I didn’t expect much going in so I was not disappointed in the least with Wild Hogs. The concept of the film - four aging friends setting out on a road trip to recapture their youth - is used, to be sure, but for some reason this incarnation struck me as funny.
Maybe it was the players, whom I thought appropriate for the roles. Tim Allen, William H. Macy, Martin Lawrence, John Travolta - aging stars (forgive me, please, I mean no disrespect!) still trying to capture the box office glory. And, like their characters they were somewhat successful. After all, three weeks after its release, Wild Hogs is number two in the nation.
Maybe it was the fact that a friend and I have recently been talking about buying some motorcycles and taking a road trip. Super, I’ve now become fodder for a cheap Disney movie.
Well, anyway, the four introductory vignettes were cute, if predictable and bland. Tim Allen is a bored dentist who can’t relate to his kid (whatever will that lead up to in the end?); Macy, a geek who wants a woman but can‘t talk to one (whatever will that lead up to in the end?); Martin Lawrence, the controlled husband (whatever will that lead up to in the end?); and Travolta - well, I’ll be honest, I have no way to understand Travolta’s idiot character. I’ve never been married to a supermodel nor done any of the other things that were mentioned about his character that I can’t now remember. However, credit must go out to the writers and the actors for these four scenes. Though very short, much is conveyed about who these men are. That was impressive.
Things progress predictably from there. They are convinced by Woody (Travolta) that they have become boring. They need a road trip to revitalize their lives. They eschew all their gadgets - cell phones, GPS, everything - by tossing them away with abandon. They ride off down the freeway into adventure! Well, the most adventure four middle-aged nice guys can get into.
They burn down their tent and must sleep together on one mattress. Of course, this means that they must meet a police officer who is very... interested in the lurid details of what he thinks these four guys were doing all night. I’d just like to mention that the movie would have been much stronger without this part. Anyway, they continue on their journey, go skinny dipping in a pond and scare a nice mid-western family and eventually anger some “real” bikers. We all knew that was coming. I didn't expect the bar to blow up, though. Watching Travolta's reaction to the fireball he sees in his mirror was pretty funny. In fact, it was the only thing of merit he accomplished in the whole movie.
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Article comments
1 - Lisa
This movie cracked me up! It’s just a typical dorky slap stick comedy that you are embarrassed to laugh at, but when the lights go down and the seat becomes more comfortable you just can’t help yourself from letting go and enjoying some good chuckles. I would highly recommend this to someone having a bad day because you leave the theater with a corny smile on your face. Also the actors and character development was pretty strong. Though, a minor warning, this is not a movie to see for a plot, only laughs! If you are still debating whether or not to see this check out Roeper’s review for yourselves at www.atthemoviestv.com This site is great for current movie reviews for old and new movies with full length high-production video reviews. I just wanted to give you guys the inside scoop because I work with Ebert and Roeper.