
| Editing by | Ross Albert |
| Distributed by | 20th Century Fox |
| Release dates |
|
| Running time | 90 min. |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Box office | $7,919,823 |
Bushwhacked is a 1995 comedy adventure crime film starring Daniel Stern, Jon Polito, Anthony Heald and Brad Sullivan. This was Greg Beeman's last theatrical film before he moved on to direct television movies for Disney Channel. This also marked Sullivan's last theatrical appearance before his retirement in 2000 and his death in 2008.
Plot
Max Grabelski (Daniel Stern) is involved with delivering packages to a millionaire named Reinhart Bragden (Anthony Heald) for a $50 tip for each one. He shows up one night, delivering one at 10 PM instead of 10 AM (which the company he works for, Freedom Express, guarantees as the delivery time for all packages). Inside he finds a fire and Agent Palmer (Jon Polito) tries to arrest him for starting it and killing Bragden, but he grabs a gun and escapes.
On the news, Palmer falsely names Grabelski as the suspect in Bragden's murder. He also claims that he was trying to take money that was scheduled to be taken out of circulation (which was being delivered to Bragden to be taken care of).
Grabelski then finds out from his boss that another package for Bragden is to be delivered to a place called Devil's Peak. He drives up there while, at the same time, Ranger Scout Troop 12 is planning an overnighter near there. Troop 12 consists of Gordy Patterson, whose mother is troop leader, Ralph, who constantly complains about Mrs. Patterson's performance as scout leader, Milton Fishman, the troop genius who lacks confidence, Dana Jareki, the youngest member and Barnhill, who continuously brags about climbing Mt. Kilamanjaro. Following the inclusion of Kelsey Jordan, the only female member, Gordy convinces his mother to find a new leader. Max steals a car, drives to a gas station, and meets Scout Leader Jack Erickson (Brad Sullivan), who was going to meet them there and whose Hummer he then steals at gunpoint when the gas station attendant figures out he is the wanted man. He switches places with Erickson, (who he calls "Sergeant Doofus" for putting an obscene sticker on his car window), gluing his hands and chin to the steering wheel, and takes his stolen station wagon.
Troop 12 begins to leave for the campgrounds, but Mrs. Patterson refuses to leave since Dana isn't with them, to which Ralph explains that his father refused to let him go. They leave, but at that moment, Dana arrives, stating that his father changed his mind and gives her his permission slip (it is later revealed by Mr. Pareki that Dana forged the signature). Grabelski heads to Devil's Peak but an officer informs him he is "late" for the troop. He is mistaken for the Scout Leader and finds himself in the midst of an overnighter. FBI agents then swarm the base of Devil's Peak and Palmer and Erickson go after him and the troop(who are now considered hostages). He begins acting weird around them, who see it as brilliance rather than crazy and they decide to scale the mountain rather than just have an overnighter. He escapes from Palmer and Erickson by running on a fragile bridge to the other side of the cliff. While gathering pinecones, Max grabs a beehive and begins to play football with it. Fishman soon tells him the truth but is too late to avoid getting stung by the swarm. While Fishman, Dana, Ralph and Barnhill treat Max's wounds, Gordy talks to Kelsey about what Max has done so far. The next day, after camping out for the night, the troop, listening to Gordy's homemade radio, hears that they are being "held hostage by a psychotic murderer" and they realize Grabelski's true identity rather than the Scout Leader originally sent to help them. Panicked to see that it his him and when Grabelski accidentally pulls out the stolen gun and unknowingly points it at the troop while he continues to sleep, they send out smoke signals for help, which Palmer and Erickson see. Fishman places allergy medicine, cough syrup, and sleeping pills in his canteen with plans to knock Grabelski out. The plan works, but not before Milton accidentally calls out Grabelski's last name.
Palmer, however, shows up alone and "arrests" Grabelski. Though the rest of the troop think Grabelski is the true murderer, Gordy guesses something is not right. Gordy's guess is answered when a helicopter that was supposed to pick up the troop suddenly flies past them, drawing suspicion upon the troop. The troop then realizes Grabelski is innocent when the helicopter that flew by was piloted by Bragden, who arrives alive and explains the situation to him. Bragden and Palmer are in on the scheme and try to frame him because "no one gives a damn about him". They will then get away with the money once and for all. They also plan on killing Grabelski and the troop to stage the situation as a murder-suicide. It is then revealed Palmer tied Erickson to a tree nearby.
When attempting to kill Grabelski first, the troop, having overheard the harsh and threatening plan and the scheme, revolt against Bragden and Palmer by using Kelsey's bra as a sling shot. However, while attempting to hit Bragden, the troop accidentally hit Grabelski with one of the rocks and falls into river below. The troop then flee with Bragden and Palmer pursuing them. Dana gets separated from the troop in order to evade capture while the troop jump off a cliff into the river. Bragden and Palmer continue to pursue Grabelski and the troop via helicopter. Grabelski and the troop end up getting away after surviving a near-death experience on a waterfall with the help of Dana. They throw their bags in the river to make them think they are dead. They believe it and leave. Grabelski and the troop later camp out for the night in a cave.
The gang then heads towards Devil's Peak while the Troop Leader, Mrs. Patterson discovers a note left by Grabelski that has an address written on it (where he was headed) and she drives up there only to be tied up by Bragden. The troop makes it to the top and Erickson shows up just before Palmer can kill Grabelski and glues him to a tree. Grabelski attempts to untie Patterson, but is caught by Bragden and are forced outside at gunpoint to the porch. Before Bragden can kill Grabelski and Patterson execution style, Gordy attempts to stop Bragden, who almost shoots Gordy when he attempts to draw his pistol at him, but Gordy trips and falls off the porch, hanging on to a lone branch on the side of a cliff. Max, out of anger, koncks out Bragden and his fake teeth and rescues Gordy from certain death. As a result, the troop receive Eagle Scout honors. Fortunately, Grabelski is proven innocent and receives Scout Leader honors. The movie ends as Grabelski and Troop 12 are swarmed by other scouts who are going to Yosemite.
Cast
- Daniel Stern as Max Grabelski
- Jon Polito as Agent Palmer
- Brad Sullivan as Jack Erickson
- Ann Dowd as Mrs. Patterson
- Anthony Heald as Reinhart Bragdon
- Tom Wood as Agent McMurrey
- Blake Bashoff as Gordy
- Corey Carrier as Ralph
- Michael Galeota as Dana
- Michael P. Byrne as Mr. Fishman
- Natalie West as Mrs. Fishman
- Max Goldblatt as Barnhill
- Ari Greenberg as Milton Fishman
- Janna Michaels as Kelsey Jordan
- Michael O'Neill as Jon Jordan
Reception
The film was critically panned. It currently holds an 11% rating on Rotten Tomatoes based on 16 reviews, but has a 37% audience rating. The film was also a box office bomb, receiving only $7,919,823.
MPAA Rating
When the film was first released at theaters everywhere in the United States, the film was originally rated "PG-13" by the Motion Picture Association of America because of some strong profanity (the word "fuck" is uttered only once, along with one obscured use of "shit", and several mild religious exclamations) a scene of an implied comical description of sexual innuendo, using Barbie dolls, and other crude dialogues; but the film was given a "PG" rating when the film was re-edited and re-released on VHS and released on DVD as part of the Fox Family Feature series.
Home Media
Bushwhacked was re-released on VHS as part of the Family Feature series on February 6, 2001 as a PG rated film when Beeman dubbed out some of the profanity used in the film. The only difference in comparison to the "PG-13" and the "PG" rated versions of the film is that the PG-13 version of the film used the "f-word" only once, in which the word was dubbed to "fudge", in order for the film to get a "PG" rating. The original unedited "PG-13" version was released on VHS in 1996, but unlike the 2001 Family Feature VHS counterpart, The original version is most likely out of print, although copies of the original version are sold on Amazon and eBay. The DVD was released on March 11, 2002 and was later re-released in 2009. The Family Feature DVD version of the film presented the film in both full screen (side A) and widescreen with an aspect ratio of 2.35:1 (side B), while the 2009 re-issue of the film was only presented in full screen.
Accolade
The film won the "Best Trailer for a Bad Movie" award in 1996.
External links
- Bushwhacked at the Internet Movie Database
- Bushwhacked at allmovie
- Bushwhacked at Rotten Tomatoes
- Bushwhacked at Box Office Mojo
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