Fun. Freedom. Family values.
The American tradition.
And, as always, hunter approved.
Coming around the bend.
Coming around broadside.
Oh!
One shot. One kill.
Hi. I'm Buck Ferguson.
A long time ago,
I decided to follow my dream
of hunting whitetail deer
all over the world.
Lo and behold, my
dreams have come true.
I've seen the best.
And I've killed the best.
And now I'm here to share with you the
joy I've found in hunting whitetail deer.
Out of all my years hunting,
that is, without a doubt,
the most magnificent creature
I've ever laid eyes on.
You see the points on that thing?
Jumping Joseph!
Yes! Yes! Yes!
What...
I saw him and thought,
"Might as well."
I've got a few notches in my belt,
but tonight's episode isn't just
about killing whitetail deer.
It's also about family.
I suggest you gather you and yours
and sit back to enjoy this very
special edition of Buck Fever.
Just a little more sauce
on the left.
Little more. Okay?
- Is that how you're gonna sit?
- Mmm... Yeah.
Then take it down a notch.
Bring it down. Just a hair.
There. Look at those
beautiful peepers.
That was a good idea, Buck.
You get us both in frame?
I can't get both of you in the frame.
I was gonna pan left and right,
follow the conversation.
No. That's no good, Don.
Jaden and me need to
be in the same frame.
I don't know about that.
Swingles has always been
our bread and butter--
If it's a comedy bit.
But this is an emotional scene.
We gotta sell the father-son
relationship right off the bat.
I'm up against the window.
I can't get much wider.
We gotta figure something out.
If we don't have the building blocks,
the audience won't know
to feel the emotional crescendo
when Jaden kills his first deer.
It won't work.
Okay. Buck, it is gonna work. Okay?
I understand building
dramatic tension as well.
I know this trip means
a lot to you and Jaden.
But believe me,
everything is gonna work
the way it's supposed to.
Raking shot.
- What's that?
- Raking shot.
Camera goes left by the window.
Jaden gets in.
You can see Jaden, but only my eyes.
Slow pan dolly over to me
just as I turn to look at my son.
Saving the reveal of your face
for the button. That is genius.
- Try it out.
- Let me see here.
Bam!
Wow, that is definitely gonna work.
- It is, isn't it?
- Yes.
You know, Don, this will be
the greatest video we've ever made.
- No, Don, stay in the car.
- Copy that.
Hey, Buck.
Looks like somebody's
ready to go hunting.
- Greg? What are you doing here?
- Get your butt out of the cold.
Jaden's upstairs, getting ready.
I'll, uh... Whoo!
Sure is nippy out there.
I'll get him. Make yourself at home.
"Make myself at home."
Psst...
- Oh, hey, Buck.
- Hey.
I'm making breakfast.
Do you want anything to eat?
Oh, no, thanks, Linda.
I stopped at McDonald's on the way.
Oh, don't tell Jaden. He'll be mad
you didn't bring him a McGriddle.
You making bacon?
Man fuel.
That's what I've been waiting for.
Mmm! Thank you so much.
I need to talk to you about Jaden.
What? What is it?
He's been acting out a lot.
If I so much as ask him about school,
he gets upset and plays his video game
and he won't say a
word to me all night.
Getting held back last year
really messed with his head.
It's the teachers' fault.
I mean, everybody knows
that Jaden's not good with tests.
He's a visual learner, like me.
He's not a visual learner, Greg.
He's a regular learner.
I didn't mean it that way. He's
attracted to things like movies--
He's a regular learner.
Leave it alone.
- Hi, Dad.
- Speak of the devil. How you doing, son?
Fine.
Ready to kill your
first whitetail deer?
I'm ready to shoot something.
You bringing that guitar?
- No, I'm carrying it for my health.
- Jaden.
Say goodbye to your mom and Greg.
Just hang on real quick, fellas.
I wanted to get Jaden something
for his first hunting video.
- What is it?
- Go on. Open it.
Ooh! Whoa!
No way!
Well, that's a nice gun, but not
the kind you want to take hunting.
Why not, Buck?
It's overkill.
Too much showboating.
This is awesome. Banana clip. Laser
sight. Matte black. Murdered out.
Does it got a silencer? Nope.
This thing's a certified beast.
Thanks, Greg.
You got it, buddy.
- You remember Don, don't you?
- Oh, yeah, I think so.
How's it going?
It's been a while, huh?
You doing something different
with your hair? A faux-hawk?
It used to be a fade,
but now it's a spike.
My hair's different, too.
I used to do a buzz.
I'm letting it grow out.
The soft curls make my eyes pop.
- Don, you ready to work now?
- Yeah.
We're ready. We're rolling.
Hey, Jaden. Look what I got for you.
Oh, Sausage McGriddle!
You know what I like.
Nailed it. Perfect.
Let's go, boys.
Late in life, I left the family
- Too old to be considered brave
- Too old to be considered brave
- Too young to make a good decision
- Too young to make a good decision
- So frozen in my tracks I stayed
- So frozen in my tracks I stayed
- And late in life, I left the family
- And late in life, I left the family
- Too old to be considered brave
- Too old to be considered brave
- Too young to make a good decision
- Too young to make a good decision
- So frozen in my tracks I stayed
- So frozen in my tracks I stayed
- And late in life, I left the family
- And late in life, I left the family
Too old to be considered brave...
It's beautiful country
out here, Buck.
It's been so long
since I've been up here.
These are the same mountains
where I killed my first deer.
I can't believe this day is here.
I hate it when places don't have
Wi-Fi. That's my Achilles' heel.
Wireless access will be
the least of your worries
when you're on
your first whitetail deer hunt.
- Goddamn right.
- Whoo! That's what I'm talking about.
Colorful language.
That's why we leave the women home.
The only women
coming on this trip...
Rosy Palmer and her five sisters.
Look out!
- Whacking off!
- All right, Don.
Tuggin' on your tallywhacker.
- That's enough.
- Pulling out our wieners and jacking off.
- Hey! Hey!
- The whack-off weekend with--
We talked about that sexual stuff.
Stop it.
Yee-haw!
Come on, Buck!
You want some?
- Smoke him, Dad!
- You bet I will!
Come on!
Come on, Buck!
While we're waiting for the deer,
start popping off some of that B-roll.
Copy that.
And remember, Don.
Fly on the wall with the camera.
Me and Jaden are here to bond.
That can't happen if you...
I'll buzz off. Got it.
All right. Great. Where's Jaden?
He's down there on the phone,
yip-yapping.
Hey! Jaden!
That's the stupidest excuse
I've ever heard.
What?
- Come on. You can call 'em back.
- Gotta go. Bye.
Who were you talking to?
My girlfriend.
And she's mad at me now, by the way.
- Thanks.
- Why?
Because I had to get off the phone,
and she can't talk later.
Don't worry about that right now.
Come on.
Hey, Don. Roll camera.
Hold up.
All right. Good.
All right. Fly on the wall.
I'm not here. Go.
Why don't you have a seat next to me?
I wanna give you something.
What is it?
Open it, son.
An old gun.
Not just any old gun.
It's a Winchester .30-30.
That rifle belonged
to your grandfather.
My father passed it down to me
when I went on my first deer hunt.
Today, I'm giving it to you.
I'm passing down
this lever-action rifle to you,
- as I'm passing down the whitetail legacy.
- Boom!
So now I got two guns.
Jaden, please, I'm trying to share
something with you, son.
My bad. Continue.
This rifle symbolizes
the bond of family.
Fathers teaching their sons to hunt
is a rite of passage as old as time.
With this rifle
comes great responsibility.
And what we're doing out here
is learning to be a man.
When you see your first whitetail
deer, it'll look cute and fluffy,
but you can't get
into those feelings.
We can honor the deer,
but we can't love it.
I'll honor the deer
by splitting his dang eyebrows.
- Can I offer one criticism here?
- Well, sure, son.
The one thing that Greg's gun has
over this one is a laser sight.
That's the one thing.
Is it possible to take off
the laser sight from Greg's gun
and screw it on this old gun?
Or just think of
this one as a backup?
Let's cut, Don. I think we got that.
D for disaster
E for my eyes
A for my anger
D before I die
Dead moon night,
dead moon night
Jaden. Jaden.
Put those away
and help me look for this deer.
Let me finish this track.
This is my favorite song.
- Now.
- Fine.
I'm hungry. You know what I could go
for? Turkey panini. Paninis are good.
We've been out here 20 minutes.
Have patience.
I am patient.
But I'm starting to get hungry.
I haven't even got
to shoot my gun.
I thought we'd be straight
killing stuff the whole time.
- This is boring.
- Okay.
We are gonna shoot the guns.
Hunting's about more than just
killing. It's about patience.
Can I call Caroline
and tell her that I can't call her?
So she won't worry.
No. Caroline will be fine.
Focus on the deer.
What deer?
Shh!
- Whitetail. Jaden, whitetail.
- Where?
Across that field there.
I see it.
- This is awesome.
- Go get your rifle.
Do you see that? Amazing.
That is a nice first deer.
- What are you doing with that thing?
- Fixing to shoot this dang deer.
Put down Greg's gun
and get your grandfather's rifle!
Fine. Dang.
Right there.
Should I go ahead and
punch the time card?
No, not yet.
Just keep him in your sights.
I will.
There it is.
Drop him now?
No, not yet. Wait until he stops.
Yes, sir.
Oh, my God! I can't believe
this moment is here.
Take the shot.
What the hell is that?
Caroline.
Because you were supposed to call me
back! Nothing. What are you doing?
Swimming? That's cool.
I'll ask my dad if I
can come over later.
Actually, no, I'm not.
It's just weird.
If you don't like him,
why would you wanna go?
That's what I don't get.
But y'all ain't even friends.
I just think it's peculiar.
I know why it's peculiar!
I'm the one who taught you that!
I'm afraid to say it,
but I'm worried about Jaden.
I feel like right before the divorce,
like something bad has happened
and there's no way of stopping it.
Oh, no, no. Come on, now.
He's just got himself
a little girlfriend. That's all.
I know. But we're talking about
Jaden's future here.
He's 12 years old.
Getting older every day.
If he doesn't take to hunting now,
he may never.
Oh, hey, now. Come on.
It's still very early on the trip.
We got a few days now, huh?
He ain't doing too bad.
Don't worry.
You think he has bigger muscles
than me? Seriously?
Have you seen me lately?
- I love you, too.
- At least he's thinking about pussy.
Call me in five minutes.
- Tell me you got that.
- Oh, I got it.
Jumping Joseph!
You see the size of that thing?
- It's huge.
- Oh, my God!
I've never seen anything like it.
Look at that drop tine.
That's gotta be at least 20 points.
- How old do you think it is?
- At least five years old.
That's what I call a non-typical.
God!
That was pretty cool.
That deer looked crazy.
I gotta say. I was having my doubts.
This changes everything.
- That non-typical is a sign from God.
- Amen.
That deer is God saying
that this trip is blessed.
- Hallelujah.
- That deer is our destiny,
and it will take us
to the promised land.
We're gonna follow
that trail upriver.
Oh, my God, son...
If you could kill that deer...
Oh, my Lord.
Should we start tracking it, Buck?
It's too late for
ground-hunting tonight.
We'll probably make camp
right here on this sacred ground.
Mmm-hmm. Yeah.
That's good, 'cause my underwear's
riding up something serious.
- Oh, you got swamp ass.
- Probably. It's wet as hell down there.
Don, those hot beans
are smelling delicious.
Jaden, you'll love these.
How do you make them spicy, again?
- Piquante salsa.
- Salsa.
Mixes hot salsa with the beans.
Your mouth will thank you,
but your butthole will hate you.
This is a real ring-stinger.
There you go. Home sweet home.
Sleeping on the ground is
gonna play hell on my back.
Who's sleeping on the ground?
- What is it?
- It's an air mattress.
Mattress Masters gave
it to me to try out.
Got king size. Inflatable box
springs. Attachable bed skirt.
I guess that's better than nothing.
I'd say it's a lot
better than nothing.
Your back will think it's sleeping
on a bed of feathers.
You're pretty good
at this outdoorsy stuff.
I've been doing it my whole life.
Don't worry.
You'll be good at it, too, one day.
I guess. I've always considered
myself more of a Marriott guy.
By the way, I'm noticing
a butt-ton of blood on your boots.
It's good luck. It's what
happens when you kill a deer.
- That's nasty.
- Yeah. But it's tradition.
I remember my dad always had blood
on his boots from hunting.
I used to look at them with envy.
I had these clean Buster Brown boots.
I couldn't wait to get blood on them.
Then one day, when I killed my first deer,
the first thing I did was run over there,
I stuck my boots underneath,
I sloshed all around.
Got them completely covered.
I bet by the time this trip's over,
you'll have blood all over your boots.
Nuh-uh. These are Timberlands.
You'll see.
I'll just turn this thing on now.
There we go.
There we go. A bit for me.
- There we go. Thank you.
- A lot for Don.
Little bit of whiskey for
Jaden there. There you go.
All right. A toast.
To past victories and future success.
To fathers and sons.
And to that big old non-typical!
Whoo-hoo!
Whoo!
That burns more than scotch.
When have you ever had scotch?
Greg let me have a sip.
Scotch.
I like my whiskey American.
Just like my cheese.
In all my world travels, I've had
Swiss cheese, French Brie cheese,
every kind of cheese you can name.
And I like processed
American slices the best.
Kraft cheese melts the best.
That's why I like it.
I'm just not one who thinks
it's better 'cause it's foreign.
- Could I have some more?
- Look out.
Jaden got himself a
taste for the whiskey.
Just a little bit, though.
Just a little.
Whoo!
- You, too, Don?
- Whoo-hoo!
He ain't gonna outdrink me.
All right. Here we go.
One, two, three.
Emancipate yourself
From mental slavery
None but ourselves
can free our minds
Whoa! Whoa!
Okay.
Won't you help to sing
These songs of freedom?
'Cause all I ever have
Redemption songs
Redemption songs
Damn. That was awesome.
That was beautiful.
What'd you think?
It's good. I had trouble
following the story of the song,
but it was good. It was good.
- How long you been playing for?
- Two years.
Two years. Wow, I had no idea.
Ah, hold up.
It's Caroline. Dang. Hold on.
- Everything all right?
- It's fine.
Tell me
about this girl you're dating.
- You go to the same school?
- No. She's already in middle school.
Oh, middle school. Uh-oh, look out.
Jaden's got himself an older woman.
No. Jaden got held back a year.
Oh.
It's nothing to be ashamed of,
right, son? It's all good.
Did I tell you I got a girlfriend?
Yes, I do. Her name's Kimberly.
I got a photograph of her here.
There she is. Ninety-eight pounds.
I call her my little spinner.
Wanna know why?
Why?
Because I set her up
on the tip of my pecker
and spin her around
like a spinning top.
All right, Don. That's enough.
Oh, God, love her.
After this trip, me and her are gonna
visit her folks in Kentucky. Phew.
They got it figured out.
They got this beautiful land.
Great big farm. All they do
is sit around watching TV.
Don't they have a farm to run?
I guess. I ain't never
seen them do it, though.
All I see them do
is watch television.
That is gangster.
Sounds kind of boring to me.
Me and Kimberly like it,
so it's not that boring to me.
How about you, Dad?
You got a girlfriend?
Who, Buck? The only tail
your dad is chasing is whitetail.
Yeah. That's right.
Maybe you should start dating again.
No, no, no. I'm all right as is.
I'm doing just fine.
Probably be good for you.
Seems like Mom is moving on. Her and
Greg are talking about getting married.
They're talking about what?
He hasn't officially asked her yet,
but she knows it's coming.
They talk about it all the time.
Shoot. That's ridiculous.
The ink on the divorce
is barely even dry.
It has been two years, Buck.
What are you, a human calendar?
Mr. Trapper Keeper?
I know how long it's been.
God! Shoot. I hate selfish people!
I'll give it to him, though.
Greg told me some of his ideas
for when he proposes.
Man,
that dude has a great imagination.
He was talking about all these
crazy things like skydiving.
Where you going?
I'm gonna go take a leak.
Whoo!
Whoo!
Thunderbolts and nightsticks
Coming out of the sky
Flames overhead
Never going home
D for disaster
E for my eyes
A for my anger
D before I die
M for Mona
O, oh, good
O, oh, good
N for the night
Dead moon night, dead moon night
Dang.
What were you thinking?
You know better
than to pull a stunt like this.
You could have hurt yourself.
Sorry. Dang!
What is going on in your mind?
I just wanted to ride
and y'all were asleep.
You realize I have to pay
for that four-wheeler now?
You realize how much they cost?
Why are you recording?
This isn't part of the narrative.
I figured it might make
a good mid-point crisis--
Shut the camera off.
Trying to have a moment with my son.
Remove yourself.
Yeah, okay.
This sucks. If you let me drive, then
we wouldn't be in this predicament.
You shouldn't have taken out
the four-wheeler without permission.
Fine. I'm the devil.
I'm a terrible person.
- Who are you calling?
- Nobody.
Dang, I'm making a video for my blog.
What's up?
This is Jaden running around here,
hunting in the woods with my dad.
Sucks.
Leave me some comments
if you hate hunting, too.
Give it.
What are you doing?
I told you one too many times
to stay off the phone.
But that's my private property.
I'm keeping this
until the end of the trip.
For the next few days,
you have to go without it.
What about Caroline?
The world isn't gonna end if you can't
call your girlfriend for three days.
But we're each other's
support system.
The cell phone is mine. Topic closed.
You're ruining my life
and you don't even care.
Maybe I'm ruining your life
'cause you're being a damn idiot.
Don't call me an idiot!
- Okay.
- Take it back.
I take it back.
It's not like I meant it.
Let's forget about it.
Now what about that non-typical
we saw yesterday?
How'd you like to
bag that son of a gun, huh?
Come on, we're hunting.
Let's have fun.
I can't stand you sometimes.
I see you peeking out
from behind that tree.
This is not going in the cut.
After experiencing
some technical difficulties
with one of our four-wheelers,
we decided to go on foot.
Nothing was gonna keep Jaden and me
from catching that monster non-typical.
When things don't go right, a true hunter
straps on his boots and marches on.
Just when we thought
we'd lost the trail,
I noticed a whole mess of tracks
by the river.
This was a good sign.
It looked like a well-traveled doe
trail, and like every hunter knows,
where there's a doe,
a buck is not far behind.
I showed Jaden how
the doe trail followed up the river.
Our non-typical was leading us
even deeper into the mountains,
miles away from human contact.
Almost as if it was calling us.
Just like life,
hunting comes with no guarantees.
But I don't usually have a problem
finding the big deer,
especially with that old
Sniper 2000 stuff I use.
That's what I'm talking about.
It's like he doesn't even care
about catching this deer.
This trip was supposed to be
a way for us to bond.
Yeah, well, it doesn't
look like that's happening.
- Jesus, Don.
- What? I'm agreeing with you.
It doesn't look like it's happening.
- Yeah, well, stop.
- Okay. Copy that.
I was hoping to discuss something
with you, if you don't mind.
Yeah, what?
Well, I was thinking maybe after this trip
I go ahead and take a little time off.
What? Time off?
Yeah, you know, I told you
about Kimberly's parents' farm.
We were thinking
maybe going up there,
spend a little time, uh,
hang out there. See how it fits us.
But we got Washington next month.
That's the thing. I was thinking maybe
you go up alone and I sit this one out.
But we gotta shoot Buck Ferguson
Takes On the Great Northwest.
Well, Buck, to be honest,
Kimberly's getting sick
of me leaving all the time.
She's throwing around the "R" word.
What's that word?
Retirement.
She thinks I should be retiring.
I can't believe you're choosing now
to bring this up.
Don't you think I got enough
to worry about with Jaden?
Yeah, of course I do.
Look, you and me have done things
the world is gonna remember.
I've done them,
but you videotaped me doing them.
You wanna throw that all away?
No, Buck. I never said I want
to throw them away. I...
This isn't really
that thought out of an idea.
It was just something
she was pushing on me.
I'm sorry, but I can't allow it.
Your dream of watching TV all
day long is gonna have to wait.
I need all hands on deck right now.
Yeah. No. Of course you do.
We're in the middle of it, so, yeah.
Maybe we can agree
to discuss this at a later date.
- How about that?
- Yeah. I don't know, Don.
Maybe in a year or so.
But probably not.
Sounds good. Just forget
I even said anything about it.
Hey, look what I found.
Keep moving.
Be careful.
You're gonna hurt yourself.
I'm not. I'm trained for this.
Greg set me up with parkour lessons.
I thought you were taking karate.
We agreed on karate.
It was too hard, so I quit.
Well, it takes time
to learn something, son.
You can't just go around
quitting stuff 'cause it's hard.
That's not what Greg says.
Greg says
if you don't like doing something,
there ain't no reason to do it.
And it's totally cool to quit.
Well, that's a terrible lesson.
No wonder you got held back.
Greg says it was the teacher's fault.
Greg's only telling you
what you wanna hear
because he wants to suck up
and not hurt your feelings.
Trust me when I tell you
that when you get a little older,
you won't think gymnastics
are cool anymore.
I told you, it's not gymnastics,
it's parkour--
Oh, you're okay.
No, I'm not. My leg's getting ready
to seize up on me.
That's why I told you stop
playing around on the rocks. Get up.
Let me catch my breath for a second.
- Is your leg hurting or are you tired?
- Both. Dang.
Okay,
we lost the whole morning already.
- Daylight's burning here.
- But, Dad, my leg's fixing to die.
Oh, you shit bird!
You all right, Don?
I slipped on this damn rock
and hit my darn head.
Maybe it is a good
time to stop for lunch.
Yeah, let's make camp.
Sounds like a good idea.
Good,
'cause my blood sugar's running low.
Oh, shit, am I bleeding?
Hey, Jaden, where's your daddy?
- Making sandwiches.
- You ain't hungry?
I am hungry. But I'm gonna put
my hunger pangs into my music.
Oh, uh-oh. What's wrong?
I could tell you,
but you would never understand.
Oh, you might be surprised
what old Don understands.
You smoke?
Hell, yeah, I do.
Don't tell your dad, though.
Thinks it scares away the deer.
Can I get a toke?
There you go, Biggin.
I wish my dad was
more chill like you.
Your dad is definitely not the
easiest fella to get along with.
He does put a lot of
pressure on himself.
I think that's his drive
to become the world's best hunter.
I can remember
the first video I made with your dad.
We were up in Michigan, and I
was not prepared for the weather.
That first day it had snowed ten inches
and I'd forgotten my waterproof boots.
I turned to your dad and said,
"Please, Buck, let's turn back. Let's
go home. Let's get out of here."
But he wasn't hearing it.
He sat me down. He was like,
"Don, do you know what kind of
pressure I'm under? Do you?"
Every single person thinks
that Buck Ferguson gets his deer
every single time,
"and I won't turn back until I do."
- What'd you do?
- What do you think I did?
Sucked it up.
We stayed out there for another three
days and damn if your dad wasn't right.
He caught himself a nice 12 pointer,
and we made one of the best videos
we've ever made.
What about your feet?
I lost my big toe to frostbite.
You lost a toe?
Yes, I did. Yep.
Got a little bit of a balance issue
because of it.
That's not really the takeaway.
The point of the story is
your dad is under a lot of pressure.
You can understand
being under pressure, right?
I guess.
Don, why does my dad hate me?
Hate you?
Oh, come on. You don't believe that.
Your dad is tough to get along with,
but he loves you.
These last two years
have just been tough on him.
That divorce
did a real number on his head.
I think he believes this trip
is gonna somehow fix it.
Well, I wish he'd care less
about me killing a deer
and more about
giving me back my dang phone.
Caroline's probably worried sick.
I can relate to that.
If I don't call Kimberly
every now and then,
she definitely puts my ass
in the damn doghouse.
I wish there was some way
I could let her know I'm okay.
That's all I want for her right now.
- You ready, buddy?
- I'm ready.
- Are you filming? Is it rolling?
- Yeah.
Here we go. Hoverboard city.
- Don't be scared.
- I ain't scared.
Just don't wanna break my neck.
Thanks for the ride, buddy!
Oh!
Whoo!
Hey, Buck, what you doing?
What you up to?
Just looking for the shortest course
to the top of this mountain.
Oh, that's great.
Lunch is gonna get cold.
Where's Jaden?
Don, look at me.
Where's my son?
He's, uh,
talking with his girlfriend.
No, he's not. I took his phone away.
I let him borrow mine. So he's...
- You did what?
- I let him borrow my phone.
It was the right thing to do.
He really wanted to speak with her.
I took that away from him
so he'd focus on this trip.
How could you do that?
I guess I'm just a
believer in true love.
He is really torn up about this girl
and I didn't think it was right--
Don! Stop it! I'm his father.
I know what's best for him,
and I'd take it kindly
if you would
not undercut my authority again.
Copy that.
Nothing is going the
way it's supposed to.
I cooked this nice meal.
The whole thing's gonna go to waste,
just like this trip.
And now,
I get to go be the bad guy again.
Thanks a lot, Don.
Jaden!
Jaden!
What did I tell you, son?
No phone calls until after this trip
and you disobeyed me.
What do you have to say for yourself?
What do you have to say for yourself?
Caroline broke up with me.
What happened?
She went to this middle school dance,
which everyone knows
is a recipe for disaster.
Now she says she doesn't want
to date someone in elementary school.
That's ridiculous.
You two are the same age.
That's what I told her.
Well, are you doing okay?
I'm fine. She's the one being stupid.
She's being so dumb right now
I can barely stand it.
I hate being in elementary school.
Look, Jaden...
I know you like this girl,
but let me tell you something.
There is nothing wrong with you.
If Caroline or whatever her name is
can't appreciate you for who you are,
then she does not deserve you.
Is that why you and
Mom got a divorce?
Yeah. There were some other things.
It started in '09.
DVD sales were down slightly.
Your mom was proving
through this whole thing
to be a terribly selfish woman.
She just had to give up
her lavish lifestyle,
trips to the mall, that sort of
thing, and then she just went crazy.
Just started acting out.
Around that time,
Greg just kind of weaseled his way in
and basically stole
my family out from me.
It's funny hearing both sides.
Why? How do you mean?
Mom said that you were
always out hunting.
And when you weren't hunting,
you'd sit around drinking.
Kinda checked out, like.
She said whenever she
tried to discuss it,
you'd shut her down
and leave her no choice but to leave.
She said that?
She also said that it was
the hardest thing she ever had to do.
You know why I love hunting?
Because when you're out in these
woods, there's nothing to disturb you.
Back home, the outside world has a
way of just barging in on your life
and just screwing everything up.
It makes a man feel powerless.
But out here, all your cares
just kind of melt away.
When you find a deer,
and you bear down on that deer
with your rifle,
and you fulfill your rightful place
in nature for one moment,
that power is restored.
Everything just falls into place.
I could sure use
that right about now.
Oh, your time is coming, son.
When you take that monster buck
we've been tracking,
everything will make sense,
I promise.
I wish I didn't have to wait,
'cause I'm carrying a lot of stress,
especially in my back.
Come with me, son. Grab that ax.
There's gonna be a
real party tonight
Everybody gonna
jump and shout
Yeah. Yeah!
All your sisters
and your brothers
Bring on up out into the light
This is your land, my land
Everybody gotta be free
There'll be no more suicide
Love is all we need
To make this world succeed
It's only love, yeah
Can't you see we're all the same
In their machine
Don't you see it now?
All I cry is in vain
When we cause other pain
And we forget what is right
Oh, yeah
Singing la de da
Come on, now everybody
Singing la de da
Oh, yeah
Singing la de da
Come on, everybody
Singing la de da
Whoa! Look at this.
Whoo!
This rope bridge
will save us time for sure.
Whoa! Look down there.
- Here we go.
- There you go.
I'll go first to test it.
Just make myself feel better.
- Long way down, Buck.
- Yeah.
We good?
- You got me?
- Yeah.
- I'm on the edge of frame?
- Got you framed up.
Look at that.
Whoo! Here we go.
All right.
- You all right?
- You got it. Yeah.
All right.
- Here we go.
- Here we go.
You know what I'm thinking, Don?
You should cover this stuff
from the other side of the bridge.
It's hard to see my face
shooting from here.
- Uh, how am I supposed to get--
- No.
You know what I'm talking about?
Capturing the emotion
on my face better?
Yeah, no, I understand.
- You want me to cross the bridge first...
- Yeah.
...so I get coverage of you testing out
the bridge before anybody crosses it,
- because it's unsafe.
- Exactly.
Be able to cover my face better.
I do think a zoom would also be nice,
though--
The zoom would be great
from the other side of the bridge.
To do that but also to follow the push,
your back, see you hit the other side.
From the other side, though, it would
be more the narrative simplicity.
Zoom on me. You bring me in.
We sell a lot of videos.
Yeah. Hey, number one.
We're going for the best shots.
Best video we've ever made.
- Here we go.
- All right.
Lights, camera, action.
Here you go.
- Jesus Christ.
- You good? You ready?
- Yeah, I'm good.
- Good.
- It's a long way down.
- It is.
It's gonna look great.
Come on, buddy. There you go.
There you go!
All right. All right.
Holy shit.
- It's a long way down. Watch your step.
- It is.
You're looking good.
You're doing all right.
- Okay.
- Doing good, Don.
Okay. Got it.
Oh, God damn it.
Oh, my God.
You look so funny.
You're cracking us up.
Let's see how you look
when you get out here.
Doing good, buddy.
You're doing good.
- Don, you got this.
- Oh, my God.
Holy shit. Oh!
Shakier than a damn Studebaker.
- Steady.
- You loving this, right?
Buck, you're gonna have a blast
out here, you son of a bitch.
Oh, my God.
You're all right.
- Okay, okay.
- You got it, buddy.
Oh, Jesus Christ.
Oh...
- Oh, my Jesus H.
- He's moving good.
- Oh, he made it! There we go.
- Whoo! Yeah!
- Good job.
- Good job, Don.
He did a good job. He focused.
I did it!
Nice job, Uncle Don. Nice job.
I'm very grateful. You rolling?
You were right!
It is a pretty good angle.
We're rolling.
All right.
All right, son. Wait here while I test
the integrity of that rope bridge.
Here we go.
Whoo!
All right, buddy, here we go.
Whoa! It's a long way down.
- It'll be all right! You got this!
- Oh, yeah.
Looking good. Slow and steady, Buck.
Oh, that's a long way down.
Good thing no one else
has crossed that one before.
Whoo!
Oh, yeah.
Oh, this is exhilarating!
Show off.
I'm coming for you, non-typical!
There you go!
- Success!
- Here you are.
That was awesome.
What's he doing?
Check it out. Zip line!
Jaden Ferguson, put that belt back on
right now and cross it normal.
That is a direct order. Over.
This is gonna be a rush.
Jaden, no!
No, no, no!
Oh, shit.
Oh!
Come on.
Keep going. Keep going.
Come on. Come on. Come on.
- Help!
- God dang it.
- Oh, Jesus.
- Dad! Help me!
Hold on, son! Don't let go!
- Help!
- I'm coming!
Dad! Help!
Hold on! Hold on, Jaden.
- I'm slipping!
- I'm coming!
- Please, Dad!
- Hold on.
Please help!
- Dad, I'm slipping!
- Hold on!
- I'm slipping!
- Son, hold on tight!
- Hold on!
- Hold on, Jaden!
No! No! No! Don't let go!
Almost there.
- Help! Hurry!
- Almost there!
Oh, shit!
I got you, son. I got you.
Oh...
Oh, what a stupid-ass idea.
I'm just glad you're safe.
Do you know how much you mean to me?
I'm not even mad that you did
something so dumb and so stupid.
Thanks, Dad.
Plus, you gotta admit, it's pretty nice
just to chill here for a little bit.
Are you still reading this article?
- No.
- No.
- But I was still looking at the pictures.
- Oh, sorry.
It's nice we got this time to talk.
I want to tell you that I know
you're going through a lot of stuff
and dealing with the divorce.
And now Greg's moved in and he's
talking about marrying your mom.
It's gotta be feeling weird.
Yeah. Mom was saying the same thing.
The other night, Mom and Greg
sat me down at the table
and said if they ever get married,
I might feel weird what to call Greg.
She said I can either
choose to call him Greg
or I can choose to call him Dad.
- Uh-huh. What'd you say?
- I said I didn't want to do it.
- I thought it was strange.
- It's very strange.
- Good for you, son.
- Then you know what?
I tried it and it wasn't that bad.
What? You called Greg "Dad"?
Yeah, but only, like, five times.
I figured that if they ever get married,
I might just switch back and forth.
How could you do that, Jaden?
What's the big deal?
It doesn't mean anything.
Yes, it does, Jaden. It means a lot.
Where are you going?
I'm gonna look for that deer.
- Where are you going?
- Gonna go track that non-typical.
- You all right, buddy?
- I'm fine.
We don't find that non-typical,
Jaden's never gonna shoot a deer,
and this whole trip will be a bust.
You want me to come with?
No. You stay with Jaden.
I want to be alone.
Sure, Buck.
Jaden? How you doing, sweetie?
No, it's not Jaden. It's Buck.
Buck? I can barely hear you.
Is Jaden okay?
Oh, Jaden's fine. Everybody's fine.
That's not why I'm calling.
Buck, have you been drinking?
A little. I'm not drunk.
We talked about you calling
when you're drunk.
That's not important.
I got a bone to pick with you.
What's this I hear about you telling
Jaden that he can call Greg "Dad," huh?
Look, let me just say,
that is never gonna happen, Linda.
We may not be a family,
but I'm still the boy's father.
I have a say in this,
and there is no way I'm ever gonna
let my son call another man "Dad."
Okay? Not now, not ever.
- I have to go, Buck.
- No, wait, Linda! Linda, wait.
Linda...
Are you really going
to marry this guy?
- Huh?
- I have to go, Buck.
Linda? Hello?
Linda!
Damn! Shit.
I hate the new Camaro. It's ugly.
I bet you get a lot of pretty girls
wanting to get a ride in that, though.
Girls don't know crap about cars.
My ex thought a Honda Accord
was a good car.
My girlfriend knows more about cars
than I do.
She's a certified mechanic
and a registered nurse.
- That's pretty cool.
- It is cool.
First time I met her, she's like, "I'm a
certified mechanic and registered nurse."
I'm like, "Yeah? I got a busted truck
and a heart condition."
Then she looks at me and she's like,
"We're gonna get along just fine."
She's quick.
She's a very funny woman.
Have I showed you photos of Kimberly?
You showed me some.
Bet I didn't show you
that picture, huh?
Whoa!
Look at that. These ain't the
pictures I showed you. Look out.
Who are all these black dudes?
That's just her thing. She's just
into black fellas. She's wild.
Let me tell you what,
look how many of 'em I got.
These guys are
high-fiving each other.
This guy is Phillip.
He's our insurance adjuster.
These were before y'all went out?
Oh, no, sir, these are recent.
Yeah, no, I took these photos.
Look at this one here. See?
That's my foot in that photograph.
- What on God's green Earth?
- Hey, Buck.
What are y'all looking at?
Uh, these, nothing, just the...
These are the photos of Kimberly.
You know the ones.
You've seen them. Look out.
I know what photos
you're talking about.
- Leave, Don, right now!
- Of course.
- Please and thank you.
- All right. See you, Jaden.
You tell me what was happening,
Jaden Ferguson.
He was just showing me
pictures of his girlfriend.
Those are adult images
you have no business looking at.
I thought you brought me on this trip
because I'm mature now.
Why do you keep treating me
like a dumbass kid?
'Cause you are a kid when it comes to
nudeness and sexual relationships!
He knows better than
to show you that.
What's the big deal? Greg has
worse pictures than that at home.
- Mellow out!
- He...
Oh, that dirty son of a bitch!
Goddamn Greg. Goddamn Greg!
Okay. Buck, that was on me, okay?
Don't get mad at Jaden.
We were talking about girls--
I don't wanna hear it.
Jaden doesn't need to
be shown that junk. Okay?
- No discussion, case closed!
- Okay, you're right.
I don't want you to teach my son
not to respect women.
You've known me for 25 years.
I respect women.
You're the only person I know
that thinks letting his lady
do an orgy is respectful.
Buck, I was just trying to
speak with him like a grown-up.
He's not a grown-up, Don! He's 12.
Even a grown person doesn't need to be
exposed to your sexual peccadilloes.
- My sexual what?
- Peccadilloes!
- Peccadilloes?
- Yeah.
What are you saying? I'm nasty?
Okay, I guess I'm nasty.
Fine, I guess.
Damn right. You think it's a
normal thing to show people?
Black guys pulling a train
on your girlfriend?
What the F, Buck?
You have crossed the line this time.
Oh, have I?
You wanna know the real reason
I'm retiring?
Oh, please, don't tell me about
your stupid dream of watching TV.
No, it has nothing
to do with television.
The real reason is
because you're an asshole,
and I'm sick of traipsing around
these forests for nothing!
To lose a goddamn big toe,
that's all.
You don't care about anybody,
you don't give a shit about me,
and you never gave a shit about Jaden
until his mom left you.
You can talk all the nonsense
and Billy Bob bullshit you want
about me and Kimberly's relationship,
but the bottom line is,
at least I got somebody.
At least I'm not alone in this world.
Goddamn. Fuck.
You broke my nose.
You damned broke my nose and
smashed it to the side of my face.
- Is it broken?
- Get your hands off me! I'm done.
That's it. I'm sick and
tired of the mistreatment,
disrespect and condescension.
I'm not dealing with it anymore.
You know what? You can take this hunting
video and stick it up inside your asshole.
Good luck taking that gear
out of here by yourself!
Twenty miles from the nearest road?
Good luck.
Cars, cars and more cars.
Crowds, pollution, global warming.
These are all things
our modern civilization creates.
Cities full of people caught up in
the hustle and bustle of the rat race.
As you can probably tell,
I'm not a big fan of city life.
I much prefer the joy and solitude
of good old Mother Nature.
Not that it would be
all smiles and meditation.
Scaling this mountain is gonna take
a lot of old-fashioned elbow grease.
But I have faith that God is watching
and he will reward our hard work.
And if it be his will,
Jaden and I will find that old
whitetail we've been looking for.
If my calculations are correct,
our non-typical is on the other side
of this hill.
What if we get there
and don't find anything?
It will be there,
but if we're gonna make it,
we can't be negative.
It'll be a hard climb.
You wanna get that deer,
this is what we gotta do.
I gotta say, this deer really isn't
a top priority for me anymore.
Basically, I'm good
if we don't kill the deer.
Ain't like it's gonna affect my life
in some significant way.
Of course it will.
The reason we're out here
is so you can shoot a deer.
How else are you gonna love hunting,
huh?
Oh, we're way past me loving hunting.
Why don't you go up there
and kill the deer,
- and I'll chill here?
- You listen to me.
We are gonna finish this thing, okay?
I don't care if I have to drag you
up this mountain myself.
- Come on.
- Please kill me now.
- Come on. Now.
- Fine.
Well, I think I finally found me
A sure-fire way to forget
It's foolproof
Well, it's foolhardy, maybe
But who knows
Anyway, here I am walking toward
Where the cold dark water flows
'Cause all it takes is
One dyin' and a buryin'
One dyin' and a buryin'
Some cryin', six carryin' me
Jaden! Come on! Let's go!
Oh, I wanna be free
Free from all this
Heartache and regret
And free from pining
For the love I can't forget
The love that once was warm And
then just somehow turned to hate
Made my life a prison
From which there's only one escape
And that's one
dyin' and a buryin'
One dyin' and a buryin'
Some cryin', six carryin' me
I wanna be free
One dyin' and a buryin'
One dyin' and a buryin'
Some cryin', six carryin' me
I wanna be free
Beautiful!
Oh, Dad! Dad, look! Look.
Jaden, get your rifle ready. Come on.
Come on.
I'll get to finish this video
after all.
Don took the Sony,
but this little deal is full 1080p,
and will work in a pinch.
Oh, you look good in HD, Jaden.
My Lord, that is one gorgeous
non-typical whitetail.
Right. This is the moment we've been
waiting for, son. Are you ready?
Oh, hell, yeah.
Now, remember,
control your breathing.
All right, when you're ready...
take the shot.
What's the matter?
Is your gun jammed?
I'm gonna wait for it to turn around,
get a cleaner shot that way.
Oh, no, don't wait. Take him now.
I don't wanna injure him.
Isn't that what you always say?
Go ahead and injure him. He'll
have plenty of time to bleed out
while we go down there and get him.
Trust me. Just take the
damn shot already.
Okay, okay, relax.
Take the shot. Take the shot.
What are you looking at me for?
Look at the deer!
Take the shot.
Come on, there you go.
Take the shot!
Oh! No, he's running. Get him!
He's running! Right over there!
Get him! Shoot, Jaden!
Shit, it's Don! What the hell?
You shot Don!
- Oh, shit!
- Oh, no.
I gotta go out there and help him.
Jaden, no! No!
- Oh, I got popped in the leg.
- Don?
Oh, Buck. Buck, is that you?
- I'm not doing good.
- I see you, buddy.
Hey, Jaden.
Here we are, Don.
Put your head up a little bit.
- Here we are, buddy.
- Oh, it's bad. It's bad.
I'll make a tourniquet.
Hang in there.
You're a good shot, Jaden.
You got me good.
Hang in there.
What the hell were you doing up here?
I couldn't leave
till we finished that video.
Besides, who else knows
which angles make you look younger?
Ow! That's too tight!
Put your finger inside of it.
We gotta stop the bleeding
so we can get you out of here.
Put your finger on
to make the wound stop mashing.
Hang in there.
Don? Don. Come on, stay with me, Don.
Stay with me. Come on, buddy.
Is he dead?
Hey, Mom, you got
that pretty dress on.
We gotta get him out of here.
Come on.
- Ready? Bring him up.
- Yeah.
There you go.
Don, ready? One, two, three.
All right, come on.
Some glad morning
When this life is o'er
I'll fly away
To a home on God's
celestial shore
I'll fly away
I'll fly away, fly away, oh glory
I'll fly away
Fly away in the morning
When I die, Hallelujah, by and by
I'll fly away, fly away
Put me down. Put me down.
- Put me down.
- All right. Get him down.
Good night, my special son.
We're never gonna get Don
out of these mountains.
Sorry, Dad. Sorry for shooting Don.
Oh, Jaden, it's not your fault.
Yes, it is. I can't do anything
without messing it up.
I failed at hunting
just like I failed at school.
I don't need an extra year to grow
and I'm not a visual learner.
What you all talking about?
I'm bleeding... bleeding out.
This just proves it.
I'm just not smart.
I'm stupid, Dad.
Don't you ever
talk about yourself like that.
I don't ever wanna hear those words
come out of your mouth again.
Yes, sir.
Y'all just keep talking,
I'm bleeding.
If there's anybody stupid here,
it's me.
We should've turned
back a long time ago.
I wanted you to kill
that non-typical so bad,
I didn't care what I had to do.
I thought if you loved hunting,
it could be something
we could do together,
'cause I'm not living with you anymore
and I don't get to see you that much.
I was just hoping
there would be a way that...
I could always be in your life.
But you don't need a reason
to be in my life.
You're my father.
What y'all doing over there?
Having a sandwich?
I don't know what to do.
Can't carry him out of here. Need
a helicopter or a damn stretcher.
How about an air mattress?
Jaden...
You, son...
are a damn genius.
Come on.
- Oh, there we go.
- Buck.
Hey.
We got you.
Gonna hop on there,
we start downstream.
It's gonna be rough as hell. Okay?
Hold on to him and stay on
this mattress best you can.
- You understand?
- Don't worry, I got it.
You doing all right there, Don?
Good enough. Ready, son?
I was born ready.
All right. Don't get wet.
Let's go.
Oh, waterbed.
Oh, hell, yeah.
Watch out. Paddle, paddle, paddle.
These rapids aren't so bad,
maybe class two.
They're bad enough. Just be careful.
I've seen bigger waves
in a toilet bowl.
Jaden, Jaden, Jaden, hold on. Yeah!
- Whoo!
- Oh.
- Yeah!
- Yeah!
There we go. Hold on to the rope.
Hold on to the rope.
Now, these look like class three.
Whoo! Yeah!
Making me faint.
What's happening?
You ready? Well, come on, let's go.
Hold on to the rope!
Doing good, son. Hold on tight!
Hold on for a little bit longer!
- Brutal!
- Hold on!
We did good, son. We did good.
You're all right. You're all right.
- Are you okay, Don?
- Yeah, I feel good.
I really appreciate
this valiant effort to save me.
Oh, this sounds like a biggie.
- All right, come on, paddle, paddle.
- Let's just go to the shore.
We can do this, son.
Here we go.
- Oh, my God, here's the big one!
- Oh, Jesus.
Here we go!
Hang on, Jaden!
Hold on to the rope!
Hold on!
- My rifle!
- No, Jaden!
Jaden, no!
Dad!
- Dad!
- Jaden!
- Dad! Dad!
- Jaden!
Hold on, son!
Grab my hand! Grab my hand!
I got you. Hold on. I got you.
But my rifle.
Let it go, son. Let it go.
Dad. I wanna play you
a song I've been working on.
I'd love to hear it.
You wrote a song?
It's not perfect. Here it goes.
In the mirror, in the mirror
It's my face I see
But it's my father's
Yeah, my father's
Staring back at me
Hold on. I'm gonna start over.
My father was a hunter
And I was his son
My father was a hunter
And I was his son
My father was a hunter
And I was his son
I was his son
Where are we?
You're almost out of here, buddy.
- Hey, Buck.
- Yeah?
Thank you for saving my life.
You'd do the same for me.
The only reason I was gonna retire
was because I thought
you didn't care about me.
I guess if you saved my life, you do.
I was wrong, Buck,
when I said you were alone.
You're not alone.
You always got old Don.
I know I do, buddy.
All right, well,
we only got one four-wheeler.
Well, what am I supposed to do?
Sit here all alone in the woods,
totally bored?
No, sir.
I want you to take this four-wheeler,
drive Don to Cherokee Mountain
Outfitters and get him an ambulance,
- but under one condition.
- What?
You have to drive fast as hell.
Good, 'cause that's how I do
my best driving, anyway.
Don't forget to send someone
back to get me.
I won't forget you.
Bye, Dad.
Bye, son.
In the mirror, in the mirror
It's the face I see
But it's my father
Yeah, my father
He's staring back at me
And when I hear my voice
And I hear that song
I know with a voice so loud
It's my father
Yeah, my father
And it's strong and proud
My father was a hunter
And I was his son
My father was a hunter
And I was his son
In the mirror, getting clearer
That I was his son
My father was a hunter
And I was his son
When I get old
When I get tough
When I grow up
I'll be like my father was
These feelings so tough
When you're with slow children
Take your time
Breathe deep and clear your mind
I look at him and I know myself
Got my father on my mind
I tell ya
My father was a hunter
And I was his son
My father was a hunter
And I was his son
In the mirror,
it's getting clearer
I was his son
My father was a hunter
And I was his son
In the mirror, in the mirror
It's the face I see
It is my father
Yeah, my father
He's staring back at me
And when I look quite high
And I hear my voice
And it's coming out so loud
It's my father
Yeah, my father
It's strong and it's proud
My father was a hunter
And I was his son
My father was a hunter
And I was his son
He's in the mirror
He's getting clearer
And I was his son
My father was a hunter
And I was his son