Plot: What’s it about?
I’m not an expert at predicting what movies will fail and which will be successes (and if I were, I’m on the wrong end of the movie business) and with that said, if you’d have told me that “Wild Hogs” would be one of the top-grossing films of 2007 I’d have told you that you’re crazy. However, that’s the truth and after viewing it, I can see the appeal of the film. First off, I hate motorcycles. I really just can stand them. They’re loud, annoying and I think they cause more problems on the road than they solve. However, they’re immensely popular and for every person who wears a suit during the week, there’s some who don a leather jacket and jump on their Harley on the weekend. Such is the case for the main characters of “Wild Hogs” as we peer into their not so lively lives and watch as they unwind on the open road. Ok, “Easy Rider” it’s not but “Wild Hogs” does have some mass market appeal as evidenced by its impressive box office tally.
Four Cincinnati businessmen: Doug (Tim Allen), Woody (John Travolta), Bobby (Martin Lawrence) and Dudley (William H. Macy) have hit a proverbial bump in the road when it comes to their lives. Whether it’s personal or professional, each of these men is looking for some validation and it seems that their weekend jaunts as “Wild Hogs” is the only thing that keeps them going throughout the week. Against all better judgment, the foursome decide to head cross-country out to California, thinking the alone time and the open road will cure what ails them. And things are going fine until they hit New Mexico and run into the Del Fuegos. Led by Jack (Ray Liotta), the Del Fuegos hate everything that our four heroes stand for and make no secret that they want them to go back to where they came from. The foursome manages to outwit the gang, only to stumble upon a nice little town where Dudley finds a love interest in Maggie (Marisa Tomei). Naturally, a show down is a comin’ so do the Del Fuegos continue to get their way and rule with an iron fist or will our professionals from Cincinnati prevail and all ends well?
“Wild Hogs” has the kind of mass-market appeal that made it such a success. Yes, it’s a bit contrived and formulaic, but then again a lot of movies are. I had a bit of a time taking Martin Lawrence to be in the same class of professionals as the other characters. Nothing against Lawrence, he just physically looks younger than the rest of the gang. Seeing Ray Liotta and Maris Tomei in the cast was a nice surprise as I’m a big fan of the two actors and there are a few scenes with John C. McGinley who tries to ham his way through them all (and succeeds, by the way). The bottom line is that the movie is enjoyable and if taken with a grain of salt, the whole family will get something out of it. I’m certainly not ready to don any leather chaps anytime soon, but that’s not to say that I didn’t enjoy “Wild Hogs”.
Video: How does it look?
“Wild Hogs” is presented in a very nice-looking 2.35:1 anamorphic transfer that really shows off the beauty of the open road. While this is a standard DVD, its still holds its own against some of the HD DVD titles I’ve seen as of late. The movie obviously was very big budget and as such, has the resources which can make for a good-looking transfer. There was a slight hint of edge enhancement on some of the wider shots, but aside from that it was a decent-looking image. Colors seemed spot on and apart from a few instances in which I saw some softness, this was a great-looking picture. I’m sure that when/if a Blu-ray version comes, out I’ll see what I’ve been missing (no pun intended) but for the time being, this DVD more than serves its purpose.
Audio: How does it sound?
The included Dolby Digital 5.1 soundtrack is fairly good here. This being a “buddy comedy” there aren’t a whole lot of instances in which the sound is used to full extent; but a few scenes do make it worthwhile. Dialogue sounds good, very clean and natural and though the surrounds don’t come into play as much as I’d hoped, they do still make their presence known. The LFE actually kicked in when the hum of the motorcycles start up and though not the best example of surround sound, it did sound impressive enough for me to remember it. Aside from that, there’s not a lot else going on. It’s an above average mix, but there are certainly better.
Supplements: What are the extras?
This disc has just enough supplements to warrant a purchase, but most of these are only on the surface. We start out with a commentary by director Walt Becker and writer Brad Copeland who tell of the casting of the movie (four big names) and adapting the screenplay to get it to be a little more “family friendly”. It’s a good track, but I’d only suggest it for true fans of the movie. The obligatory “Making of Wild Hogs” is also present, with interviews with the main stars from the movie, the director and writer as well. What really left me hanging was “How to get your wife to buy you a motorcycle” in which the question really isn’t answered, it’s just a montage of clips from the movie (unless I missed something). There are a few deleted scenes as well as a much more amusing alternate ending. Some outtakes are thrown in (bear in mind we do have two former stand up comics in the cast) and round out the supplements.
