Review: Wild Hogs (2007)

Director: Walt Becker | 99 minutes | comedy, adventure | Actors: Tim Allen, John Travolta, Martin Lawrence, William H. Macy, Ray Liotta, Marisa Tomei, Kevin Durand, M.C. Gainey, Jill Hennessy, Dominic Janes, Tichina Arnold, Stephen Tobolowsky, Jason Sklar, Randy Sklar, Drew Sidora, Cymfenee, Margaret Travolta, Victor Izay, Paul Teutul Sr., Paul Teutul Jr., Michael Hitchcock, Cynthia Frost, Héctor Jiménez, Stephanie Skewes, Kyle Gass, Shane Baumel, Peter Fonda, Ty Pennington

Wild men in their forties and fifties. They all have a belly. It is striking that they still have fairly young children. Film of this time. They are not that wild, those men, but they are funny. Touching sometimes. Appropriate role for Tim Allen, John Travolta is doing a nice job, William H. Macy is completely in his element and again very funny and Martin Lawrence is a bit of the “obligatory negro”. If he’s as good as in this movie, it takes some getting used to. but it is all not too bad.

The film is occasionally on the verge of bland, predictable and sentimental, but never gets over it. See, of course it’s a straightforward formula, let’s face it. And then with such a cast, it can hardly go wrong, as far as the visitors are concerned. A nice prefab Disney sauce on top (Buena Vista is Disney’s distributor) and you’re done. The music is immediately soo Disney! Still, after watching this movie you can’t help but go home with a good feeling. Of course the violence is too soft, those bikers are too nice, but who knows, maybe bikers are actually very nice? But the clear story is told nicely and there are really hilarious moments in it, often on the account of William H. Macy (and the screenwriter of course).

The theme of homosexuality plays an important role in the story, but it is not entirely clear why. Yet it does not disturb and it is actually, from a frumpy American perspective, quite progressive. A few more old-timers like good old Stephen Tobolowsky, who portrayed the legendary, unforgettable Ned Ryerson so brilliantly in ‘Groundhog Day’ (Harold Ramis, 1993), one of the best films ever made, ‘Am I right, or am I right? ” Hilarious. In “Wild Hogs” he unfortunately has to hold back, but nice to see him in a role again. Just like Marisa Tomei, finally again! She is getting a bit older, but not more unattractive, on the contrary. Lovely woman, great actress. And then at the end someone unexpectedly turns up from “Easy Rider”, but enough about that, it should remain a bit of a surprise, right? Tasty movie for the whole family. Nothing wrong with it.