Wild Hogs

Okay, so I'm the first one to admit that Wild Hogs was a cheesy "feel good" flick that borrowed heavily (*cough* copied *cough*) from a number of other cheesy "feel good" flicks. "The Three Amigos" is essentially the same movie except instead of riding horses, the protagonists are riding motorcycles.

So what. It was an enjoyable picture. I laughed a few times. I found the performances by Ray Liotta and Marisa Tomei to be very good, despite the weak script. They made the very best from what they were handed.

A host of cameo appearances lets you know right away that it's the cinematographic equivalent of a Twinkie, but it's all good. The snack food guilty pleasure is to see Tim Allen, Martin Lawrence, William H. Macy and John Travolta having fun on screen. Add those guys to the dudes from Orange County Choppers, Paul Teutul Sr. and Jr.; John Travolta's wife Margaret; Ty Pennington from Extreme Home Makeover; Dr. Drew; Tenacious D's Kyle Gass (where was Jack?); and none other than the original bad-ass biker, Mr. Peter Fonda (where was Dennis Hopper?).

As somebody who actually rides motorcycles, watching this movie required me to muster a great deal of the literary edict of "suspension of disbelief" to enjoy. There were many scenes in which a character is accelerating while holding up his right hand (the throttle), bikers riding in perfect synchronization (on a trailer while being filmed without the road being shown), and bouncing off the pavement at upwards of 45 MPH without a scratch. Huh. Go figure. I suspend my disbelief!

A special thanks to Wendy for sending me the movie. My extended lunch hour was an enjoyable one. I want to go home and fire up Val.

Now only if any of my friends knew how to ride a motorcycle . . .