Wild Hogs

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Wild Hogs
Wild-hogs-poster-750.jpg
Theatrical poster
Directed byWalt Becker
Written byBrad Copeland
Produced byTodd Lieberman
Brian Robbins
Michael Tollin
Starring
CinematographyRobbie Greenberg
Edited byChristopher Greenbury
Music byTeddy Castellucci
Production
companies
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]

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.

Plot[]

Doug Madsen, Woody Stevens, Bobby Davis, and Dudley Frank are disillusioned middle-aged everymen in a Cincinnati suburb. Doug is a dentist who has trouble bonding with his son Billy; Dudley is a single computer programmer afraid to talk to women; Bobby is a henpecked plumber; and Woody is a wealthy lawyer married to a supermodel. They escape their routine lives on weekends by riding motorcycles as a biker gang called the "Wild Hogs".

Woody discovers his wife is divorcing him, rendering him bankrupt. He convinces his friends to take a road trip to California. At a bar they meet the Del Fuegos, a much larger biker gang headed by Jack Blade (who reveals he knows Bobby's wife Karen and that Bobby gets henpecked by her), who call the Wild Hogs "posers" and steal Dudley's bike. Dudley has to travel in Woody's sidecar.

Woody wants to get Dudley's bike back but Doug is sick of Woody's nonsense resulting in an argument between the two with Woody reminding him the trip was all about adventure. Woody surreptitiously retrieves Dudley's bike alone and cuts the gangs fuel lines (causing the fuel to leak), telling the others he "negotiated" with the gang. The Del Fuegos attempt to pursue the Wild Hogs only for the bikes to stall. Jack's dropped cigarette ignites the leaking fuel and burns the bar down. The Wild Hogs run out of gas and push their bikes to Madrid, New Mexico, where they are initially mistaken for the Del Fuegos. The Wild Hogs learn that the Del Fuegos have been terrorizing the town, and Dudley falls in love with the diner owner Maggie. Two Del Fuegos report their location to Jack, who tells them not to harm the Wild Hogs until he gets there, leaving them unable to fight back when Bobby confronts the pair and scares them off. The Wild Hogs are hailed as heroes and celebrate into the night.

The next day, the Wild hogs' departure is interrupted by the arrival of the Del Fuegos. Jack threatens to wreck the town unless the Wild Hogs pay for their bar. Woody admits to the others what he did to get Dudley's bike back, as well as his real reason for the trip (which was to get them involved with another biker gang). Jack and the Del Fuegos take over Maggie's diner and threaten to burn it. Dudley confronts them but is tied up and held hostage. The Wild Hogs then decide to fight Jack, Red, Murdock, and Tiny on a 4 on 4 altercation. The Wild Hogs are badly beaten but refuse to give up. The townspeople band together and just as Jack threatens to take on the rest of the town, Damien Blade, Jack's father and the founder of the Del Fuegos, arrives. He lectures Jack for letting the Wild Hogs hold off an entire biker gang, questioning aloud just which side was the "posers". He says he built the bar as an insurance scam and was glad it had been destroyed by the Wild Hogs. Damien tells the Del Fuegos to leave town and ride the open road until they remember what riding is really about, and acknowledges the Wild Hogs by telling them his motto: "Ride hard, or stay home".

Doug's and Bobby's wives arrive, and Doug reconciles with Billy. Karen orders Bobby to return with her, but he convinces her to let him finish the ride. The Wild Hogs arrive in Southern California where everyone except 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 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..[citation needed] 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.[citation needed]

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.[citation needed]

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 VHS, DVD. and Blu-ray Disc on August 14, 2007.[citation needed]

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 changes.

References[]

  1. ^ Jump up to: a b "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.

External links[]

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