Wild Hogs

March 1, 2007

Rated: PG-13 Runtime: 120 min Rating: 3 out of 5 stars

Wild Hogs is what we like to call a nerf comedy. It’s not quite a chick flick, but it is a comedy without any hard edges and a great date movie for all ages. With a fairly well know cast that includes John Travolta, Tim Allen, William H. Macy and Martin Lawrence, this is typically a recipe for a blockbuster. Will it succeed?

Wild Hogs The storyline is 4 guys hit a bit of a middle aged crisis and decide to take a road trip on their motorcycles. Being much more comfortable in suburbia than crapping in the woods immediately sets up a lot of humorous scenes. And predictably they soon find themselves in a world of trouble. This is where traditionally “hilarity ensues”.

Here’s the problem with the movie though. I think it’s pretty clear that they want this to be a comedy that appeals to everyone. And yes, there’s some good lines in there. There’s also some physical comedy to make the kiddies giggle. If you like seeing grown men fall off of motorcycles, Wild Hogs is your hook up! But they also opted at multiple points during the movie to put some gay humor in it. Now it’s harmless stuff, I dont think it’ll offend any homosexuals, and it certainly shouldn’t induce homophobia in anyone. But it does make the movie a little uncomfortable to watch with Grandma or Aunt Bertha. Talladega Nights had the exact same problem, though to a much lesser extent.

We give Wild Hogs a strong 3 stars. It’s definitely worth watching, and if you need a date movie anytime soon we can recommend it, but otherwise it can wait for DVD. This is one of those movies that if it were released in June it would be remembered as a bomb. By releasing it in March when there’s little competition, it should do quite well.

Posted by Billy Bob | Filed Under 3 Stars, Comedy, John Travolta, Marisa Tomei, Martin Lawrence, PG-13, Theatrical, Tim Allen, William H. Macy