by rick grant rickgrant01@comcast.net
C+ Rated PG-13 99 min
The concept of hiring A-list actors in a populace comedic road picture has been around filmdom since “talkies” hit the screens. Likewise, biker shtick has also been done countless times. So, it came to pass in Hollywood, where everything old is recycled, a new dawn rose when moguls were playing it safe with proven material.
Thus, director Walt Becker (Van Wilder) and writer Brad Copeland pieced together this medium cool comedy to cash in on the weekend warrior biker craze–that is: Middle aged men going through male menopause seeking fun and adventure on the open road atop a Harley. In the past, these workaday suburban dullards seeking excitement bought sports cars. Now it’s Harleys.
Of course, this film has all the earmarks of a blockbuster hit, and judging by the sold out sneak peak and the huge crowds at the opening, this picture should go into the $100 million plus box office revenue on its star power alone. Although my expectations were low, I was surprised by how much I was laughing at the knee jerk slapstick gags.
Still, the ensemble of John Travolta, William H. Macy, Martin Lawrence, and Tim Allen pulled off a respectable job of clowning around and probably having more fun between takes than anyone on the set thought possible. In other words, they had a good time making the film and passed that joy on to the audience. It’s pure unadulterated fun!
This buttoned-down wild bunch includes Doug Madsen (Allen) a dentist who hasn’t taken a vacation in years. Even is wife (Jill Hennessy) encourages him to take the trip with his weekend biker buddies – Dudley Frank ( Macy), who is a computer geek and ready for action, Woody Stevens (Travolta), a stock trader whose trophy wife left him and he just found out he’s broke, and Bobby Davis (Lawrence), who is hen-pecked and miserable.
Initially, for the Wild Hog “gang,” the trip is about reclaiming their manhood and escaping the tensions of the real world. Viewers know that before long these clueless biker dweebs will find trouble. Things start going wrong almost immediately. They accidentally burn up their camping gear and have to sleep on a blowup mattress on the ground. A gay cop (played by Scrubs’ John C. McKinley) thinks they are having an orgy and offers to join in. This sends the Wild Hogs racing off on their bikes filled with homophobic angst. Then they decide to go skinny dipping in a small lake. Soon, a family arrives, and to their horror, discover the men are not wearing bathing trunks. Perverts on Harleys–or, hapless yuppies on a jaunt?
Inevitably, the fake bikers encounter the real deal–a ruthless criminal gang, the Del Fuegos at their biker bar headquarters. The gang is headed by Jack (Ray Liotta) who delights in harassing these biker posers. Jack and his gang steal Dudley’s bike and chase off the Wild Hogs. But, Woody is outraged and goes back to get Dudley’s bike back. This leads to a major conflagration, wiping out the bar. Woody realizes that the real biker gang will stop at nothing to get even, so he and the Hogs go to the nearest town to hideout. The thing is, Woody hasn’t told his buddies what really happened back at the Del Fuego’s bar.
It’s about this stage in the shoot that Becker pulls out the stops on the biker stereotypes and launches a series of shots that savvy viewers know are blatant cliches, but cause involuntary laughter. Yes, the audience is having fun, but not as much fun as the cast who got paid plenty for their grab-ass good time.
Once in the town, the Wild Hogs convince the townspeople they are harmless and they are welcomed by the unarmed police. Dudley is smitten with a diner waitress, Maggie (Marisa Tomei), and he is invited to a barbecue party in the town square. Unbeknownst to the Wild Hogs, two Del Fuego scouts have located the Hogs’ position, and reported back to Jack. As certain as there is always a bar fight in a biker picture, viewers know that the big showdown is coming between the Del Fuegos and the Wild Hogs.
Although this is Brad Copeland’s first big screen credit, he has enjoyed success with his writer/producer TV gigs, penning My Name is Earl, Arrested Development, and Grounded for Life. For this feature film, Copeland played it safe with a script with broader appeal. With big bucks at stake, financial assurances of profit for Touchstone were more important than experimentation. Happily for all concerned, this comedy has already gone ballistic and everyone goes home happy.
|
