Wild Hogs

Wild Hogs
File:Wild-hogs-poster-750.jpg promotional movie poster
Directed by	Walt Becker
Produced by	Kristin Burr Todd Lieberman Brian Robbins Amy Sayres Sharla Sumpter Michael Tollin
Written by	Brad Copeland
Starring	Tim Allen John Travolta Martin Lawrence William H. Macy Ray Liotta Marisa Tomei
Music by	Teddy Castellucci
Cinematography	Robbie Greenberg
Edited by	Christopher Greenbury
Production company	Touchstone Pictures Tollin/Robbins Productions
Distributed by	Buena Vista Pictures
Release dates	March 2, 2007 (2007-03-02)
Running time	100 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English
Budget	$60 million
Box office	$253,625,427

Wild Hogs is a 2007 biker comedy road film directed by Walt Becker and starring Tim Allen, John Travolta, Martin Lawrence and William H. Macy. It was released nationwide in the United States and Canada on March 2, 2007.

Plot

Doug Madsen (Tim Allen), Woody Stevens (John Travolta), Bobby Davis (Martin Lawrence), and Dudley Frank (William H. Macy) are four middle-aged suburban men living in a Cincinnati area suburb who find themselves frustrated with the pace of daily life and lack of adventure. Doug is a dentist who has trouble relating to his son Billy (Dominic Janes), Dudley is a single clumsy computer programmer who is afraid to talk to women. Bobby is a henpecked plumber whose wife has made him return to work after having taken a year off to unsuccessfully write a book, and Woody is a rich lawyer married to a supermodel. They find escape from their daily routines on weekends by riding motorcycles together posing as a biker gang called the "Wild Hogs".

One day, when Woody finds out his wife is divorcing him and leaving him bankrupt, he and his friends go on a road trip on their bikes to California. After encountering several misadventures, they end up at a local bar, where they meet the Del Fuego gang, headed by Jack (Ray Liotta). Jack calls the Wild Hogs "posers" and has his gang take Dudley's bike, forcing the men to leave with Dudley in a sidecar attached to Woody's bike.

Outraged at their actions, Woody retrieves Dudley's bike, cutting off their fuel supplies in the process and he fabricates a story. When the Del Fuegos hear the Wild Hogs riding back past the bar, they try to pursue them, only for the bikes to stall. Jack inadvertently drops his lit cigarette onto the ground, causing the bar to explode. Eventually, the Wild Hogs run out of gas and end up in Madrid, New Mexico, where they stumble into a diner and help themselves to water and beer without first paying for the beer. As a result, the townspeople first mistake them for the Del Fuego gang. When the Wild Hogs explain their actions, they learn that the Del Fuegos have been terrorizing the town frequently, while the local police force are unable to do anything to protect the town. Although Woody is still antsy about the Del Fuegos, the others convince him to stay in the town overnight. During their stay in the town, Dudley falls in love with Maggie (Marisa Tomei), the diner's owner, while two Del Fuegos spot the group and report their location to Jack. Jack tells his scouts not to hurt the Wild Hogs until he gets there. The Wild Hogs fight the scouts and get the scouts to leave and are hailed as heroes.

The next day, Woody persuades the others to leave, but then the Del Fuego gang arrives. Jack threatens to attack on the town unless the Wild Hogs pay for the damage to the bar. Woody reveals what he really did to get Dudley's bike back as well as the real reason for the trip. Jack takes over Maggie's diner, but when he threatens to burn it, Dudley confronts them and is captured. The others join Dudley but are repeatedly beaten down. The townspeople band together to battle the Del Fuegos, but just then Damien Blade (Peter Fonda), Jack's father and the founder of the Del Fuegos, arrives and stops the fight. Blade lectures Jack for letting four "posers" hold off an entire biker gang, questioning aloud just which side was the "posers," and saying that the bar was merely an insurance scam and therefore he was glad that the Wild Hogs destroyed it. Blade tells the Del Fuegos to leave town, and ride the open road until they remember what riding is really about, mentioning as he leaves that Jack "takes after his mother."

Doug and Bobby's wives arrive, and Doug reconciles with his son. Bobby's wife orders him to return with her, but he refuses and allows her to let him finish the ride. The Wild Hogs leave and arrive in California, and calls Extreme Makeover: Home Edition to give the Del Fuegos a new bar.

Cast

• Tim Allen as Doug Madsen
• John Travolta as Woody Stevens
• Martin Lawrence as Bobby Davis
• William H. Macy as Dudley Frank
• Ray Liotta as Jack Blade
• Marisa Tomei as Maggie
• Kevin Durand as Red
• M. C. Gainey as Murdock
• Tichina Arnold as Karen Davis
• Stephen Tobolowsky as Sheriff Charley
• Jason Sklar as Deputy Earl Dooble
• Randy Sklar as Deputy Buck Dooble
• John C. McGinley as Highway Patrolman
• Peter Fonda as Damien Blade

Production

Travolta and Macy had previously worked together in the 1998 drama, A Civil Action. Liotta and Durand had previously appeared together in the 2006 action thriller Smokin' Aces. Lawrence and McGinley appeared in the 1997 comedy Nothing to Lose. Lawrence and Arnold had previously worked together on the television series Martin; many fans of the series found their pairing in this film humorous, as well as ironic, as in the series, their characters hated each other, while in the film they were husband and wife.

Though the film takes place in various places throughout the U.S., the entire movie was actually filmed in New Mexico (except the beach on the West Coast at the end). The opening scenes that supposedly take place in Cincinnati were actually filmed in and around Albuquerque; the final scenes said to depict Madrid were actually shot there.

Motorcycles

Harley-Davidson provided the motorcycles for the making of this film.

• XL1200C Sportster Custom for Dudley.
• FXSTS Springer Softail for Bobby.
• Black Fatboy with a chrome front wheel for Doug.
• Screamin' Eagle Fatboy for Woody.

Many of the motorcycles utilized by the Del Fuego gang were customized choppers. The motorcycle used by Jack featured the logo for Orange County Choppers, run by Paul Teutul, Sr. with design work by Paul Teutul, Jr.. Both Teutuls have cameo appearances at the beginning of the film.

Tim Allen, a noted automotive designer and hobbyist, gave input to the design of his motorcycle. Of the bikes used in the film by the four main characters, his is the most customized model.

Background notes

The Motorcycle Riders Association's classes on motorcycle safety often point to the opening sequence in the film Wild Hogs for examples of things not to do when riding.

Jill Hennessy, who portrays Doug's wife, is a motorcycle enthusiast herself.

Reception

Critical response

Wild Hogs opened on March 2, 2007 to mostly negative reviews. The film holds an average rating of 3.8/10 on Rotten Tomatoes, with a 14% approval rating based on 141 reviews. The site's consensus says "Wild Hogs is a dreadful combination of fish-out-of-water jokes, slapstick, and lazy stereotypes".

Ty Burr of The Boston Globe compared the film's merits to its titular motorcycles, believing it to be "a bumptious weekend ride... the engine could use tuning and the plugs are shot, but it gets you most of the way there." Although writing a negative review, Burr offered praise for the film's final act, believing it "takes a satisfying turn" and that, with the exception of Allen, each of the film's primary cast members "earned his designated chuckle." He also favorably compared the film to RV, another comedy film focusing on a road trip.

Box office

Despite negative reviews, the film grossed $39.7 million on its opening weekend, ranking #1 in box office sales and nearly tripling the debut of fellow opener Zodiac. The film performed well throughout its entire run, falling just 30.5% in its second weekend and ultimately grossing $168.2 million domestically and $253.6 million worldwide, becoming Travolta's first film since The General's Daughter in 1999 to gross over $100 million domestically.

Lawsuit

In March 2007, the Hells Angels filed suit against Walt Disney Motion Pictures Group alleging that the film used both the name and distinctive logo of the Hells Angels Motorcycle Corporation without permission. That suit resulted in voluntary dismissal.

DVD release

Wild Hogs was released on standard DVD and Blu-ray Disc on August 14, 2007.

Sequel

Because of the movie's strong box office performance, Disney announced that a sequel, Wild Hogs 2: Bachelor Ride, would be released in 2010. However, after Disney's next comedy starring John Travolta, Old Dogs (which co-starred Robin Williams) was a box office failure, Disney canceled both Wild Hogs 2: Bachelor Ride and Wedding Banned, a comedy that was to star Williams and Anna Faris.

Awards and nominations

People's Choice Awards

• 2008
  • Nominated- Favorite Movie Comedy

External links

• Official website
• Wild Hogs at IMDb
• Wild Hogs at AllMovie
• Wild Hogs at Rotten Tomatoes
• Wild Hogs at Metacritic
• Wild Hogs at Box Office Mojo
• The Times Film Review: Wild Hogs