Movies

Tim Allen, John Travolta, Martin Lawrence and William H. Macy start in Wild Hogs, the hysterically funny comedy about four weekend-warrior friends who decide to rev up their ho-hum suburban lives with a cross-country motorcycle adventure. They don their leathers, fire up their hogs and throw caution and their cell phones to the wind as they hit the open highway. But a lot can happen on the road to nowhere, including a run-in with the bad-to-the-bone Del Fuegos, a real biker gang who don't take kindly to the wannabes. Filled with hilarious misadventures, screwball situations and madcap mayhem, this laugh-out-loud comedy is a movie your whole family will go hog wild over.

Wild Hogs is about four middle-aged men who live in Ohio. During the week each does his nine-to-five thing, but every weekend they armor up in denim and leather, cruise around town on their motorcycles and then have a few beers. When mid-life crisis tickled one man's nose, it was not long before it spread through the group and a motorcycle road trip ensued. What better way for them to regain the spontanaety and autonomy of their glory days? I'm not sure this plot really needed conflict, but on their way west they came across a more traditional biker gang, who did not take kindly to these four midwestern suburbanites considering themselves peers.

When the movie was first advertised I could not believe the cast (John Travolta, Tim Allen, Martin Lawrence and William H. Macy). I had no issues with getting such an ensemble together, I was more taken back by the fact that these men (primarily Travolta) would make a movie like this. The more I thought about it, and certainly now that I have seen the movie, I believe that this was more about making a fun movie and working together than it was about setting box office records. I would have loved to be a fly on the camera while these men worked together; I hope it was as much fun for them as I imagine it to have been.

I gave Wild Hogs "the old college try" since I had heard some surprisingly encouraging remarks. I talked to a few people who were very pleased with the movie. I addressed my concerns with them about how cheesy it looked and I was told not to worry. In the end, Wild Hogs was very cheesy. But it was fun enough for what it was. If you can relate with the characters I am sure there is more substance to the movie than I was able to enjoy.

Have you ever been told that, "You will love Office Space even more if you have ever worked in an office setting?" Well, you will appreciate Wild Hogs much more if your own mid-life crisis is knocking, or has knocked at your door. Since (thankfully) mine has not, once the "conflict" settled into the story my interest waned.

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