Disney’s “Wild Hogs” is out on DVD and for those who missed it when it was at the major movieplexes,this is your chance to own a very delightful film.
The premise,4 middle aged friends (William H. Macy,Martin Lawerence,Tim Allen and John Travolta) who enjoy escaping from thier real lives by riding Harleys and each other’s friendship seems simple enough.
But Travolta’s hit a mid-life crisis…his marriage is broken,his job is gone and he is flat broke. His solution,get his friends to also escape thier troubles (Macy is a sad sack with the ladies,Lawerence is hen-pecked at home and Allen has no real connection with his son) to drive from the Midwest to the Pacific…without telling anyone.
At first the other struggle with idea,then they embrace it. They give fake stories to the families,ditch the cell phones and head into the wild.
On the road to California,they also discover a lot about themselves and each other…
The acting here in this movie is seamless,the entire cast seemed to be having a total ball. While the Hogs do meet a real biker gang,the menace is played down by and played up like slapstick. The Del Fuegos,led by Ray Liotta,are in line with the crew from the Clint Eastwood “Every Which Way But Loose” then a hard Hell’s Angel gang.
The showdown between the Hogs and the Del Fuegos is as funny as you can image..the only thing missing is Yul Brynner showing up w/Steve McQueen to even the odds.
Other highlights include a very funny turn by John C. McGinley as a motorcycle who really,really likes the Hogs,Jill Hennessey as a Tim Allen’s wife ,looks radiant on the big screen and one extra special guest star who steals the movie…if you love American cycle movies,you’ll know whom I am speaking of…
This movie does earn its PG-13 rating as the language is a bit harsh.
The extras on the DVD are pretty spartan…a small “Making of….” feature,a quick feature about how the stars did in riding thier motorcycles and an audio commentary by the film’s writer Brad Copeland and the director,Walter Becker.
This is a DVD I would recommend for all except for the small ones.
Rumor has it a sequel is in the works….
By Michael Sullivan
