Wild Hogs

When four middle-aged, partially successful men hit the road on bikes, dressed in leather pants and jackets that say Wild Hogs, you know what to expect. That while they will face humiliation and some physical battering really not advisable at their age, eventually they will 8220;find themselves8221;, 8220;rediscover life8221;, or whatever you may want to call it.

What8217;s nice is that screenwriter Brad Copeland writer of popular television shows like My Name8217;s Earl and Arrested Development realises the limitations of a 8220;mid-life crisis8221; story and doesn8217;t try to stretch them. Wild Hogs is far from being great, but it surprisingly isn8217;t bad either.

Copeland8217;s four protagonists are the most natural 40-year-olds walking around, and he doesn8217;t let that change because of the road trip. They are not sad people who suddenly become heroic or display new-found wisdom.

Scared of facing a bigger biker gang, they first try hiding. And when that doesn8217;t work, devise a plan that ends up failing. They get thrashed around, and they hurt.

While the humour is a little slapstick in the beginning, the film gets funnier as you get acquainted with the four 8212; the tough but broke Woody Travolta; the dentist who couldn8217;t be a 8220;real doctor8221; Doug Allen; the aspiring writer working as a plumber who gets pushed around by his wife, Bobby Lawrence; and the computer programmer who is scared of talking to women and who8217;s perhaps inching too close to men, Dudley Macy.

Allen is the best, bringing effortless casualness to his role, with Macy a close second. However, Travolta is unable to decide whether he should be a gloomy loner or the exuberant leader of the pack. And Lawrence, eventually, can8217;t help being Lawrence including making faces to a bull. It8217;s the talented Tomei and Liotta who are completely wasted.

The best moments are post the encounter Wild Hogs have with the real wild biker gang, Del Fuegos. While anyone would be scared of lean, mean, tattooed and angry bikers coming at you, Copeland captures the childishness of it all.

The Del Fuegos consider the Wild Hogs 8220;urban posers8221;, and hence not deserving of their bikes. But, Copeland makes you wonder, what8217;s so cool about 30-odd grown-up men fighting over such a thing?