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Reviews

Wild Hogs

Running on empty

By TOM MEEK | February 28, 2007

2.0 Stars

NO RULES: for John Travolta, Martin Lawrence, Tim Allen, and William H. Macy.

Four suburban males in the throes of midlife crisis decide the remedy is to don leather, saddle a Harley, and cruise across the county — with no rules. That’s the excuse, anyway, for John Travolta, Martin Lawrence, Tim Allen, and William H. Macy to hook up, ham it up and spark a few laughs. The four venerable actors have a good time, though their uneasy-rider shtick runs out of gas too soon and it’s up to Ray Liotta’s pissed-off biker boss (shades of Something Wild) to give the movie torque. Marisa Tomei adds some spice as the object of desire in the sleepy Southwestern sticks, and John C. McGinley is the scariest thing on the interstate as a trooper with a zest for S&M and all-male cuddle parties. But it’s a bumpy ride; TV writer Brad Copeland and director Walt Becker (Van Wilder) rev up the gags until their gears are stripped. Instead of opening up the throttle, Hogs ends up idling and spreading exhaust.

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[ 02/17 ] Farren-Butcher, Inc. + Jonny Lang @ State Theatre

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