FeistyUpper If you don't like this, we can't be friends.

Steineded How sad is this?

Claysaba Excellent, Without a doubt!!

Deanna There are moments in this movie where the great movie it could've been peek out... They're fleeting, here, but they're worth savoring, and they happen often enough to make it worth your while.

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.

Joshua Hansell I'm nearly convinced this was some sort of meta piece. Writer/Director Todd Rohal is either playing a huge joke on everyone by writing such a bad and structurally inefficient script, or it's just that bad. I'm sure of the former.To start, it feels like three different movies were written and made. Then they were somehow carefully edited into one single film. Nothing feels natural about how the movie moves from point to point. Oswalt seems to exist almost outside of the movie itself. It was a Disney kids movie at points, and really felt like it. Other moments it felt a Hangover type (Rob Riggle was uncomfortably out of place in this, but hysterical non-the-less). There was even a very dark "Apocalypse Now" moment, complete with strange religious elements and all. Then some of the elements slowly meshed into a very strange cavalcade of dark humor.There was literally a scene with two different scores going on at the same time. One is the 90's campy "going on vacation" family pace. The other is somewhat Wagner. Neither score correctly matched the tone of the scene.I'm still not sure what the hell I watched. I'm convinced this needs to be a cult classic, at least on some post-modern level. The fact that Patton Oswalt is even involved means that someone did this on purpose.Then there was the naked chick on the motorcycle. It's almost as if the writer thought to himself, what's the most out of place thing I can put in a kids movie at the most illogical time in the movie?

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.