Movie Review: Wild Hogs

This isn't exactly a deep movie. It is rather fun, though, especially for those who enjoy slapstick humor. Four middle-aged guys go on a motorcycle trip from Ohio to the West Coast in an attempt to escape from their boring suburban lifestyles. John Travolta stars as Woody, this instigator of the trip and a man whose life is in flux. His swimsuit model wife is leaving him and he's flat broke. Tim Allen stars as Doug, a suburban dentist whose wife encourages him to make the trip and re-discover his lost sense of freedom. Martin Lawrence is Bobby, a man with an overbearing wife and a job he hates. To be able to get away for the trip, he tells his wife he's going to a plumbing convention. Rounding out the foursome is William H. Macy as Dudley, a painfully shy computer programmer.

Misadventures abound, of course. The men accidentally burn down their tent. Sleeping on an air mattress on the ground, they attract the attention of a gay cop who thinks they are gay and wants to join in the fun. I could have done without the homophobic humor, actually. It's not like the gay cop really adds anything to the storyline, either (John McGinley is much, much better in Scrubs). In general, there is way too much fear of gayness in this movie.

The quartet finds real trouble when they stop at a biker bar where the biker gang Del Fuego hangs out. The gang's leader (Ray Liotta) steals Dudley's bike. In getting it back, Woody exacts a revenge that further infuriates the gang. Without telling his friends exactly what he did, Woody spurs the foursome to get as far away as they can as quickly as possible, but they get stranded in Madrid, New Mexico. There Dudley meets Maggie (Marisa Tomei), a café owner and the woman of his dreams. Her character is no doubt the best in the movie. The men enjoy a festival in Madrid, but Woody is quietly panicking that the bikers will catch up to them.

If you see this movie, make sure you stay around for the ending credits. There is a scene right then that is the best in the movie. The movie itself is best seen when you are in the mood for something light that doesn't overly tax your brain cells. It has a great cast in not-so-great roles.