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Star power drives the 2007 road trip/buddy comedy Wild Hogs, making the film seem a lot better than it really is.
John Travolta, Tim Allen, Martin Lawrence, and William H. Macy play four middle-aged men who are weekend warriors on motorcycles who wear jackets with the name of their "gang" on it, but they never take their bikes any further than the parking lot of their local bar. Tired of their hum drum lives and playing bikers, the guys decide to take an actual road trip where they face several adventures, including a very dangerous encounter with a real biker gang led by a psycho (Ray Liotta) who resents weekend warriors and decides to take out his resentment on our heroes.
I liked the way Brad Copeland's screenplay set up these guys' motivations for starting the Wild Hogs and how each guy needs the group as an outlet for their own individual reasons. It also makes clear that these guys know each other intimately and when the chips are down, would do anything for each other. And most importantly, the story allows for various forms of growth for the four principals...these are not the same guys we meet at the beginning of the movie.
Director Walt Becker made the inspired decision of casting four middle-aged actors as four middle-aged characters and actually allowed them to play their age and all that implies. I think this might have a lot to do with why the four leads really seem to be enjoying themselves. As I've mentioned in other reviews, I love performances where the actors really seem to be enjoying what they are doing and the actors do seem to be enjoying themselves here.
When you see their names listed together, the four leads seem like an odd combination but they work surprisingly well together and I have to give a shout out to Macy, not known for comedy, as the romantically challenged computer geek who falls for an attractive restaurant owner (Marisa Tomei). Liotta is solid, and there are some funny bits by Stephen Tobolowsky as a wimpy sheriff and John C. McGinley as a kinky highway patrolman. There's also a classy cameo by Peter Fonda, an obvious nod to Easy Rider. Some beautiful photography and some great music help, but when it all comes down to it, the whole thing has a kind of emptiness to it that the star power almost makes you look past it...almost.
Star power drives the 2007 road trip/buddy comedy Wild Hogs, making the film seem a lot better than it really is.
John Travolta, Tim Allen, Martin Lawrence, and William H. Macy play four middle-aged men who are weekend warriors on motorcycles who wear jackets with the name of their "gang" on it, but they never take their bikes any further than the parking lot of their local bar. Tired of their hum drum lives and playing bikers, the guys decide to take an actual road trip where they face several adventures, including a very dangerous encounter with a real biker gang led by a psycho (Ray Liotta) who resents weekend warriors and decides to take out his resentment on our heroes.
I liked the way Brad Copeland's screenplay set up these guys' motivations for starting the Wild Hogs and how each guy needs the group as an outlet for their own individual reasons. It also makes clear that these guys know each other intimately and when the chips are down, would do anything for each other. And most importantly, the story allows for various forms of growth for the four principals...these are not the same guys we meet at the beginning of the movie.
Director Walt Becker made the inspired decision of casting four middle-aged actors as four middle-aged characters and actually allowed them to play their age and all that implies. I think this might have a lot to do with why the four leads really seem to be enjoying themselves. As I've mentioned in other reviews, I love performances where the actors really seem to be enjoying what they are doing and the actors do seem to be enjoying themselves here.
When you see their names listed together, the four leads seem like an odd combination but they work surprisingly well together and I have to give a shout out to Macy, not known for comedy, as the romantically challenged computer geek who falls for an attractive restaurant owner (Marisa Tomei). Liotta is solid, and there are some funny bits by Stephen Tobolowsky as a wimpy sheriff and John C. McGinley as a kinky highway patrolman. There's also a classy cameo by Peter Fonda, an obvious nod to Easy Rider. Some beautiful photography and some great music help, but when it all comes down to it, the whole thing has a kind of emptiness to it that the star power almost makes you look past it...almost.