Going wild over nothing with four Hollywood greats
Thursday, May 3, 2007
Wild Hogs
Certification: PG
Cast: John Travolta, Tim Allen, William H Macy, Martin Lawrence, Ray Liotta, Marisa Tomei
Director: Walt Becker
Genre: Comedy, Adventure
THE movie Wild Hogs tells the story of four middle-aged men in mid-life crisis, stuck in their daily routine, each with problems of his own and losing all interest in missing all the excitement of life. Think you belong with this crew? If you answered yes, then I'm going to tell you you won't fit in.
Being the slapstick comedy that it is, it has enough fun to chug it along from beginning to end from the moment the four jump on their bikes and begin a journey hoping to reconnect with their younger selves they left behind some 30-odd years before.
John Travolta plays Woody. To his pals he is the rich and successful businessman with a supermodel wife. But what they don't know is, his wife has divorced him and he is bankrupt. Tim Allen plays Doug, trapped in the rat race and unable to connect with his kid because he is "un-cool".
William H Macy plays Dudley, a book-smart geek and computer nerd, but like all geeks and nerds, he has trouble with the ladies. And Lawrence plays Bobby, jobless and suffering from the constant nagging of his wife and mother-in-law.
Still think you'll be able to relate to this movie? You won't, as once the plot thickens, or, in this case, thins down, things start to get ridiculously silly just to be funny. Posing as hardcore bikers with their collective name "Wild Hogs", the four take to the open road searching for adventure and enjoying the carefree sensation until they meet a real gang of bikers led by a tattoo-covered Jack (Ray Liotta).
Things get ugly, insults are thrown about, a fire occurs and the four non-heroes are on the run and come upon a little town to hide in.
Sounds familiar? Refer to Marlon Brando's The Wild One from the 50s.
Just by looking at the four big names, there are so many problems already. This movie is all about those stars, not the characters they portray. Allen and Lawrence are the masters of slapstick in their own ways.
Macy and Travolta have had their fair share of good comedies but that's only because of the great roles which these character-actors were able to embody brilliantly. So just by looking at the movie's poster, this should be a no-brainer.
But it was such a let-down when the movie did not bring out the best from all its actors and even more disappointing when there is nothing original in the slapsticks. While it did bring out the laughter, there was this aching feeling inside that we've seen all this before and it just rang hollow.
Another big problem I had with the line-up was Martin Lawrence. Never have I seen Hollywood this blatant about not having a cast that is made up wholly of Caucasians just to be politically correct. It even looked desperate in this situation because he is the only African-American on a bike in the midst of 50-odd bikers. He's like a crow in a flock of pigeons. And not only that, he looks 10 years younger than the other three "Hogs" when they were supposed to have grown up together.
While Tim Allen fits nicely into this movie (it is his one and only genre), and Martin Lawrence to a limited extent looks his part as well, the one question is why great actors like John Travolta and William H Macy are reduced to this.
This, to them, is child's play and will add absolutely nothing to their credit, other than big fat cheques. If you want to see a humour-rich Macy, go re-visit Pleasantville and Happy, Texas. If you want a fun Travolta, even more comes to mind like Get Shorty, Be Cool, Pulp Fiction or all the way back to Grease.
At least the director was able to give the four main stars enough screen time and build up their characters, which I thought was a nice achievement. Though they may sometimes look silly, they do become slightly lovable in the end.
So if you're bored this weekend with nothing better to do and want some brainless laughter, this will do fine.
Otherwise, save your money because Wild Hogs is just another money-making machine with all the dollar-sign magnet hidden all over its poster, drawing on your subconscious and your wallet.
Reviewer's Rating: 5.0/10
The Brunei Times
Certification: PG
Cast: John Travolta, Tim Allen, William H Macy, Martin Lawrence, Ray Liotta, Marisa Tomei
Director: Walt Becker
Genre: Comedy, Adventure
THE movie Wild Hogs tells the story of four middle-aged men in mid-life crisis, stuck in their daily routine, each with problems of his own and losing all interest in missing all the excitement of life. Think you belong with this crew? If you answered yes, then I'm going to tell you you won't fit in.
Being the slapstick comedy that it is, it has enough fun to chug it along from beginning to end from the moment the four jump on their bikes and begin a journey hoping to reconnect with their younger selves they left behind some 30-odd years before.
John Travolta plays Woody. To his pals he is the rich and successful businessman with a supermodel wife. But what they don't know is, his wife has divorced him and he is bankrupt. Tim Allen plays Doug, trapped in the rat race and unable to connect with his kid because he is "un-cool".
William H Macy plays Dudley, a book-smart geek and computer nerd, but like all geeks and nerds, he has trouble with the ladies. And Lawrence plays Bobby, jobless and suffering from the constant nagging of his wife and mother-in-law.
Still think you'll be able to relate to this movie? You won't, as once the plot thickens, or, in this case, thins down, things start to get ridiculously silly just to be funny. Posing as hardcore bikers with their collective name "Wild Hogs", the four take to the open road searching for adventure and enjoying the carefree sensation until they meet a real gang of bikers led by a tattoo-covered Jack (Ray Liotta).
Things get ugly, insults are thrown about, a fire occurs and the four non-heroes are on the run and come upon a little town to hide in.
Sounds familiar? Refer to Marlon Brando's The Wild One from the 50s.
Just by looking at the four big names, there are so many problems already. This movie is all about those stars, not the characters they portray. Allen and Lawrence are the masters of slapstick in their own ways.
Macy and Travolta have had their fair share of good comedies but that's only because of the great roles which these character-actors were able to embody brilliantly. So just by looking at the movie's poster, this should be a no-brainer.
But it was such a let-down when the movie did not bring out the best from all its actors and even more disappointing when there is nothing original in the slapsticks. While it did bring out the laughter, there was this aching feeling inside that we've seen all this before and it just rang hollow.
Another big problem I had with the line-up was Martin Lawrence. Never have I seen Hollywood this blatant about not having a cast that is made up wholly of Caucasians just to be politically correct. It even looked desperate in this situation because he is the only African-American on a bike in the midst of 50-odd bikers. He's like a crow in a flock of pigeons. And not only that, he looks 10 years younger than the other three "Hogs" when they were supposed to have grown up together.
While Tim Allen fits nicely into this movie (it is his one and only genre), and Martin Lawrence to a limited extent looks his part as well, the one question is why great actors like John Travolta and William H Macy are reduced to this.
This, to them, is child's play and will add absolutely nothing to their credit, other than big fat cheques. If you want to see a humour-rich Macy, go re-visit Pleasantville and Happy, Texas. If you want a fun Travolta, even more comes to mind like Get Shorty, Be Cool, Pulp Fiction or all the way back to Grease.
At least the director was able to give the four main stars enough screen time and build up their characters, which I thought was a nice achievement. Though they may sometimes look silly, they do become slightly lovable in the end.
So if you're bored this weekend with nothing better to do and want some brainless laughter, this will do fine.
Otherwise, save your money because Wild Hogs is just another money-making machine with all the dollar-sign magnet hidden all over its poster, drawing on your subconscious and your wallet.
Reviewer's Rating: 5.0/10
The Brunei Times
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