Early Reviews on WILD HOGS

   "Wild Hogs" a silly crowdpleaser
Tuesday February 27 2:11 AM ET

NEW YORK (Hollywood Reporter)- With its clever premise and quartet of appealing comedic star turns, "Wild Hogs" is a step above the typical comedies rolling off the assembly lines of the major studios. Unfortunately, though it gets off to a very promising beginning, the film soon degenerates into typical slapstick silliness that, while it should undeniably prove crowd-pleasing, squanders its considerable comedic potential. 
Demonstrating the sort of star teaming that Disney employed so successfully in the 1980s, the film stars Tim Allen, John Travolta, Martin Lawrence and William H. Macy as four middle-aged buddies who decide to confront their various personal and professional crises by donning leather jackets and taking off on their motorcycles for a cross-country road trip. 
At first it seems like a good idea, as the men revel in their newfound freedom. But what starts out as a lark soon turns disastrous as they run afoul of a massive biker gang led by the cheerfully sadistic Jack (Ray Liotta, entertainingly working in his villainous "Something Wild" mode). When the guys manage to accidentally blow up the gang's bar, it eventually leads to a showdown in a bucolic small town named Madrid (emphasis on the first syllable), where the local sheriff (Stephen Tobolowsky) is of little help. 

Brad Copeland's screenplay, brought to life by director Walt Becker, starts out well enough, briefly and entertainingly delineating the dissatisfactions of the titular quartet, from nerdy computer programmer Macy's trouble with women to dentist Allen's not having had a vacation in years to Lawrence's henpecked hubby's professional woes to Travolta's loss of his supermodel wife and successful business. 

But it isn't long before the humor reaches a lowest common denominator level, much of it, strangely enough, centering on the theme of homosexual panic. From the quartet's disturbing encounter with a gay motorcycle cop (funnily played by the normally macho John C. McGinley) to the endless gags revolving around Travolta's discomfort with Macy's physical familiarity and throwaway bits like an effete male singer performing a Pussycat Dolls song, the film approaches a level of offensive stereotyping not seen since "Cruising." 
Still, the onscreen chemistry demonstrated by the likeable performers, who clearly seem to be enjoying one another, goes a long way toward overcoming the film's mechanical and distasteful aspects. And the subplot involving Macy's awkward courtship of a beautiful waitress (Marisa Tomei) has a sweetness that contrasts well with the otherwise vulgar humor. 
There's also a fun surprise cameo toward the end, from an actor who seems to be enjoying a career renaissance exploiting his iconic screen association with motorcycles. 
Reuters/Hollywood Reporter 

Author	Message Share Topic Printable Version Delicious Digg Facebook Furl Google Boomarks Google Buzz MySpace Newsvine reddit StumbleUpon Translate Twitter Windows Live Yahoo Bookmarks Topic Search Topic Options Post Reply Create New Topic
tomsmo Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Visit Members Homepage Add to Buddy List RAZZIE® Inner Sanctum Joined: March 23 2006 Online Status: Offline Posts: 141	Post Options Post Reply Quote tomsmo Report Post Quote Reply Topic: Early Reviews on WILD HOGS Posted: February 27 2007 at 3:33am
	"Wild Hogs" a silly crowdpleaser Tuesday February 27 2:11 AM ET NEW YORK (Hollywood Reporter)- With its clever premise and quartet of appealing comedic star turns, "Wild Hogs" is a step above the typical comedies rolling off the assembly lines of the major studios. Unfortunately, though it gets off to a very promising beginning, the film soon degenerates into typical slapstick silliness that, while it should undeniably prove crowd-pleasing, squanders its considerable comedic potential. Demonstrating the sort of star teaming that Disney employed so successfully in the 1980s, the film stars Tim Allen, John Travolta, Martin Lawrence and William H. Macy as four middle-aged buddies who decide to confront their various personal and professional crises by donning leather jackets and taking off on their motorcycles for a cross-country road trip. At first it seems like a good idea, as the men revel in their newfound freedom. But what starts out as a lark soon turns disastrous as they run afoul of a massive biker gang led by the cheerfully sadistic Jack (Ray Liotta, entertainingly working in his villainous "Something Wild" mode). When the guys manage to accidentally blow up the gang's bar, it eventually leads to a showdown in a bucolic small town named Madrid (emphasis on the first syllable), where the local sheriff (Stephen Tobolowsky) is of little help. Brad Copeland's screenplay, brought to life by director Walt Becker, starts out well enough, briefly and entertainingly delineating the dissatisfactions of the titular quartet, from nerdy computer programmer Macy's trouble with women to dentist Allen's not having had a vacation in years to Lawrence's henpecked hubby's professional woes to Travolta's loss of his supermodel wife and successful business. But it isn't long before the humor reaches a lowest common denominator level, much of it, strangely enough, centering on the theme of homosexual panic. From the quartet's disturbing encounter with a gay motorcycle cop (funnily played by the normally macho John C. McGinley) to the endless gags revolving around Travolta's discomfort with Macy's physical familiarity and throwaway bits like an effete male singer performing a Pussycat Dolls song, the film approaches a level of offensive stereotyping not seen since "Cruising." Still, the onscreen chemistry demonstrated by the likeable performers, who clearly seem to be enjoying one another, goes a long way toward overcoming the film's mechanical and distasteful aspects. And the subplot involving Macy's awkward courtship of a beautiful waitress (Marisa Tomei) has a sweetness that contrasts well with the otherwise vulgar humor. There's also a fun surprise cameo toward the end, from an actor who seems to be enjoying a career renaissance exploiting his iconic screen association with motorcycles. Reuters/Hollywood Reporter

tomsmo Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Visit Members Homepage Add to Buddy List RAZZIE® Inner Sanctum Joined: March 23 2006 Online Status: Offline Posts: 141	Post Options Post Reply Quote tomsmo Report Post Quote Reply Posted: February 27 2007 at 10:32am
	Review: `Wild Hogs' Not So Wild Tim Allen does eat like a pig in one scene of "Wild Hogs." The rest of the time, though, Allen and biker buddies John Travolta, Martin Lawrence and William H. Macy are not all that wild, and more importantly, not all that funny. The road romp from director Walt Becker is like his "National Lampoon's Van Wilder" on Maalox, the humor and hijinks tame and tranquil as though it were a middle-aged epilogue to that raunchy campus comedy. The script by Brad Copeland, whose sharp TV credits include "My Name Is Earl" and "Arrested Development," even has references to Allen's character as a former fearless party animal, a Van Wilder now lapsed into soft, safe suburban catatonia. Like last year's execrable Robin Williams' road comedy "RV," "Wild Hogs" has little story and even less characterization to its stereotyped players. The filmmakers simply fashion an excuse to send their weekend motorcyclists onto the highways, then string together uninspired encounters with some fellow travelers and a hardcore biker gang headed by Ray Liotta, whose enthusiastic bad-boy performance is wasted in a woefully underwritten role. Becker and Copeland start with a sketchy glimpse of the four men's lives. The ringleaders are Allen as dentist Doug Madsen and Travolta as Woody Stevens, a businessman with a supermodel wife and big secrets he conceals from his pals. In their spare time, Doug and Woody cruise with chums Bobby Davis (Lawrence), a plumber with a domineering wife, and Dudley Frank (Macy), a klutzy computer programmer who's afraid to talk to women. The four men wear leather jackets emblazoned with the logo of their little Wild Hogs biker clique and ride Harleys around suburban Cincinnati to escape their humdrum lives for a few hours. Then Woody proposes a cross-country trip to the Pacific. The others are quickly on board, and off they go, sputtering through a fitful series of incidents highlighted by a mildly amusing bit with John C. McGinley as a motorcycle cop. There are a couple of genuinely funny sight gags, but most of the roadside attractions of "Wild Hogs" are either boring or outright annoying, particularly repeated segments of Kyle Gass (Jack Black's partner in the musical duo Tenacious D) as a bad singer at a local chili festival. Marisa Tomei, Jill Hennessy and Tichina Arnold barely register as wives or lovers of our heroes. The movie's main conflict arises after the Hogs cross paths with the Del Fuegos, a band of desperado bikers. The filmmakers seem to have no clue what to do with their battling bikers once the inevitable showdown rumble begins. The only reason the resolution of the boys' crisis remotely works is because of a surprise guest, an icon of biker flicks past, who makes an out-of-the-blue appearance to awkwardly settle all scores and send everyone happily down the road. Without that cameo performance, "Wild Hogs" would be a breakdown along the highway, waiting for a tow to fetch it home. "Wild Hogs," released by Disney's Touchstone Pictures, is rated PG-13 for crude and sexual content and some violence. Running time: 99 minutes. Two stars out of four. ___

Sanndman228715 Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List RAZZIE® Inner Sanctum Joined: July 31 2005 Online Status: Offline Posts: 524	Post Options Post Reply Quote Sanndman228715 Report Post Quote Reply Posted: February 27 2007 at 12:02pm
	Good to hear that Liotta isn't bad.