Bushwhacked

Directed by Greg Beeman, Bushwhacked follows a sketchy deliveryman (Daniel Stern’s Max Grabelski) as he attempts to hide from the authorities by leading several Ranger Scouts on a mountain expedition. Filmmaker Beeman, armed with John Jordan, Danny Byers, Tommy Swerdlow, and Michael Goldberg, delivers an amusing (albeit progressively erratic) comedy that benefits substantially from Stern’s agreeably unhinged, wildly over-the-top turn as the larger-than-life protagonist, and there’s little doubt, certainly, that Stern’s far-from-subtle work here goes a long way towards perpetuating the movie’s periodically laugh-out-loud funny atmosphere – with the recurring emphasis on Max’s fish-out-of-water exploits on the aforementioned mountain generally as hilarious as one might’ve hoped. It’s equally clear, however, that the incredibly thin premise is, perhaps inevitably, stretched way beyond its breaking point, with the picture’s second half and third act slowly-but-surely wearing out its welcome to a rather palpable (and distressing) extent – which ultimately does confirm Bushwhacked‘s place as a decent-enough endeavor that would undoubtedly fare a whole lot worse were it not for Stern’s enthusiastic performance.

**1/2 out of ****