Peter Gaulke is the host of his late father's nature program, Strange Wilderness, and under his direction, the show has become a wildly inaccurate and unprofessional joke. To save the show from cancellation, he and his crew embark on a quest to find the legendary Bigfoot. Unfortunately, a rival nature show crew is also in search of the creature, and they have a three-day head start.
This movie contains examples of:
- Alas, Poor Villain: Pierson may be a Smug Snake, but he and his crew didn't deserve to be ambushed and brutally murdered by jungle natives.
- The Alcoholic: Whitaker.
- Always Someone Better: Pierson and his crew to the protagonists. Then again, it's hard not to be when you see what massive screw-ups the protagonists are.
- All for Nothing: The team's hunt for Bigfoot end with the idiots pulling out guns and shooting him on the spot.
- Artistic License – Geography: The crew hops in their RV in Los Angeles, destination: Ecuador, via Mexico. The very next scene has them southbound on California Highway-1 in Big Sur... 200 miles north of LA. Probably intentional.
- Bullet Hell: Bigfoot is just as surprised to see Gaulke's crew as they are to see him. Unfortunately for him, they're idiots, and they're armed.
- Captain Obvious: Many of the "facts" on Peter's show, such as:
- "Sharks can only be found in two places on Earth: the Northern and Southern Hemispheres."
- "It is estimated that bears kill over 2 million salmon each year, although attacks by salmon on bears are much more rare."
- Cloud Cuckoo Lander: Most of the cast, especially Cooker and Junior.
- Cool Old Guy: The show's old cameraman Milas, which comes with the turf of being played by Ernest Borgnine.
- Disqualification-Induced Victory: A variation played for black comedy, what with the "disqualification" that saves Strange Wilderness being the entire crew of the better wilderness show having been massacred by a misfortunate encounter and no replacement shows being available.
- Distracted by the Sexy: Happens quite a bit in the show, whether it's an overly long segment about topless "native girls" (they're actually from Long Beach) or incredibly crude dialogue during a scene with two lions getting it on.
- Electric Joybuzzer: Cooker is fond of using one of these, particularly punching guys in the nuts with it.
- Fan Disservice:
- Robert Patrick showing the results of having to patch himself up after a run-in with a particularly nasty local tribe.They tied me to a tree and did what they do to every white man they don't kill. They cut open my scrotum with a sharp stick, and let my testicles spill out onto the ground.
- Invoked when Peter (who just had his front teeth knocked out) hits on the woman in the dentist's waiting room.
- Robert Patrick showing the results of having to patch himself up after a run-in with a particularly nasty local tribe.
- Groin Attack: While Peter is taking a piss, a wild turkey tries to swallow his penis and ends up getting it lodged in its throat.
- Half the Man He Used to Be:
- When we last see Pierson, he's missing the lower half of his body from the native attack.
- Danny loses both legs at the hip to a shark.
- In-Universe Factoid Failure: There are several examples provided by the titular show, one of the most memorable being "Bears derive their name from a football team in Chicago."
- Manchild: Peter's whole crew, but especially Junior. This is a guy who can't go 5 minutes without getting high and actually tattoos eyes on his eyelids so that people think he's awake while he's sleeping on the job.
- Make It Look Like A Suicide: After the crew gun down Bigfoot, they decide on a backup plan of making it look like he hung himself. While there's still a ton of bullet holes in him. Given how the crew are weapons-grade idiots, it should not be surprising that no-one buys it when they watch the footage.
- Multiple Gunshot Death: Bigfoot buys it to multiple AK-47s handled by the Strange Wilderness crew, who open fire in a moment of drunken panic when Bigfoot gives them a Jump Scare. Also an example of I Just Shot Marvin in the Face.
- Only Sane Man:
- Cheryl is remarkably more mature than the rest of the crew. Dick also shares this role with her when he joins the team, at least until he becomes piranha chow.
- The network head Ed Lawson is also this when he criticizes the Strange Wilderness show featuring people getting killed.
- Overly Long Gag: The
laughing shark loop near the end. Also, the crew's incredibly juvenile reactions to their jungle guide being named Dick. - Plot Hole: The movie doesn't explain what the hell Bigfoot is doing in Ecuador, considering most Bigfoot sightings are in the US Pacific Northwest.
- "Shaggy Dog" Story: After the group eventually finds Bigfoot, they panic upon seeing him and messily shoot him dead. This results in the network pulling the plug on the Strange Wilderness show... and then uncancelling it a few months later because they found out about Pierson's death, and couldn't find a replacement show.
- Shout-Out: Bigfoot's design is clearly designed to be reminiscent of the title character from Harry and the Hendersons.
- Terrible Interviewees Montage: Played with. Whitaker is the first to be interviewed for the animal wrangler's position, and when he admits that he doesn't have any relevant experience and is only applying because he can't get any other job, Peter and Fred give him a "The Reason You Suck" Speech and tell him to go fuck himself. However, all the candidates who follow are then shown telling Peter and Fred what irredeemable assholes they are and refuse to even consider taking the job, resulting in them having to hire Whitaker anyway.
