Wild Hogs

Wild Hogs is a 2007 American biker road comedy 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. It was the last film by Tollin/Robbins Productions.

Wild Hogs
Theatrical poster
Directed byWalt Becker
Produced byTodd Lieberman
Brian Robbins
Michael Tollin
Written byBrad Copeland
Starring
Music byTeddy Castellucci
CinematographyRobbie Greenberg
Edited byChristopher Greenbury
Production
company
Distributed byBuena Vista Pictures
Release date
  • March 2, 2007 (2007-03-02)
Running time
100 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$60 million
Box office$253.6 million[1]

Plot

Doug Madsen (Tim Allen), Woody Stevens (John Travolta), Bobby Davis (Martin Lawrence) and Dudley Frank (William H. Macy) are four middle-aged everymen living in a Cincinnati suburb who find themselves disillusioned with the quality of everyday life and lack of adventure. Doug is a dentist who has trouble bonding with his son Billy (Dominic Janes); Dudley is a single (yet sometimes preoccupied) computer programmer who is afraid to talk to women; Bobby is a henpecked plumber whose wife Karen has made him return to work after having taken a year off to unsuccessfully write a book; and Woody is a wealthy 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, Woody finds out his wife is divorcing him thus rendering him bankrupt. He convinces his friends to go on a road trip on their bikes to California. After encountering several misadventures, they end up at a local bar, where they meet a rowdy, much larger biker gang called the Del Fuegos, headed by Jack Blade (Ray Liotta). Jack calls the Wild Hogs "posers" and has his gang steal Dudley's bike after a bogus deal to exchange Dudley's bike for a new bike that is in fact used and derelict, forcing the men to leave with Dudley in a sidecar attached to Woody's bike.

Furious at their bullying of Dudley, Woody returns to the Del Fuegos bar and retrieves Dudley's bike, cuts off their bikes' fuel lines in the process and fabricates a story to the other Wild Hogs of how he "negotiated" with them to return the bike. When the Del Fuegos hear the Wild Hogs riding back past the bar, they attempt to pursue them, only for the bikes to stall. Jack inadvertently drops his lit cigarette onto the ground, igniting the fuel leaking from the bikes which then causes the bar to explode. Woody, after witnessing the explosion from afar, convinces the others to keep riding. Eventually, the Wild Hogs run out of gas and end up stranded in the desert. They eventually push their bikes to Madrid, New Mexico, where they stumble into a diner and help themselves to water and beer without paying. As a result, the townspeople first mistake them for Del Fuegos. 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 anxious 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 out searching for the Wild Hogs, Jack's closest biker members Red and Murdock (Kevin Durand and M. C. Gainey) spot the group and report their location to Jack. Jack tells the pair not to harm the Wild Hogs until he gets there, leaving them unable to fight back when Bobby notices and confronts the pair by splashing beer and spraying ketchup and mustard on their clothes before finally physically attacking Murdock, thus scaring off Red. The Wild Hogs are hailed as heroes amongst the town's residents and celebrate well into the night with the townspeople.

The next day, Woody persuades the others that they must leave, but their departure is ruined when the Del Fuegos arrive. Jack threatens to wreck the town unless the Wild Hogs pay for the damage done to their bar. Woody admits to the Wild Hogs what he really did to get Dudley's bike back as well as the real reason for the trip, exasperating the others. Jack and the rest of the Del Fuegos take over Maggie's diner, but when he threatens to burn it, Dudley confronts them and is held hostage. The others attempt to rescue Dudley but fail. They then decide to fight the Del Fuego gang letting Jack, Red, Murdock and a member trained in martial arts "Tiny" battle the group in a 4 on 4 altercation but the Wild Hogs are beaten severely, but refuse to give up. The townspeople band together to battle the Del Fuegos, but just as Jack threatens to take on the rest of the town, Damien Blade (Peter Fonda), Jack's father and the founder of the Del Fuegos, arrives and stops the fight. Damien lectures Jack for letting four "posers" hold off an entire biker gang, questioning aloud just which side was the "posers". He also adds that the bar was merely an insurance scam and therefore was glad that the Wild Hogs destroyed it. Damien 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". He then acknowledges the Wild Hogs by telling them his motto: "Ride hard, or stay home". He also lightheartedly informs the Wild Hogs to "lose the watches", indicating the watches on their wrists.

Doug and Bobby's wives arrive, and Doug reconciles with Billy. Karen orders Bobby to return with her, but he refuses and convinces her to let him finish the ride. The Wild Hogs leave and arrive in Southern California, where everyone except for Dudley crashes into a surfboard. During the credits, it is revealed that the Wild Hogs called Extreme Makeover: Home Edition to give the Del Fuegos a new bar. The Del Fuegos react in joy (while Jack is emotionally speechless) at their new bar while the Wild Hogs watch the event on television.

Cast

Motorcycles

Harley-Davidson provided the motorcycles for the making of this film.[2]

Many of the motorcycles used 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 make cameo appearances in the film.[3]

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.

Production

Producer and director Brian Robbins believed casting was essential to the success of the film, and emphasized the importance of working with movie stars. Robbins praised Disney for trusting in four older experienced but more expensive actors, and said "A lot of studios today are afraid to take those chances of hiring. Disney wasn't afraid, and it paid off."[4]

Although the story is set in Ohio and other locations, with the exception of the final scene in southern California, it was filmed in New Mexico. The opening scenes in Cincinnati were filmed in and around Albuquerque. The ending showdown scenes in Madrid, New Mexico, are that of the real town of Madrid, New Mexico, with many of its local townspeople used as extras in June 2006.[5]

Reception

Box office

Wild Hogs opened on March 2, 2007, 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.[6] The film performed well throughout its entire run, falling just 30.5% in its second weekend[7] and ultimately grossing $168.2 million domestically and $253.6 million worldwide,[1] becoming Travolta's first film since The General's Daughter in 1999 to gross over $100 million domestically.

Critical response

On Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 14% based on 145 reviews with an average rating of 4.00/10. The site's critical consensus reads, "Wild Hogs is a dreadful combination of fish-out-of-water jokes, slapstick, and lazy stereotypes."[8] On Metacritic, the film has a score of 27 out of 100 based on reviews from 29 critics, indicating "generally unfavorable reviews".[9] Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "B+" on an A+ to F scale.[10]

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.[11]

Peter Travers of Rolling Stone gave it 2 out of 4 and wrote: "Jokes dying on the lips of these easy riders are hard to stomach."[12] Dennis Harvey of Variety wrote: "Uninspired script and broad slapstick yuks won't earn this any plaudits, but slick, safe package should do OK with North American mall [audiences]".[13]

Accolades

The film was nominated for a People's Choice Award in the category "Favorite Movie Comedy".[14][15]

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 Club without permission.[16] That suit resulted in voluntary dismissal.[17]

Home media

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

Cancelled sequel

Disney announced that a sequel, Wild Hogs 2: Bachelor Ride, would be released in 2010, but by December 2009 plans had been cancelled.[18][19] After Disney's next comedy starring John Travolta, Old Dogs (which co-starred Robin Williams), was a critical failure, Disney cancelled both Wild Hogs 2: Bachelor Ride and Wedding Banned, a comedy that was to star Williams and Anna Faris.[20] A change in leadership at Disney resulted in various

References
  1. "Wild Hogs (2007)". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 21 June 2019.
  2. Anthony Kodack (January 16, 2007). "Harley-Davidson Provides Motorcycles And Motorclothes To New Movie "Wild Hogs."". TopSpeed.com.
  3. Ware, Holly (8 February 2007). "NEW AD HOGS". New York Post. The family almost wound up in a third Super Bowl spot for the upcoming movie "Wild Hogs," in which they have a small role.
  4. Nicole Sperling AP (2007). "Robbins feathers nest by defying film critics". The Hollywood Reporter.
  5. Rosalie Rayburn (September 28, 2006). "ABQjournal: It's a Special Kind of Advertising". Albuquerque Journal. Wild Hogs" with John Travolta, which was filmed this summer partly in Madrid
  6. "Weekend Box Office Results for March 2-4, 2007". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 21 June 2019.
  7. "Wild Hogs (2007) - Weekend Box Office Results". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 21 June 2019.
  8. "Wild Hogs (2007)". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved January 1, 2021.
  9. "Wild Hogs Reviews". Metacritic.
  10. Brandon Gray (March 5, 2007). "'Wild Hogs' Easily Ride to the Top". Box Office Mojo.
  11. Ty Burr (March 2, 2007). "'Hogs' movie finds its funny side -- finally - The Boston Globe". Boston Globe.
  12. Travers, Peter (28 February 2007). "Wild Hogs". Rolling Stone.
  13. Harvey, Dennis (25 February 2007). "Wild Hogs". Variety.
  14. "People's Choice Winners List". Cbsnews.com. 2008-01-08. Archived from the original on 2008-01-10.
  15. "People's Choice Awards Past Winners:2008". PCAvote.com. 31 July 2008. Archived from the original on 2008-07-31.
  16. "FindLaw Legal Blogs". Findlaw. Retrieved 21 June 2019.
  17. "Hells Angels file suit against Alexander McQueen". 27 October 2010. Retrieved 21 June 2019.
  18. Fleming, Michael (17 December 2009). "'Wild Hogs' sequel stalls". Variety.
  19. Siegel, Tatiana (30 December 2009). "In 2009, studio shuffles led to tabled titles". Variety.
  20. McKittrick, Christopher (2 March 2016). "Why Disney Put the Brakes on 'Wild Hogs 2'". ThoughtCo.com. Retrieved 8 May 2017.
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