Wild Hogs: Review of the Hit Movie

Wild Hogs is a movie produced by Walt Disney Studios starring John Travolta, Tim Allen, Martin Lawrence and William H. Macy. It's about 4 friends going through a middle age crisis. John Travolta plays Woody Stevens, an attorney whose bathing suit model wife files for divorce and takes everything he has. Tim Allen plays a dentist named Doug Madsen, whose son ignores him and wife won't let him eat anything but vegetables because of his high cholesterol. Martin Lawrence as Bobby Davis is a plumber who has just gone back to work at his wife's insistence after taking a 1 year hiatus to write a book. William Macy plays Dudley Frank, an unmarried, shy computer programmer. Together, this group of friends forms a motorcycle club know as the Wild Hogs. Off they head on a road trip from Cincinnati, Ohio to California and Murphy's law takes over.

Each and every one of these talented actors are perfect in the roles they play. While Tim Allen and Martin Lawrence are known for their comic talent, William Macy shines as the shy, nerdy computer geek. It's been a long time since John Travolta has taken a role that showcases his funny side. And while these actors are the stars of the movie, there are also great performances put in by Ray Liotta and Marisa Tomei.

Wild Hogs is a nice combination of action and comedy. When this gang takes off riding their Harley's on the open road you know bad things are going to happen. They are just average, middle-aged guys looking for a little adventure. They start their road trip by throwing away their cell phones and GPS. When they stop for the night and put up their tent you just know a disaster is in the making. You won't be disappointed either as the tent catches fire and they are forced to sleep on a air mattress under the stars. Later, they stop for a beer at a bar along the way in New Mexico where some "real" bikers hang out. This turns out to be a very bad idea and they get themselves into more trouble than they can handle. Eventually they wind up in a little town called Madrid during a chili cook-off and festival. They need gas, but the gas station is closed until the following day so they are persuaded to stay the night. The next day they wind up having a fist fight with the "real" bikers, William Macy falls in love with Marisa Tomei and they finally get back on the road and reach California.

I don't want to give too much of the comedy scenes away because it would spoil the fun. I laughed so hard at times that my side and stomach hurt. The movie was so good in fact, that I plan on going to see it again next week with my sister. This is a movie that needs to be seen on the big screen in a movie theater, so don't wait until it's released on DVD. On a scale from 1 to 10 this movie is a solid 8.

Wild Hogs is rated PG-13 for crude and sexual content, and some violence. The running time is 1 hour and 39 minutes.