Directed by: Walt Becker
Written by:Brad Copeland
Starring: Tim Allen, John Travolta, Martin Lawrence, William H. Macy, Ray Liotta, Marisa Tomei
Released: March 8, 2007
Grade: B-

Little Miss Sunshine was tipped by many to win the Oscar for best picture last week.  It was defeated by The Departed and some have attributed its loss to the fact that it’s a comedy.  Facts don’t lie - only one comedy in the last 30 years has won the Academy’s top prize (Shakespeare In Love).  This verifies what I’ve mentioned before.  Comedy is the hardest genre to perfect because we all have a different sense of humour.

Never has a truer example been provided than Wild Hogs.  It is the story of four ageing men who are in desperate need of a holiday.  Doug (Allen) is a workaholic who refuses to take a break.  Woody (Travolta) is a lawyer who has just found out that he’s broke.  Bobby (Lawrence) is an out-of-work plumber who is talked down to by his wife.  Dudley (Macy) is a computer geek with an inability to talk to women.

The quartet go on a motorcycle road trip to rediscover themselves.  They leave their mobile phones behind and have no set destinations planned.  They’re just going to see where the open road takes them.   They end up in some pretty wacky situations but I’ll let you find out for yourself.

When I saw this trailer for the first time, I was immediately turned off.  A buddy comedy with Tim Allen, John Travolta, William H. Macy and Martin Lawrence had no appeal to me.  It appears I am in the minority and it comes back to what I said earlier about the different styles of comedy.  Wild Hogs made a whopping $38m in its first weekend in the United States.  Were these the same people who took Norbit to the top of the charts two weeks ago?

If you’re trying to gauge the type of humour being offered here, then I can easily explain.  Wild Hogs features plenty of poo jokes and gay jokes.  Some will burst into hysterics whilst others will sit silently.  I didn’t laugh too often but I admit that a few one-liners, particularly from William H. Macy, did tickle my funny bone.  There’s also a great cameo late in the film from an actor who will remain nameless (at least in this review).

I can’t recommend this personally but if you do go and see it, there’s a better than 50/50 chance that you’ll enjoy it.