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Genre:
Comedy/Adventure
Director: Walt Becker
Cast: Tim Allen, John Travolta, Martin Lawrence,
William H. Macy, Marisa Tomei, Jill Hennessy, Ray Liotta
RunTime: 1 hr 39 mins
Released By: BVI
Rating: PG
Official Website: www.wildhogsmovie.com
Opening
Day: 19 April 2007
Synopsis
:
Tim
Allen, John Travolta, Martin Lawrence and William H. Macy
hit the road in this rollicking comedy-adventure about a group
of middle-aged friends who decide to rev up their routine
suburban lives with a freewheeling motorcycle trip. Taking
a long dreamed-of breather from their stressful jobs and family
responsibilities, they can't wait to feel the freedom of the
open road.
When this
mis-matched foursome, who have grown far more used to the
couch than the saddle, set out for this once-in-a-lifetime
experience - they encounter a world that holds far more than
they ever bargained for. The trip begins to challenge their
wits and their luck, especially during a chance run-in with
the Del Fuegos, a real-life biker gang who are less than amused
with their novice approach.
As
they go looking for adventure, they soon find that they've
embarked on a journey they will never forget
Movie
Review:
We knew something was wrong when the consumer advice
for this slapstick comedy was “brief nudity”.
True enough, what we saw weren’t a pretty sight for
the eyes.
We
also knew something was wrong when the funniest bits of this
slapstick comedy were its end credits, where a spoof of the
trashy “Extreme Makeover – Home Edition”
tickled our funny bones.
Let’s
see, what else could possibly go wrong in this Walt Becker-directed
road-trip movie? Unfortunately, almost everything: right from
the awkwardly embarrassing cast of middle-aged actors chosen
to play the titular “Wild Hogs”.
Heading
the quartet is John Travolta, who was incredible in Quentin
Tarantino’s Pulp Fiction (1994), but sadly lost all
cool in Roger Christian’s Battlefield Earth (2000).
Then there is Martin Lawrence, who would be sadly remembered
by us as the cross-dressing Big Momma in Big Momma’s
House (2000) and its unnecessary sequel in 2006.
Third
in line is Oscar-nominated William H. Macy, who has an almost
perfect track record (if you count Jurassic Park 3 out). Last
but not least, we have Tim Allen, whose voice we love as Buzz
Lightyear in Disney/Pixar’s Toy Story series, but role
we loathe in Brian Robbins’ The Shaggy Dog (2006).
So
here we have four middle-aged men, who are trying really hard
to be hip by wearing lean leather jackets and riding mean
motorbikes. Beneath these lean and mean exteriors are sad
losers who are attempting to escape reality by embarking on
a carefree road trip.
Predictable
misadventures happen along the way, and for the movie’s
99-minute runtime, we are treated to banal jokes which neither
surprised nor amused. The litter of gay and poop jokes may
be entertaining to some, but they are ultimately glaring fillers
to spice up an otherwise lame plot.
To
be fair, the four leads do look like they are having fun with
each other, and some scenes are good-naturedly funny. But
before we could get the chance to feel for their characters’
inner anguish and conflict, another series of slapstick humour
befell upon us.
We
almost feel sorry for Travolta, Lawrence, Macy and Allen,
for having to go through the thwarting gags.
Marisa
Tomei’s involvement in the movie as a bland waitress
does not serve much purpose; while Ray Liotta’s tough
biker leader is an uninspired stereotype of a typical movie
baddie.
But
when the credits started rolling and we saw Liotta’s
character in his most hilarious bits, we decided that the
filmmakers had the plain intention to make us chuckle with
this movie, albeit its ultimate failure to do so.
But
one thing for sure, the image of “brief nudity”
by one of the actors will continue to haunt us for quite a
while. Whose sacrificial performance are we talking about?
We are not telling.
Movie
Rating:
(The movie tries so hard to be funny - we can almost feel
the embarrassment of the actors who had to star in it)
Review by John Li
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