Inoffensive, unremarkable and mostly just a bit naff, this adaptation of Bill Bryson's memoir of walking the Appalachian Trail is about as good as it could possibly have hoped to be, which is to say not very good at all.
Tramping, as we call it, is predominantly an internal experience; likewise Bryson's writing in the 1998 book, which recorded his responses to the experience, along with some amusing anecdotes narrated with the self-effacing mild hyperbole that has earned him legions of admirers.
In turning those words into on-screen action, the screenplay quite drains them of spark, in the same way as explaining a joke makes it unfunny. What's left is essentially a series of punchline-driven episodes, most of which fall flat.
The project, which Redford produced, has been around since 2005 - he initially wanted Paul Newman, who died in 2008, to star with him and a couple of visual nods to the pair's classic Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, make the final cut. But the long gestation has delivered something bereft of life.
Schaal, fondly remembered as the Conchords' New York fan, is an inspired piece of casting - it was her face I imagined when I met Mary Ellen in print. But having a couple of septuagenarians in a story about men in their 40s is silly.
Redford, who's nearly 80, and plainly has neck trouble, looks like a well-groomed Methuselah; Nolte, snuffling like an asthmatic warthog, seems to have one foot in the grave, though the running gag about his character's battle with the bottle has a wistful ring of truth about it.
But, even if they take seriously a long walk that involves motels and restaurants, audiences here may grow impatient with some of the inanities: stranded on a ledge beneath a precipice as high as a top bunk, the pair talk of dying, when we know (and they should) that a dozen tramping clubs will pass in the next hour.
If nothing else, the film is a salutary reminder of how beautiful this country is. The great outdoors in this film looks a lot like Titirangi.
Cast: Robert Redford, Nick Nolte, Emma Thompson, Mary Steenburgen, Kristen Schaal
Director: Ken Kwapis
Running time: 104 mins
Rating: M (offensive language, sexual references)
Verdict: The back country is a laugh-free zone.