Wild Hogs

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 bored with the pace of daily life and lack of adventure. Doug is a dentist who has trouble impressing his son Billy (Dominic Janes); Dudley is a single computer programmer who is afraid to talk to women; Bobby is a henpecked plumber whose wife 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 leaving 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 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 lack of respect, 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 spot the group and report their location to Jack. Jack tells the pair not to hurt the Wild Hogs until he gets there, leaving them unable to fight back when Bobby spots and confronts the pair by splashing beer and spraying ketchup and mustard on their clothes before finally laying two uppercuts to them. 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, angering 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 captured and tied from a rope against a tree. 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 battle the group in a 4 on 4 fight but the Wild Hogs are repeatedly beaten 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 go home".

Doug and Bobby's wives arrive, and Doug reconciles with his son. Bobby's wife orders him 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 while he laughs. 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 at their new bar while the Wild Hogs watch the event on TV.

Production

Travolta and Macy had previously worked together in the 1998 drama A Civil Action, where they originally came up with the idea for Wild Hogs. Liotta and Durand had previously appeared together in the 2006 action thriller Smokin' Aces. Lawrence and McGinley appeared in the 1997 comedy Nothing to Lose. Lawrence and Arnold had previously worked together on the television series Martin; many fans of the series found their pairing in this film humorous, as well as ironic, as in the series, their characters hated each other, while in the film they were husband and wife.

Though the film takes place in various places throughout the U.S., the entire movie was actually filmed in New Mexico (except the beach on the West Coast at the end). The opening scenes that supposedly take place in Cincinnati were actually filmed in and around Albuquerque; the final scenes said to depict Madrid were actually shot there.

Motorcycles

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

Many of the motorcycles utilized 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 have cameo appearances at the beginning of the film.

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.

Critical response

Wild Hogs opened on March 2, 2007 to mostly negative reviews. The film holds an average rating of 3.8/10 on Rotten Tomatoes, with a 14% approval rating based on 141 reviews. The site's consensus says "Wild Hogs is a dreadful combination of fish-out-of-water jokes, slapstick, and lazy stereotypes."

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.

Box office

Despite negative reviews, 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. The film performed well throughout its entire run, falling just 30.5% in its second weekend and ultimately grossing $168.2 million domestically and $253.6 million worldwide, becoming Travolta's first film since The General's Daughter in 1999 to gross over $100 million domestically.

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 Corporation without permission. That suit resulted in voluntary dismissal.

DVD release

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

Cancelled sequel

Because of the movie's strong box office performance, Disney announced that a sequel, Wild Hogs 2: Bachelor Ride, would be released in 2010. However, after Disney's next comedy starring John Travolta, Old Dogs (which co-starred Robin Williams), was a box office failure, Disney canceled both Wild Hogs 2: Bachelor Ride and Wedding Banned, a comedy that was to star Williams and Anna Faris.

Awards and nominations

People's Choice Awards