Nature Calls

2012 "Manhood. It's the only badge that matters."
4| 1h19m| R| en| More Info
Released: 10 March 2012 Released
Producted By: Muskat Filmed Properties
Country: United States of America
Budget: 0
Revenue: 0
Official Website:
Synopsis

Polar-opposite brothers Randy and Kirk never saw eye-to-eye, but their rivalry is taken to a new level when Randy hijacks Kirk's son's sleepover, taking the boys on a Scout Trip to remember.

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Reviews

Lawbolisted Powerful
Matrixiole Simple and well acted, it has tension enough to knot the stomach.
Tayyab Torres Strong acting helps the film overcome an uncertain premise and create characters that hold our attention absolutely.
Juana what a terribly boring film. I'm sorry but this is absolutely not deserving of best picture and will be forgotten quickly. Entertaining and engaging cinema? No. Nothing performances with flat faces and mistaking silence for subtlety.
Steve Pulaski Nature Calls is the last film I'd expect from Todd Rohal, who directed the eccentric mixed-bag that was Guatemalan Handshake and the hugely questionable but watchable Catechism Cataclysm, among a wide variety of short films in the nineties. Rohal's style seemed as if he would shy away from anything remotely in the same vein as Nature Calls, a farce centered around a boy scouts trip in the woods. I expected Rohal's next project to be quirky, but what I didn't expect it to be was conventional.Just by his five short films and two feature films, I knew Rohal was something different in cinema. Whether or not I like his work is a different story, but I will always look forward to what the man has coming out simply because it's something I can't rationally expect. How many filmmakers can we say that out about? I know Steven Spielberg's next film will either be a big-budget adventure film or a serious-minded biopic, I know Kevin Smith's next film will be a human drama centered around hockey, I know Martin Scorsese will examine another cultural figure with a magnifying glass, and I know Tyler Perry will continue to humanize African Americans with another Madea movie or a drama totally in its own melodramatic league. I am completely unsure of what Rohal's next move will be after two extremely out there, independent films and one obscure comedy playing dress-up in mainstream clothes.The plot concerns Randy (Patton Oswalt), a dedicated boy scout leader, who desperately wants to get children excited about learning the fundamentals of nature and how to survive in the deep wilderness. The problem is in the dawn of technology and commercial flashiness, children are not even remotely interested in what Randy has to say or do. When the kids would rather go to Randy's brother Kirk's home (Johnny Knoxville) to welcome home their new adopted son from Africa, Randy crashes the party and takes the kids for the trip of a lifetime in the woods. This leaves Kirk, his pal Gentry (Rob Riggle), and an angry parent (the late, great comedian Patrice O'Neal) to find Randy, while having Kirk's wife fend off a crowd of angry, nervous parents who want to find their children's whereabouts.The only thing worse than witnessing a lukewarm or flat-out bad comedy is thinking about what that comedy could've been if things had went in a different direction. There is a scene in the movie that takes place after Kirk is injured very badly after being caught on fire. He requests the children build a stretcher out of materials they find in the woods. They come back a little while later having erected a life-size cross, akin to the one Jesus Christ was crucified on. When they tie Kirk to the cross, they drag him across the woods, bloody, badly cut, and screaming for mercy.When watching this scene, I realized the true potential this could've had as a twisted, dark comedy with obscure humor and inane setups. All while Todd Rohal maintained his status as an enigmatic filmmaker. But for some baffling reason, Rohal decided to make a comedy that more-or-less tried to hard to mimic that of a foul-mouthed mainstream comedy and only succeeded in being gratuitously foul-mouthed and hinting it could've been destined for cult greatness.The other downside to the film is that so much comedic talent here is wasted. Patton Oswalt, who has worked in great dark comedy films such as Big Fan and Young Adult, does about as much as he can with the thin material provided, Johnny Knoxville and Rob Riggle are mostly obnoxious bullies without ever being funny, and Patrice O'Neal is the only guy who can get a laugh but even this makes me think about the good films he could've been in if he hadn't died young.It would appear Rohal wanted to make an independent comedy that dabbled into the mannerisms of a mainstream one but tried to simultaneously give off the impression of a sweet, simple farce that a studio couldn't make. This is a stretch, but it's a nice justification for now. Nature Calls, right down to its perfunctory title, is a wholly disappointing effort from a filmmaker who definitely has better material and ideas on his hands.Starring: Patton Oswalt, Johnny Knoxville, Rob Riggle, and Patrice O'Neal. Directed by: Todd Rohal.
jmclark07-623-80859 This story has so much depth. You have to wade through so much crap and unnecessarily cheesy acting to get to the heart. Patton Oswalts character Randy, is an unsuccessful scout leader who wants to bring back the troop and also teach a group of sheltered, inexperienced young boys the meaning of being a scout. Along with Randys ailing father who founded the troop, Randy talks the kids into camping, not in the church parking lot as the mothers have decided, but into the woods. I understand that this movie is shaky and mixed up, also poorly constructed, HOWEVER, there is a wonderful story in all of this.I would like to say that I love Thiecoura Cissokos character Dwande. He is the adoptive son of Randy's brother Kirk. He doesn't have talking parts on screen, but his sad eyes are all that is needed. He sees how his parents act and talk about him right in front of his face. He longs for adventure and on the camping trip he finds it.Also Randy brings along his elderly and ailing father who feels a great deal towards the troop. He has seen it dwindle and you can tell he is worried about the future of the Boy Scouts. The presence of Randys father is essential to the story, sort of a passing of the torch to the next generation. Kirk later remarks that he should be at the nursing home that he has paid for, instead of camping with Randy and the children. I feel this is the best part of the story, and while the kids reach the camp ground at sunset and they are all around the fire and talking you can see tears in the mans eyes. Being able to relate to this story and knowing a great deal about Scouting, I find this scene emotional.
Pamela Powell Where to start?  If only I could have started at the end of the movie, I would have saved myself 79 minutes.  "Nature Calls" was about reviving a dwindling boy scout troop, lead by a complete loser who wanted nothing more than to help kids connect with nature.  Sounds like a nice film for the 8-14 year old boy group, right?  Wrong. In a sentence, "Nature Calls" was one of the most offensive, ridiculous, and irritating movies I've seen this year.  It offended every aspect of my intellect.  The barrage of constant noise, insanity and ludicrous situations was more than I could handle.  Who wrote this?  (Todd Rohal)  Who did he write this for???  I have no idea.  The language, the focus point, and the overall story had no redeeming qualities whatsoever.  Between the adults acting like prepubescent  children and the children acting like wild beasts, I wanted to shut the movie off.  But I didn't so that I could save you from wasting your time and money.Patton Oswalt played Randy, the unrealistic troop leader trying to convince a group of boys to come back to his boy scout troop to experience nature.  Randy's brother Kirk (Johnny Knoxville) and his cohort Gentry (Rob Riggle) were intent  on exposing these kids to electronic heaven instead of going on the camping trip planned by Randy.  As Randy broke many rules to get these boys out into nature and connect with it, many ridiculous events occurred.  Kirk and Gentry exploded with anger and outrage and  Kirk's wife, Janine (played by Maura Tierney), tried to hunt the group down.  Janine was nothing more than a servant who had no personality and put up with being treated like a second class citizen. (Personal note to Maura...WHY?  Why did you stoop to this level?)  Crude behavior.  Crass language.  Inappropriate scenes.  Nudity.  Sexual innuendos.  Racial slurs. Animal cruelty.  The list of negatives goes on and on.  I truly have no idea who the intended audience is.  It's not a kid's movie, that's for sure!  It's not a female movie.  Is it a guys' movie?  I hope not.  This is an awful representation of the boy scouts.  This is an awful representation of Hollywood!  This is an awful representation of how adult males should be a model for kids.  Crude, rude and crass can be funny ("The Hangover"), but not in "Nature Calls!" However, I can't end without saying one positive thing.  On the positive side, it wasn't 2 hours long.
ashokkumar87 i intended to see nature calls with great anticipation after watching the trailer but when i saw it , it made me sick to my stomach absolutely ridiculous as simply put. inappropriate language in front of child actors i don't know how their parents will react after watching the movie. director todd rohal did a pathetic job so is the editing in the film. only up side to this movie is acting of patton oswalt playing randy. johnny Knoxville disappointed big time. there is not even a single instance when i laughed during this movie. Comedian Patrice O'Neal did i nice job this was his last movie..over all a dark comedy with out a clear story or direction just a few inappropriate jokes that doesn't make sense.