Voila! Finally, the The River Wild
script is here for all you quotes spouting fans of the Meryl Streep and
Kevin Bacon movie. This script is a transcript that was painstakingly
transcribed using the screenplay and/or viewings of The River Wild. I know, I know, I still need to get the cast names in there and I'll be eternally
tweaking it, so if you have any corrections, feel free to
drop me a line. You won't
hurt my feelings. Honest.
[Oars Splashing]
[Panting]
[Panting Continues]
[Horn Blowing]
[Horn Continues]
[Train Approaches]
- [Stereo: Loud Rock] - [Woman] Roarke!
- [Screaming] - Roarke!
I'm tellin' you for the th time, turn that music off!
It's singeing my hair! You got to find your sneakers, buddy.
- [Screams] - Your old ones!
- [Screams] - Your old ones!
Hey! See if you can find Dad's sneakers!
Dad? Come on, Mom.
- [Stops] - Why bother?
He's just gonna cancel.
- Dad always cancels. - Somethin' came up those other times.
I have a stomachache in my mouth.
- Oh, God. - You do?
Here we go. She pretends she's sick so we don't leave her.
Oh, stop. It's just for a few days.
With those notorious psychos, your grandparents!
[Children Shouting, Door Opens]
[Laughing] Oh. Whoop, whoop, whoop.
I almost got you packed. Hi. I just can't find...
your old sneakers.
Um, can I talk to you for a second?
Oh, you're not gonna do this, not three years in a row.
Roarke, you take your sister in the other room.
- Come on, Willa. - And shut the door.
- Don't make this harder than it is. - What are we to you, Tom?
Are we just some gaggle of obligations pulling on you, making you tired?
Gail, Selvaggio didn't like my drawings. They just weren't good enough.
- They're giving the project to Parker. - So let Parker do it.
Fine, so let Parker do it. Maggie, get off the quilt.
Maggie!
Get off the quilt!
Maggie, get down.
Good girl.
Gail, how did this become such a big deal?
Oh, it's not as big as the Selvaggio deal, clearly.
But it is your son's birthday again...
and he thinks you don't want to spend time with him.
You understand that part?
I do not treat you like a baby.
I treat you like a slob. There's a difference. Oh!
[Laughing]
- Hi, Mom. - Ohh.
Oh, look at you. It's so good to see you.
- Hey! - It's good to see you too, Grandpa.
You have to sign, buddy.
Hey! Oh, boy. Oh, yeah.
- You look good. - Where's Tom?
- Well... - He didn't want to come.
No, no. He's working. He's really busy right now.
- Mags! - [Barking]
Maggie!
[Sighs] I think my marriage is over, Mama.
Oh, Bean.
Damn.
Well, he, uh...
just can't seem to make time for us anymore.
He's let himself get so beaten up by his job.
He hates it, but he spends every waking minute over there.
He hasn't been home one weekend since Christmas.
I don't know what it is that he's trying to prove...
but I'm really sick of the whole thing.
I'm sick of the whole fight.
Everything has become unbelievably hard.
Huh. Honey, forgive me, but you don't know what hard is.
That's because you give yourself an out.
In our generation, we had no out.
That was the pact of marriage.
Do you think if I gave myself an out...
with your father, given his orneriness and his deafness...
that I wouldn't have taken it years ago?
Mom.
Here, let me take that one.
- Roarke. - Yeah.
- Go buy me a map and get the tags. - Okay.
The ranger said I had to get tags. I thought this was all I needed.
This just confirms your reservation.
There you go. Here's your three tags.
If a ranger asks, show them to him.
- Can I buy those two first-aid kits? - Sure. Make it bucks even.
Some of the Band-Aids are missing.
- Guy tore his ear up on a fishhook. - Ouch.
Thank you very much.
Here. And could I have a map?
I wish you were too, Pop.
Remember the trip down the Snake River when I was twelve?
That was the greatest.
Thanks.
[Grunting]
Whoa, there, partner. Are you okay?
Yeah, I just got to get new feet.
Until you do, you better slow on down.
- You went to that concert? - What?
Oh, yeah. Yeah.
- Great show. - So you saw Jane's Addiction.
Wish I could've seen them before they broke up.
- Uh-huh. - So, you goin' down the river alone?
No. Me and a couple of my buddies.
- Who are you goin' with? - My mom.
Oh, yeah? This is a pretty tough river.
She used to be a guide here.
She wants me to go down the river before it gets polluted.
What about your daddy?
He had to stay home and do one of his stupid drawings.
Too bad.
- [Air Pumping] - Is that your mom?
Yeah.
I'm Wade. What's your name?
- Roarke. - Good to meet you, Roarke.
Mom! Mom! This is Wade.
- He's goin' down the river too. - Hi, Wade. I'm Gail.
Great idea, showing Roarke the river before they ruin it.
[Chuckles]
Wade!
- Come on! We gotta go! - Be right there.
He tells me you used to be a guide here.
Oh! About years ago.
You must know the river pretty well, then.
- Well, I used to. - How far you going?
End of the line, Bridal Creek.
Oh, yeah? Us too.
- Oh, great. - Come on, Wade! We're dyin' here!
[Chuckles] I wish I were going with you guys.
[Laughing]
Well.
Here you go, Roarke.
Keep the sun out of your eyes.
Wow! No way!
- What do you say, Roarke? - Oh, yeah. Thanks.
Well, uh, see you on the river, I guess.
I don't know. We're gonna be goin' fast.
- [Man] Let's go, Wade! - I'm comin'. I'm comin'.
[Man # ] I said the right oar!
- [Man # ] Okay, the right one! - Yeah! Take it!
Get off my damn foot!
[Gail] lt'll be a long haul with him at the oars.
Guy in back knows what he's doing.
Frank used to be a guide on the Colorado.
- Push with both oars! - [Roarke] It's Dad!
[Willa] Daddy!
Is this where you sign up for river rafting lessons?
I got a dry jacket and a pair of reef walkers.
The guy at the camping store said that's all I'll need.
[Laughs] What happened to Mr. Selvaggio?
I brought him with me.
Let's go boys. One... two... three.
Let's do it! Jump on!
- [Willa] Bye-bye, Mommy! - See you at Bridal Creek!
Whoa! [Chuckling]
Whoa! That's it!
I love you too!
Roarke.
Roarke.
Roarke!
It's beautiful.
- Yeah. - Really.
[Sighs]
Okay, sweetie, put your helmet on, please.
Mom.
You don't have to wear it all the time, but we got some rapids comin' up here.
- Just give me a hand, damn it! - It's coming up!
You all right?
[Gail] If you're gonna sit there in the back...
you should sit on the floor in the center.
- I can't see from there. - Well, then, sit in front.
I like it here.
Okay.
[Roarke] Here we go!
Woo-hoo! Heh! [Laughing]
Wow, this is great! [Shouting]
[Roarke] Yes! Hold on, Maggie!
[Roarke Whooping] Look out for that rock!
Ohh!
- [Laughing] - Whoa!
That was great! But where's Dad?
[Laughing] He's swimming.
- [Gail] Point your feet down! - Point your toes, Dad!
Could you just stop laughing for a second and help me into the boat?
- [Laughing Stops] - [Moaning]
- Ohh! - Oh!
[Moaning]
Is this the biggest one, Mom?
The biggest one's the Gauntlet.
That's a five-plus.
That's off the scale.
- When do we do that one? - Well, we don't do that one.
That's after the take-out at Bridal Creek.
- You can't go down there. - Have you ever done it?
- Mom is saying it's too dangerous. - For you, maybe.
Roarke. Honey, I went down the Gauntlet...
when I was years old with two other guides...
experienced guides.
And we were just lucky.
But there were two other people that summer who did not get so lucky.
One guy got killed, and the other one is paralyzed for life.
Don't worry. We're gonna hit some threes and some four-pluses...
and we will risk death a number of times on this trip.
So you're gonna scream, you're gonna be so happy.
- Hey, look, Mom, there's Wade! - [Gail] Hello, the shore!
- [Wade] Hello, the boat! - Is everybody okay?
- Yeah, I just got a cramp! - We're trying to work it out.
Hey, who's your friend, Gail?
Oh, this is Tom, uh, Roarke's father.
Oh, no. You didn't tell him about us, did you?
[Laughing] No.
Hey, Roarke! Don't tell those fish we're comin'!
[Gail] All right, let's bring a little line in, okay?
We're gonna aim for that ripple right over there. See?
Ten, two, ten, two...
ten, release!
Then let go of your line.
Why don't you ask your dad if he wants to come over?
Hey, Dad, you wanna try this?
Not now! Thanks, buddy!
[Roarke] Do you think he even knows he left Boston?
Yeah, he knows.
But he took two planes and a charter just to get here, so...
let's give him a break.
- Try it again. - Why are you suddenly on his side?
I'm on everybody's side. I'm the mother.
- [Gasps] You got it! That's it! - Look, Mom!
You got a nice one, buddy. He's a beauty.
Let's get him. There he is.
Come here. Come here, sweetheart.
Look, Daddy. Oh, it's a monster.
You know, this is the first time...
we've all had dinner together since Mom's birthday.
Hello, the Gail, Roarke and Tom family!
This is the Wade raft passing you by!
Hey, Wade! I caught two fish today!
First time I ever fished!
Must be that lucky hat!
Hey, Roarke, if that hat's so lucky, I want it back!
Hi.
- He's down. - Mm-hmm.
- [Sighs] - Well, had a big day.
It's kind of warm.
That's the way I like it.
Did you finish your sketches yet?
No. No, I didn't.
And it's not a sketch, Gail.
- You know, it's very important. - Very important, I know.
- So, tomorrow... - What?
Could you just pretend to like it here a little bit?
For Roarke's sake, if not for mine.
I don't do too bad at pretending to like your stuff, so...
Is that what you do? Pretend to like my stuff?
- No. You know, that's not what I mean. - You don't have to.
And just don't. And don't do me any favors, either.
I don't.
I won't.
Gail.
- Listen, don't you ever realize... - Let's just stop, okay?
You never... Oh, please!
[Gail Laughing]
[Screaming]
- [Laughing] - [Roarke] Whoa, it's cold!
Whoo!
[Maggie Barking]
[Roarke Whooping]
Wow!
Hey, look, Mom! Graffiti!
Oh, wow!
Those are pictographs. They were made by people...
who lived here thousands of years before white men came.
So those are their hands?
Those markings might've been made by a boy your age...
while he was on his vision quest.
See?
Are you sure there's fish around here, Mom?
Over there, honey.
Right in the current.
- [Maggie Whimpers] - Hey there!
We've been waitin' for you.
I should've suspected something when he had us camp at the walk-out.
Frank and Terry'd been arguing most of the day.
Frank used to be married to my sister...
until she realized what a butthole he was.
Anyway, Frank said things he shouldn't have said.
And this morning, we woke up and he was gone.
Why didn't you guys just follow him out, walk out with him?
That would have been the smart thing to do...
but I didn't want to give him the satisfaction.
And what he was doin' with the oars didn't look that hard...
so we just headed downriver... and we saw this.
That's when we decided to wait for you guys.
- Wade said you used to be a guide here. - Yeah. Roarke, come over here.
Is there any way we could walk out of here...
- like go up the canyon and... - Uh, well, you might...
but once you got up to that canyon rim...
and headed back to the ranger station, there's a huge gorge.
You'd have to walk around it.
Even if you had the equipment and knew what you were doing...
and where you were going, it'd take you five or six days.
Looks like we're stuck.
Well, we...
- I could get you as far as Bridal Creek. - Yeah.
We... wouldn't want to be a burden.
Well...
it doesn't look like you have much choice.
All right.
[Gail] Anyway, it's not as bad as it looks.
- You just got to stay to the right. - Maggie!
There's a bad hole on the left. Don't hit that.
No.
[Roarke] Come on, Mags! Time to go!
Honey, would you go up and get her?
Stay to the right, and if you do go swimming, which you won't...
point your feet downstream and hold on to your jacket.
Just let the current take you.
Don't command the river. Let the river command you.
Hey, I don't live my life like that, and I don't think you do, either.
[Chuckling]
Maggie!
Maggie! Come!
[Whistles] Come on, girl!
- [Maggie Barking] - Maggie!
- [Whimpering, Digging] - Maggie, come.
What do you got there, girl?
- [Digging, Whimpering Continue] - You all right, girl?
[Roarke] Maggie, come!
- [Barking] - Come, Maggie!
[Barking]
Dogs.
Yeah.
- Buckle your life jacket. Stay right. - [Wade] All right.
- Just relax. - Relax, huh?
Yeah. Relax.
- I want you to be the best you can be. - Best I can be.
Let me get down there first. I'll be waitin' for ya.
All right! Come on, Maggie! Here we go!
Tom, better put the map away.
We're gonna go through our first whoop-dee-doos.
- You might want to take a secure seat. - What?
- Here we go! - Hold on, Roarke!
[Roarke Shouting, Whooping]
[Roarke Laughing, Shouting]
[Groaning]
Here we go! [Whooping]
[Roarke Laughing, Shouting]
[Shouting]
[Shouting, Laughing Continue]
- Oh, great! - Oh, boy.
[Roarke Shouting]
All right.
Here we go.
She said stay on the right, remember?
- You remember, right? - Oh, man.
[Wade] She wasn't playing around.
Whoo!
Go right!
Get us over, Wade! Oh, shit!
Oh, my God.
- The right, Wade! To the right! - Shut up!
Oh, my God! They're on the wrong side!
Get over! You gotta turn!
[Terry Shouts] There's a rock here!
Wade!
[Screaming]
Get in the front! We're gonna pick 'em up!
[Gasping]
Wade's lost his jacket!
Wade can't swim! He's back there! He can't swim!
Pull him in! Pull him in!
Get in the back. We're goin' to him!
[Tom] There he is!
[Terry] Wade! Hold on, buddy!
[Roarke] Wade!
[Tom] He went under!
Wade!
[Roarke] Where is he?
He's still under!
- Get the throw bag, Roarke! - Hold on, Wade!
[Terry] Right there!
- [Gasping] - [Gail] Here's the rope! Over here!
- [Terry] You okay? - Wow, Dad!
[Terry] Come on, man. We got ya.
- Tom! - Hey, Wade!
You almost drown!
Wow! One of these days I have got to learn how to swim.
You okay? Nice job.
I'm okay.
Oh, I got that. I got it.
Okay.
I want to thank you, Tom. You saved my life.
Oh, don't worry about it.
You didn't have to hit me, though.
Yes, I did.
[Indistinct, On Radio]
[Gail] Just turn it around. Get it straight up and down.
- Pull out some. - All right.
[Gail] Point that thumb where you want the fly to go.
- Ten and two and release. - [Continues On Radio]
[Man On Radio] At the top of the news:
The car believed to have been used in the robbery of the livestock auction...
at the Flathead County Fairgrounds Sunday was found abandoned...
on a back road near the Canadian border...
in the robbery that netted nearly a quarter of a million dollars.
- A security guard was killed. - What? What'd I do?
My dad's been telling my mother for years...
that they're going to rob this cattle auction.
- And finally somebody did it. - Cattle auction?
He's gonna be very happy. Yeah, on the radio.
- They just... - Wow.
You guys known each other a long time?
Me and Wade go way back.
We just met Frank in Tulsa.
L... I thought Frank was married to your sister.
- Oh, yeah. She lives in Tulsa. - Oh.
So what do you do when you're not trying to drown yourself on a river?
- I'm a skier, ski bum. - Oh, yeah?
What about you? What do you do?
I teach history for a school for the deaf.
Tom is an architect.
I could tell you were a teacher.
- Little bossy? - No, no.
- Ladies sure do like Wade. - Yeah?
[Gail] Let's try again.
- Ten, two, ten, two. - Yeah, sure do.
You keep trying to bring your left hand up.
Hey, Tom.
[Acid Rock Emanating From Headphones]
I don't like those guys.
I think we should leave them behind tomorrow.
They're all right. They're just those kind of guys...
that just never got over their adolescence.
There's lots of them up here.
Why are you defending him?
Who? Wade?
- I'm not defending him. - Yes, you are.
You sound like you're jealous.
I'm not jealous...
even though you did drape yourself all over him.
I did not drape myself.
That is the way you teach somebody to fly cast, honey.
Oh, Gail. He knew exactly what he was doing.
Well, you know, they did get in over their heads and they lost their guide.
If something happened to me, and you and Roarke were alone on the river...
I would want somebody to help you.
I'm sorry. Maybe I am being a jerk about Wade.
But that still doesn't change that I just think... something's off.
- [Barking] - Go get it, Maggie.
Bring it here. Come on.
- [Humming] - [Roarke] Good girl, good girl.
- [Maggie Barking] - [Roarke] Go get it, Maggie.
- Hey, Gail. - Hey.
- I found a hot spring. - Yeah, isn't it great?
If you feel the water down here, it's really warm.
- Oh, man. People. - [Roarke] Go get it, Maggie.
- Yeah. - Good, good girl.
Listen, I was wonderin', uh...
What's the river like below Bridle Creek?
Oh, it's really spectacular down there. It's unbelievable.
Then how come people don't go down there?
Well, you're not allowed to take rafts down there anymore.
It's just... Rapids are unrunnable. It's treacherous.
I bet you ran it though, didn't you?
[Laughing] I did. I did.
I was and completely insane.
- [Laughing] - I bet you'd like to do it again, right?
- [Maggie Barking] - Hmm, no.
No, everything's different now. I have kids and...
- And a husband. - Yeah, and a husband.
And what if you didn't?
But I do.
[Roarke] Go get it, Maggie.
Hey, Ro! I got another one for your collection.
- Hi, Wade! - Hey, buddy.
But I got the cigarettes too, so we had ten cartons of cigarettes and no beer.
- I couldn't believe it. - [Chuckling]
Maggie. Maggie, no!
Maggie, no!
Maggie, no. Go lie down. Good girl.
So, Mom, what's this vision quest thing you told me about?
Vision quest is, um...
is when a boy or a girl your age...
from one of the tribes that used to live around here...
would go off for about four or five days...
all alone without food or anything...
and they'd go to one of their sacred places, like where we were.
They'd wait there for a vision of their guardian spirit...
to appear to them.
They believed that that guardian spirt would then...
watch over them and protect them all their lives.
If you'd had a successful vision quest, you'd do two things.
First, you'd send up a smoke signal.
Smoke signal.
Yeah. That's so your folks would know you're okay.
And then draw an image on the rocks just like the ones we saw today.
[Humming "Twilight Zone" Theme]
I'll be right back.
[Gail] Happy birthday to you
[Together] Happy birthday to you
Happy birthday dear Roarke
Happy birthday to you
- [Gail] Did you think we forgot? - Yeah.
[Chuckling] It's from your dad and me.
- Mom! Hey, look, guys, rollerblades! - Are those the right ones?
- Promise me you won't break your leg. - Nope.
And this is from your baby sister.
It's a... plastic camera.
- It's a waterproof camera. - Roarke.
- This is from Maggie. - Yeah, sure.
I think it might be something you can use on the river.
- Look at it! It's a Swiss army knife! - Great.
Thanks, Dad! Look, it's got everything!
- Even the price. - Yeah.
- [Terry] How much is it? - Who wants some cake?
- . . - [Wade] Hey, save me a piece!
Hey, Wade. Look what I got.
Oh, man, that's great.
Terry and I don't have anything that fancy, but... this is from us.
Gee, uh, thanks, you guys.
This is...
[Gail] What is it?
- What do ya got there, bud? - What is it, honey?
It's $ !
Now, that's so in case you want to see a concert or buy some CDs or whatever.
That's your money.
It's too much money, Wade. He can't accept that.
Hey, you guys are savin' our lives. This is our way of showin' appreciation.
- Can I, Dad? - It's too much money, Roarke.
Thank you very much for the gesture, but he can't accept it.
- Roarke, give the money back to him. - No!
- He gave it to me. It's mine. - Roarke.
Give the money back to him right now.
- [Roarke Murmuring] - What did you say?
I said, you didn't even want to come on this trip!
Gee. I'm sorry, Tom. I was just tryin' to be nice.
I talked to him. He's okay.
You don't have to beat yourself up over this.
- You know, you did the right thing. - Oh!
It's very weird that... Giving him that money.
I pretty much ruined his birthday party.
Damn it. Same old story.
Want to know what I think?
I think you spend so much time at work because you don't like being around me.
Gail, it's not about that.
You set such high standards for yourself.
Everybody around you. I'm just trying to come up to your expectations of me.
I'm trying to make you proud of me again.
Oh, God. [Sobbing]
Oh, God, I'm sorry...
if I made you feel you had to do that.
So... what does it mean?
What are we gonna do?
I think there's only one thing we can do.
Are you making a pass at me?
I don't know. Is that what it's called this far outside of Boston?
This far inside of marriage, you mean.
I think we're sufficiently alienated for this to qualify...
as a pass.
[Roarke] Mom!
Mom!
- I'm going to put him to sleep. - Mm-hmm.
And I'll bathe.
[Footsteps Departing]
[Thunder Rumbling]
[Thunderclap]
[Rain Splattering]
[Whimpering]
It's okay, Maggie. I'll be out in a minute.
- [Thunder Rumbling] - [Maggie Growling]
[Growling Continues, Barking]
- [Barking] - [Gasping]
[Barking Continues]
[Gail] They're so creepy, but I don't want to make a big deal or scare Roarke.
I just think we have to get away from them.
Listen, tomorrow, we'll, uh, act like nothing's happened.
And then we'll just find a way to leave them behind.
- Okay? - Mm-hmm, mm-hmm.
[Thunderclap]
Bam! Uppercut right to his jaw.
Teeth went straight through his tongue, bit it clear off. Blood showered.
It's lyin' on the ground. Yak-yak-yak-yak! It's still talkin'.
One more bag and we can go.
- Okay, Roarke. Come on, honey. - Shut him up, though.
- Hey, give me that. - Stow your fishing rod. Let's go.
- Come on, Maggie! - [Barking]
I don't want to go with you. I want to spend the day with my friends.
Roarke! You get your little heinie back here right now.
Oh, I'm sorry. That's my fault, Gail.
I told him we could practice our fly fishing together. Ten, two, ten, two.
Wade, you're not experienced enough to take him down the river.
If we get in trouble, you're going to be there, right?
- [Acid Rock] - This way our music won't bother you!
All right.
Yeah, but, Roarke, at lunch you come back with us.
- What? - [Acid Rock]
Gail, stop looking at them.
Sweetheart, sit down.
Sit down and relax.
Nothing's going to happen. He's going to have a great time.
He'll listen to his music. When we stop for lunch, we'll get him.
Then we'll lose them. Gail, look at me.
Gail, look at me. Everything's going to be all right.
- Hey, Roarke. - Yep.
Can you keep a secret?
- Terry, hand me the green bag. - Wade.
Hand me the green bag.
If I show you something...
- promise not to tell anybody? - Sure.
- Not even your mom and dad? - I promise.
Wow.
What are you...
That's right. [Laughing]
First, ya take out the empties. See that?
Three, five, seven.
In go the new ones. A full load.
Can I hold it?
I don't think your mom would like it very much.
My mom wouldn't care.
Really.
- All right. - They're right there.
Be careful. It's loaded.
- Bang. Bang. - Hey!
- Hey. - Come on, man.
All right, all right. Better give it back now. Come on.
- Thanks, Wade. - Hey, what are friends for?
[Wade] Don't forget. It's our secret.
Hey, what were you and the guys talkin' about?
- Hmm? - Things. I'm goin' fishing.
Listen, if you want to catch anything this time of day...
you're gonna have to go around that big rock.
There's a little eddy there. There's some big fish waitin' for ya, honey.
I'll call ya when lunch is ready.
Take it up to that flat area there. There's a spring if you want to wash up.
[Roarke] Come on, Maggie.
Be careful on the rocks. Just stay close to the shore downstream.
- Okay! - Don't go where I can't see you.
[Water Splashing]
I'll be right back.
Terry? Help me with this, Terry.
Did you get the drinks, Tom?
No, I didn't.
I'll go get them.
Oh, this looks pretty great.
Oh, boy.
Ah, that's great. You ought to try it.
I'll get a towel.
Oh!
Wade!
Oh, man!
Wade!
Come on!
Wade!
We're gonna make it.
We're gonna make it.
Roarke. Roarke. Reel it in, honey. We're gonna find another place.
You said this was a good place.
- Just reel it in. - It's stuck.
- Break it, damn it. - What are you doing?
- I'll explain later. Get in the boat. - No!
I don't want to ride with you! I hate you!
- Roarke! Get in the boat! - What about Maggie?
- Maggie! Maggie! - Roarke!
[Wings Fluttering]
- Come on, Maggie. Come on, girl. - [Wade] Hey.
What are you guys doin'?
We were just gonna go on ahead and be by ourselves for a little bit.
Oh.
Yeah. It is our vacation and we haven't been alone together all that much.
I thought you guys were runnin' out on us.
[Gail] No. Uh-uh.
I think that's exactly what they were doin', Terry.
You're right. We were. L-lt's just not working out between us.
Why's that? Because your son wants to be with me instead of you?
Roarke. Come here.
Look, I'm taking my family and we're gonna go down the river alone.
That's what we're gonna do.
I'm sorry. We'll send somebody back to get you.
Who died and made you stud dick all of a sudden, Tom?
[Gail] You go get in the boat right now.
Wade, rangers come down here all the time.
You could hook up with one of them and get to Bridle Creek ahead of us.
And what if I said I'm not gonna let you go?
What would you do?
- What would you do, stud? - [Maggie Barking]
- Hey! What is he... - Just let him talk to him for a second.
- I don't want to fight with you. - Oh.
- Wade! - [Maggie Barking]
I tried to be nice to you.
I tried to be nice to your family.
And what do you do? You try and run out on me.
I'm drownin', Tom.
- You wanna hit me? - [Gasping]
[Maggie Barking]
I'm pullin' you down, Tom.
Whoa! [Grunting]
- Hit 'im, Dad! Hit 'im. - [Maggie Barking]
Okay, we're even. You hit me, I hit you. It's over.
Now, I'm takin' my family and I'm leavin'.
- No, you're not. - Look out, Dad! He's got a gun!
Roarke.
- Don't! Damn it! [Grunting] - [Maggie Barking]
It's not gonna be that easy.
Get off of her!
- Get off me! - [Grunting]
- [Growling] - Get! Get!
- [Maggie Whimpering] - [Groaning]
Don't, Wade! Stop! He's my dad! Stop hitting him!
- [Maggie Barking] - This is not fun anymore.
- [Gail] Oh, God, no! - Wade!
Wade, please! God, please, don't...
I need your wife to get me down the river.
- I need your son to control her. - [Maggie Barking]
- You and the dog are expendable. - [Maggie Barking]
- [Barking Continues] - Right now, I think I'll get rid of...
- [Barking] - The dog.
No! Run, Mags, run!
Run, Maggie, run! Run! Run!
You got guts, Roarke.
But you shouldn't have broken your promise about the gun.
Friends don't do that.
I thought you were a nice guy.
I am a nice guy.
Just a different kind of nice guy.
Damn, Terry. Looks like we lose our deposit.
[Wade Laughing] All right!
Now that I'm head of the family, here's what we're gonna do!
We're gonna haul ass down this river. No more fishing. No more sightseeing.
And unfortunately, no more skinny dipping.
- By the way, Gail... - [Clicking]
You're gonna get another chance to run the Gauntlet.
- We're not stopping at Bridle Creek. - What?
That's right. Come on, let's get this shit up the hill and outta sight!
Roarke.
Were you takin' pictures of me?
Give me that camera.
[Sighing]
You know, it's really dangerous to be tied into the raft like this.
If we flip, we'll just be dragged under and drown.
It would be dangerous for me if you were to flip us on purpose. I could drown.
[Wade] This just levels the playing field.
[Wade] Sure is pretty country, isn't it?
[Inhaling, Exhaling]
What's in the green bag, Wade?
It's the money, isn't it? From the cattle auction?
You guys robbed the cattle auction, right?
If we had, it'd be a pretty slow getaway, wouldn't it?
[Gail] Yeah, it's slow, but it's smart, sort of.
This close to Canada...
they'd think you jumped the border...
but instead you just go off road for four or five days.
End up couple of hundred miles downriver...
where you have a car waiting.
Couple of... [Scoffing] Big problems, though.
Frank and the Gauntlet.
Frank was supposed to take you down the Gauntlet, right?
But what was he? Wounded? So you had to finish him off.
Did you do it, Wade? Or did you make Terry kill him?
Shut up!
So what's the big problem with the Gauntlet anyway?
[Laughing]
The Gauntlet is just...
It's not just the size of the water, you know.
Although the three rivers do all pour into that one canyon.
But it's glacier water, so...
You know what hypothermia is? [Laughing]
Probably not.
If the raft gets caught in there, it gets sucked under the falls.
It's kind of like being in a washing machine, you know.
You can just churn and churn and churn in there 'til Christmas.
But swimming ability is not the problem.
Swimming... [Laughing] Is beside the point.
[Laughing]
I'm sorry.
[Laughing, Whispering] I'm sorry.
I just can't believe this is happening to us now.
I can't believe you think I can take you down there.
Mom? Mom, I'm hungry.
- What? - I'm really hungry.
- He's gotta have something to eat. - He can eat in the boat.
Yeah, well, we can't pee in the boat.
Come on. Let's go over here.
Hello, the beach!
Hello, the canoe.
Terry, come on. Get 'em up here.
Wade and Terry are old family friends. Remember, Wade has the gun.
Come on. Let's go. Let's go. Let's go. How ya doin', Officer?
Shoot. On a day like today? Can't complain. How you doin'?
Not too bad.
I been tryin' to catch you folks ever since I heard you were on the river.
But the office told me there were only three of you.
[Wade] Been five right from the start. Wanna see our tags?
No. I must've heard wrong. You guys have been travelin' along pretty quickly.
I was afraid you were gonna get to Bridal Creek and be gone.
Well, Gail here is our guide. She makes the trip so interestin'...
that once she shows us one thing...
we just wanna move on to the next as quick as we can.
I can believe that. She sure made my life interesting.
I'm sorry. Do I know you?
Well, on more than one occasion you tried to get me into bed... before : .
But usually you spent more time with my older brother and his friends.
- Johnny? - Yeah!
Oh, Johnny!
Oh! How's Raymond? And... And your folks?
Oh, my folks are fine. Raymond lives outside of Boise now.
My brother and Gail, they used to be the terrors of this river.
The little kids... my friends and l... we used to call her Whitewater.
Whitewater, huh?
We never had nicknames where I came from. Certainly not Whitewater.
- White trash, maybe. - [Laughs]
Now, I hear it's worse in this country to be an Indian...
than it is even a-a black or a Mexican.
Is that right... Ranger Johnny?
Ahem. I-I'm Tom. I, uh... I'm Whitewater's husband.
- Really nice to meet you, Tom. - Nice to meet you.
What happened to your eye?
Uh, s-slipped on a rock and, uh, met up with a tree. I hurt my knee too...
Hi. I'm Terry.
- Nice to meet ya. - Friend.
And I'm Wade. And this is Roarke, Gail's son.
Oh, hey, Roarke. Nice to meet you too.
I was about your age when I first knew your mom.
Well, now you've met everyone.
I guess I have.
Well, I better be shovin' off then. I'll see ya.
So we'll see you at Bridal Creek, then?
Oh, no, I gotta do a portage up to Swanson Meadow and do a fish count.
It was nice seein' ya again, Gail. You guys take it easy.
That was real smart. Real smart.
Oh, hey, uh, I almost forgot. Did anybody lose a camera?
Is it a yellow waterproof one?
- Yeah. Catch. - Toss that puppy on up here, Johnny.
Hey, Roarke! Found your camera.
- What do you say, big man? - Thank you.
You all take it easy now.
- [Terry] Bye. - See ya later.
You're a real smart man, aren't ya? Huh?
- Oh! - Get in the boat!
Get up! What do you think? I'm some kind of idiot?
Sit down. Put your hands together.
- [Gail] Go right up there, sweetie. - Sit in the middle.
That's Bridal Creek up ahead.
[Gail] That's the last take-out before the Gauntlet.
[Roarke] Are Grandma and Grandpa gonna be there?
No, sweetie. They're not expecting us for two more days...
so... they're not there yet.
You still intend to go on?
That's right.
Then can Terry row for a little bit?
Can I get a break?
Sure.
Untie her.
Keep an eye on them.
You listen to me, you little idiot!
I'm not bullshitting you about the Gauntlet. It's big.
Bigger than anything you've ever seen. And tomorrow, you're gonna drown in it.
And the rest of us are gonna be hauled under with the raft.
I'm not gonna pretend that I give a shit about you and your stupid friend...
and your pathetic small-time nothing life!
But I got everything I care about in the world in this boat.
And I got my baby girl waiting at the other end. And I know I cannot do this!
I cannot row this big water, man! That's the truth.
I cannot do it!
You're an amazing woman.
[Laughing, Talking]
[Wade] I gotta get some sleep.
Here. Wake me up at : .
- [Gasps] - Shh! Shh! Shh!
- What are you doing? - Shh! Shh!
Terry's asleep.
I'm gonna get the gun.
No! No! You can't do that. Oh, God!
You can't do that. If they catch you, they'll kill you.
They're gonna kill us anyway, even if we get through the Gauntlet.
We have to do something.
Just listen. Wait. Wait. Wait.
I was thinking about... Little Niagara.
It's a... It's a big drop about two miles above the Gauntlet.
I can take the raft in there sideways and flip us.
If we hold on to the D-rings, we can catch the air pocket underneath...
and they'll just be swept away.
Well, will that work?
It could work. It could work. God. What other option do we have?
I'm gonna get the gun.
God.
If I don't make it...
you can still flip the boat.
I love you too.
- [Twig Snaps] - [Terry Grunting]
[Terry] Wade!
Give me the gun.
Stay here... and watch them!
Tom!
Tom, are you up here?
I don't think you're up here.
Shit.
[Grunting, Gasping]
Tom!
Tom!
I know you're there!
Tom!
Where are you?
Hey! There you are.
How does it feel to know you only have a few more seconds left to live?
[Gunshot]
- Aah! - Sit down!
Damn.
I don't have a very good shot from here, Tom...
so I'm gonna have to head a little farther downriver.
You stay where you are now.
There. That's better.
I'm gonna try to hit you in the spine... right between the shoulder blades.
You ready?
Set.
[Wade] What are they doin' out? Tie her in the tent. Kid too.
- Where's my dad? - He's dead.
[Terry] Dead? Why'd you kill him?
- He was tryin' to get away. - You killed my dad.
So what if he got away? Where's he gonna go? We can't walk out.
- How the hell is he gonna? - Do you wanna make the decisions, huh?
Here's the gun. Go ahead.
Hey, man. When we started this thing, you told me no one was gonna get hurt.
Now three people are dead!
Whose fault is that?
Did I tell you to frisk the guard? Huh?
Did I tell you to frisk the guard?
If you'd have frisked the guard like I told ya, Frank would be alive.
If you'd stayed awake like I told ya, Tom would be alive!
Now shut your fat mouth and tie them in the tent.
- [Roarke Crying] - Oh, man.
- I will be right there. - No! No, Mommy!
- You go with him. - Stop it!
Where is he? I wanna see him.
Can't help you there. He's in the river.
Well, then he might still be alive.
I shot him, Whitewater. He's dead.
I'm sorry.
No tears.
Things must've been worse between you and Tom than I thought.
I'm gonna kill you.
I'm gonna kill you, Wade.
I don't think so.
I'm runnin' the show.
I could bury you and Roarke tonight.
I could do anything I want with you.
So go ahead.
Don't keep tellin' me how tough you are, Wade. Just show me.
Come on.
Do it.
Terry. Put her in the tent.
[Crying]
Terry, get up. Come on! Get up! Get up!
Come on. Pack this shit up. We gotta get outta here.
[Wade] When you're done with that, just grab those oars.
- Forget the rest of their stuff. - [Terry] All right, all right.
Oh! Ah! Oh!
All right. Come on. Let's go.
Let's go. Come on.
- [Barks] - Uh! Oh!
Oh, Maggie! You good girl, you! It's good to see you!
Yes! Yes! Good girl! Good girl!
Come on, girl. Let's go.
- Come on! - [Barks]
We gotta get ahead of 'em, girl.
Hey. You wanna listen to some music?
I have to go along with Wade. He didn't mind goin' to jail.
He don't seem to mind anything.
I can't go back to jail, Roarke.
I don't care.
Terry, hand me that box of cartridges, will you?
[Terry] Hey, Wade!
Go, Mom!
We're gonna make it!
Gail.
Three left.
Okay, Mags, here's where we get ahead of 'em.
Oh, go slow, Gail. For once in your life don't be first.
That's it, Mags. That's Little Niagara.
That's where she's gonna flip the boat.
What?
Oh, shit. What's that?
- What's around the corner? - That? That's Little Niagara.
Get in the back with the kid.
You're up.
Come on. Come on.
Come on!
Roarke. Put your helmet on, buddy.
Come on.
- Roarke! - [Terry] What are you doin'? Wade!
- They're talkin' or whatever! - Hey!
What are you sayin' to him? Hey, what did you say?
[Wade] What are you doin'? What the hell are you doin'? Huh?
I'm just getting into position.
Look up, Gail. Please, look up here.
Hang on, Terry. Gail thinks she's gonna flip us.
- But I don't think she has the guts. - Mom.
Oh, yes!
Whoa!
- [Gail] Grab the oar! - Where'd he go?
- [Wade] Where is he? - [Gail] I got it!
I got it!
He's right over there!
- Pick him up! - We're stuck in the hole!
I'm tryin' to get us out!
[Wade] What was that, Gail? What happened with that oar?
I lost control.
- I just completely lost control. - What the hell was Frank talkin' about?
He said this river shit was gonna be easy!
[Laughing] I think Frank had somethin' else in mind.
Did ya ever think of that?
I bet Frank thought he'd just dump you two somewhere along the line...
and run the Gauntlet with a nice, light boat.
Did he tell you you'd have to work? You guys are gonna have to...
throw your weight and high-side it if we wrap around one of these rocks.
You're gonna have to paddle hard when I tell ya.
And you're gonna have to do what I say when I say it!
Otherwise, we got no chance in hell of makin' it through.
And what makes you suddenly so anxious to get us through?
I don't think you know me well enough to determine...
if I'm being anxious or if I'm being efficient.
Let's grab the paddles and do some practice runs. Get up front, Terry.
Do it!
[Gail] All forward. One! Two!
Dig it in, Terry. You gotta pull your weight.
- [Terry] My neck hurts! - You're breakin' my heart. Let's go!
One. Two. Left turn. Come on. Dig in.
Oh, my God.
Oh, my God, Gail!
Mags, we gotta get across. Come on, girl!
[Gail] Try it again. Harder.
Dig it. One! Go together. Two! Go together.
Three! Stay with it!
Mags, we don't have time to look for a way down.
You think you can do this, huh?
You think you can do this? Okay, girl.
I love you too. Here we go.
You ready, girl? We'll both go on three.
One. Two. Three.
Come on!
[Barking]
Come on, girl! Maggie, come! You can do it!
Oh, come on, girl! No, don't go back! Maggie!
Come on, Maggie! Oh, please!
Maggie! Come!
Maggie. Go!
That a girl!
Good girl! You know, that's the first time you've ever minded me.
Oh, good girl!
[Wade] What are you doin'?
[Gail] I have to scout the entrance to the Gauntlet.
This is the only place I can do it from.
Terry, get in the back. Get ready to secure the line.
Come on, Mags!
- [Wade] Let's go. - I have to go to the bathroom.
[Terry] I'll take you in a second.
- [Wade] That's it? - [Gail] That's it.
Once you enter that canyon, there's no stopping and no turning back.
The three rivers converge and drop feet...
in a little over a mile and a half.
Oh, shit!
Wade!
Now what?
Well, that depends on you.
Now, if you love your mama, you're gonna keep your little mouth shut.
You hear me?
- Johnny! - Hey, Johnny!
- Hello again. - What are you doin' down here?
Well, I heard someone went past the take-out at Bridal Creek...
so I came down here to see what's up.
Gail's givin' me a look at the site of her former glory.
Yeah. It's just as amazing as I remember.
You aren't thinkin' about doin' anything crazy, are ya?
[Laughs] Well! To tell you the truth...
Yeah, we... I've... I've always wanted to run the Gauntlet again, you know?
And Wade here will try anything, so... here we are.
Where's everybody else? Your son and all them?
Uh, Tom and Roarke got out at Bridal Creek with Terry.
Yeah, they're down below. We're gonna meet 'em down there.
Geez! Well, Gail, I can't let you do it.
- Let us? - No way. It's too dangerous.
I'm gonna have to radio for a helicopter to come and transport you outta here.
Look, Gail, I hate to be the bad guy here.
I'd like to try the Gauntlet myself, but people aren't allowed to do it anymore.
- You know I've run this once before. - Yeah.
Why can't you just... go away, pretend you didn't even see us?
- [Johnny] Oh, boy, uh... - Johnny's right, Gail.
Somethin' tells me Ranger Johnny might not be too good at pretending.
He said he always wanted to try the Gauntlet.
I just gave him his wish.
[Whispering, Indistinct]
- Put the kid in the boat! - First we have to unload some things.
Why?
We have to ride higher in the water.
So I have to rebalance the boat so that you can paddle in the front.
[Gail] Now don't let go of that rope... ever!
And stay low in the gunnel. Okay? Okay.
Listen, before we do this, I need to ask you a favor.
Please... Please don't tie Roarke in the boat.
I'm sorry. I can't do that, Gail.
I need you to be the best that you can be.
Go ahead and let it go. Indian Johnny won't be needin' it anymore.
We can do this, Wade. We can do it.
You just... hold together.
- Paddle together. All right? - Yeah. Yeah.
Keep breathing. Don't fall out.
I need you both in the boat to make it down this thing.
Roarke? You okay? Hold on tight.
- You love your mommy? Good boy. - Yeah.
[Gail] Feel like goin' to Boston? Me too. Vacation's over.
- [Wade] What's that? - [Terry] What's that noise?
[Gail] This is where the first two rivers come together.
Straighten me out... now.
Straighten it out. We got the froth straight ahead. We're gonna go left.
- We're gonna hit that rock! - [Wade] Get up, Terry!
- [Gail] Turn it! - Mom!
- [Wade] What do we do? - All right. Back! Back paddle!
Left! Left! Bring it around or we're gonna hit!
Left! Hard! Terry!
- Look out, Mom! - Hold your paddle!
Put your weight on it!
Keep paddling! All forward! Let's go!
Stay right in the middle!
- Don't put me in that hole! - Which way?
No, no, no! Don't back that way!
Oh! We missed it!
We're goin' in. Hold on, Roarke!
Wade! Wade!
Pull him in! Grab him by his jacket, Terry.
Pull him in! We need him. Damn it!
- Get in, Wade! - Grab your paddle. Get into position.
Pull! Okay. Left turn. Let's go.
- [Wade] Why? - We have to go this way.
There's a -foot drop on the other side.
- No! - You gotta line me up good, boys.
Get ready! Pull in your paddles!
[Wade] Look out!
I got it. Hang on! We're gonna rejoin the main river.
Straight into it!
- Are we goin' down that? - You bet!
No way, man! I can't do this!
- Hold on, Roarke! - Hurry, Mom!
- [Gail] Take us out! - [Wade] Paddle, Terry!
[Barking]
Oh, my God.
[Gail] Get me away from that wall! Straight down the middle!
What do we do? Are you nuts?
[Screaming]
- [Gail] Get up! - [Wade] Get up, Terry!
[Gail] We're turning! We're getting sucked back in!
[Yelling, Indistinct]
- Are you okay, darling? - I'm okay Mommy. Ohh!
We made it! We did it!
That was the Gauntlet, man! We did it! Right?
Wade, we're not done yet.
- What? - That was the easy part.
Watch what you're fuckin' doin'!
- Yaaah! - [Gail] We're losing it!
- [Wade] Back! Push it! - Back! Hard!
[Gail] Harder!
- [Gail] Further on now! Left! - I got it!
We get through this... and we're through.
We make it through this and we're home.
[Wade] Straighten it out!
[Screaming]
[Screaming]
- [Gail] We're getting sucked under! - [Wade] Which way?
- [Gail] Back paddle! No, Wade, back! - Mom!
- [Terry] We're goin' under! - [Gail] Backwards! Pull it! Back!
That's it! That's it.
- [Gail] We're out! - All right, Mom!
Yahoo! [Screams]
Yaaaah!
[Yelling, Cheering]
We did it!
- Yeah! Yeah! - We made it!
[Wade And Terry Shouting, Laughing]
- Back paddle! Back paddle! - [Wade] What?
- [Wade] What are you doin'? - I'm a little tired.
Can you untie Roarke now?
Sure. Why not?
[Barking]
[Roarke] Maggie!
Whoa!
Stay down!
[Gunshot]
Dad! Get him!
Mom!
[Screams]
- Gun. - [Terry] Let go of him! Let him go!
Hey! Terry!
No! No!
Pull that oar. Keep pullin' on it for me.
- Pull it in hard. Hard! - Okay.
Come on, my love! All your might!
Come on, buddy!
Goddamn! Terry! Gimme that goddamn money!
That bitch broke my arm!
Stop! Roarke, you take Maggie and run up to those trees... now! Go! Go!
Don't shoot, Gail! No, no! Don't shoot! Come on! Wait a minute!
Terry! Back off!
Back off, goddamn it! Gail. Gail. Please.
I'm not gonna hurt you. I'm not gonna hurt Roarke.
I just needed you to get us down the river and, and you did that.
A-And you could just let me and Terry be on our way and...
you could go back to your family and... Oh, please, Gail.
Come on now. You can't kill me. You're not like that.
'Cause if you kill me, Gail...
you're gonna spend the rest of your life...
wonderin' if you had to kill me.
And there's no way...
There's no way you're ever gonna know.
No way.
That's funny.
I thought there was one left too.
What am I talkin' to you for?
Kill him, Terry. Catch that kid... and kill him too.
No!
Wrong, Wade.
There was a way.
[Groans]
Roarke!
Oh! Untie me, honey. Roarke's okay.
Don't... Come on... Uh!
Oh, Roarke. Oh, Roarke.
- Daddy! - Oh, my God.
[Man] So were ya scared, Roarke?
Only of Wade and Terry.
But I wasn't scared of the river.
I knew my mom could handle the river.
And she brought you through the Gauntlet by herself?
- Yeah. - What about your father? What did he do?
My dad?
He saved our lives.
The water is wide
I cannot cross over
I cannot cross over
Neither have I
Wings to fly
Give me a boat
That can carry two
And both shall row
My love and I
Oh, love is gentle
And love is kind
The sweetest flower
When first it's new
But love grows old
And waxes cold
And fades away
Like mornin' dew
The water is wide
I cannot cross over
Neither have I
Wings to fly
Give me a boat
That can carry two
And both shall row
My love and I
And both shall row
My love
And I