Strange Wilderness

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Strange Wilderness ★ 2008 (R)

Peter Gaulke (Zahn) takes over as host of his dead father's popular wildlife show, but his inept stoner on-air persona pushes it to the brink of cancellation. Desperate, Peter and his loyal soundman Fred Wolf (Covert; note that the writers named the two main characters after themselves) hatch a plan to showcase their search for Bigfoot in Ecuador, with their merry band of dudes in tow. Lots of herbally enhanced gags and goof-ups ensue, none of them particularly amusing (unless you're equally medicated). Given the funny-guy cast, what could have been a clever send-up of nature documentaries is all but wasted (in more ways than one) by the dopey script. 85m/C DVD . US Steve Zahn, Allen Covert, Jonah Hill, Kevin Heffernan, Ashley Scott, Justin Long, Peter Dante, Harry Hamlin, Robert Patrick, Joe Don Baker, Jeff Garlin, Ernest Borgnine; D: Fred Wolf; W: Fred Wolf, Peter Gaulke; C: David Hennings; M: Waddy Wachtel.