Into the Wild

The premise is like a line from the SNL fake ad for Bad Idea jeans. A bunch of guys are sitting on a bench by a basketball court, all wearing jeans with the label Bad Idea. One says, "I've thought about it, and even though it's over, I'm going to tell my wife about the affair." Then the screen flashes: Bad Idea. Another says, "I was going to wear a condom, but then I thought, when am I going to be in Haiti again?" Bad Idea. Then this guy would say, "I'm going to live in Alaska, alone, though I know nothing about hunting and foraging, and I've only been able to survive as a homeless person for the last year because other people have helped me out, and there won't be anyone to help me in Alaska." Bad Idea.

It's the myopic, self-indulgent, credulous true story of a young man who wants to "live off the land for a few months" in Alaska, which I guess includes living in an abandoned bus with a bed and stove and other amenities. And we're supposed to believe he's sane. It's filmed like an inspirational story ("Be this guy"), but to me it seems like it'd make more sense if it were a cautionary tale ("Don't be this guy"). Maybe it should have been a comedy, starring Will Ferrell. Imagine the scenes of him being excited about crossing water, and then he jumps out because it's too cold. Or he's excited about communing with nature, but then he realizes nature sucks and it can kill you. Or maybe they could have spliced it with scenes from the BBC "Planet Earth" series. Imagine Will Ferrell excited to find a cave, but then he sees it's filled with bats, cockroaches, and a mountain of guano. That would have been better.

There's also a scene of the hero watching Papa Bush speak on the Persian Gulf War. I guess Penn is suggesting an alternative to our current overseas excursion is to stick your head in the sand and do nothing productive. That reminds me of a Deep Thought: "To me, it's a good idea to always carry two sacks of something when you walk around. That way, if anybody says, 'Hey, can you give me a hand?' You can say, 'Sorry, got these sacks.'" Similarly, a good way to avoid doing anything in life is to say, "Sorry, got to life off the land."

And ultimately, I'm not sure what the point of the film is. Part of it is how glorious this guy's life is on the road. The other part is his sister saying how screwed up he is because of his parents. So is he doing this trek because it's the right thing to do, or because it's a reaction to his childhood? Pick one, Sean. I'm not so sure about the rest of the directing, either. "Hey, Emile," says Penn, "why don't you walk around and we'll film you? Hey Emile, keep walking and we'll keep filming you. Act like you're listening to Eddie Vedder moaning. I didn't say stop walking. Now scream, 'I'm Supertramp!'" Sean Penn thought of it as a way to show an anti-materialistic way of life, how money ruins our lives. But I'm skeptical of someone who claims, "I don't need money," and then lives off the money and generosity of other people.

What it comes down to is, I think I didn't like this film because I don't like hippies.