Tim Allen, John Travolta, Martin Lawrence and William H. Macy hit the road in this rollicking comedy-adventure about a group of middle-aged friends who decide to rev up their routine suburban lives with a freewheeling motorcycle trip. When this mis-matched foursome, who clearly have grown far more used to the couch than the saddle, set out for a once-in-a-lifetime experience - they encounter a world that holds far more than they ever bargained for. (from MovieWeb.com)

Scaling the mass mountain of comedies that are put out each year is like climbing a slippery slope, despite trying to get to a higher altitude you end up, in the long run, getting nowhere. Most comedies I've seen in the past fifteen or so months have had little or no plot and carry the weight of the movie usually on over-the-top and ridiculously heavy perverted jokes (*cough* Talladega Nights *cough*). What ends up happening is you have one good comedy to every twenty or so sleazy ones; ultimately the quest for finding a decent film is easier said than done.

Enter Wild Hogs. This film looked promising from the previews it offered months before the filmed debuted in theaters on March 2nd. I couldn't recall laughing so hard in a movie preview before in my life, and as so was eagerly anticipating a laugh-fest a la Kicking and Screaming and Emperor's New Groove (the two funniest movies ever made). However, what I got was a rather dull story with too few sequences that got me to laugh outright; all the while secretly hoping it would get better and funnier.

The comedy in it is pretty much your run-of-the-mill PG-13 stuff. Talladega Nights broke strides in shaping a whole lot of junk into a PG-13 movie without tipping over (I swear that film should have been Rated R), and many films have tried to copy it. Wild Hogs gets close. Playing off a gay state trooper, several scenes involve heavy sexual innuendo and even sequences of full backside nudity (I can now say I have seen William H. Macy's butt). While this scene is sort of funny, the end result is just a ridiculous foreshadowing of what the movie has to offer. Although the language isn't much of a problem, the continual leering of women, contrary to the fact that most of the guys are married, remained an issue - including the last scene (more on that later).

Speaking of William H. Macy (this is the fellow who plays the nerd-like character you may have seen in the trailer), this man does a fantastic job pulling off a completely innocent and charming man. His romantic robustness and his swagger (or the lack-thereof) prove to make him out to be the only truly believable character in the foursome (the others being Tim Allen, Jon Travolta, and Martin Lawrence). Compared to Macy, the other three just seem like supporting actors trying to evenly split up the comedy so a single actor doesn't hog the laughs. Well it happens regardless and Macy pulls off the only real laughs I got to enjoy.

I would like to add, however, that there was some good to be found. The second half of the movie highlights some interesting points about the meaninglessness of material wealth in your life and the importance of having true friends. Not backing down is the film's final push towards the end and demonstrates this through the fierceness of the fearless foursome that is the Wild Hogs. When the credits roll, a parody of Extreme Makeover: Home Edition airs and is a genuine piece of comedy that deserves your attention and resultant laughs. The film manages to come somewhat go full circle in making up for it's laughs, but the closing scene involves the Hogs waving and ogling at bikini clad women in California and seems to have little or no point. Odd.

All in all, this movie gets a mixed review from me. Albeit funny, the humor used here might appeal to a different audience that gets laughs out of overrun sexual and crude remarks. The plot of the movie also seemed, well, lame at times, and I wished more time and effort would have been put into it. It would have probably been more plausible and easier to swallow had the four Wild Hogs been teenagers on a road trip rather than middle aged men seeking fulfillment in life.

If you have any questions or comments about the film, knock yourself out and go ahead and e-mail me.