Harvey's "Hogs" review

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Though Walt Becker didn't write Wild Hogs, its early progress is similarly angled, with much 'ewww!' mileage eked from the ways in which William H. Macy's sensitive-guy nature sometimes make him seem 'gay,' plus a randy cop (Scrubs' John C. McGinley) who misreads the traveling male quartet's bond. Studio product once ridiculed homosexuals outright -- now it goes the more insidious route of milking the straight characters' 'hilarious' revulsion whenever they come in contact with or are mistaken for gay people." -- from Dennis Harvey's 2.24 Variety review.

comment #1

insidah says ...

Hmm, thanks for the added incentive never to see this completely crap looking film, starring the three most scarily unfunny men in film: Rivolta, Lawrence and Tim Allen.

comment #2

Eddie says ...

..come to think of it, Macy's not that funny either.

comment #3

PanTheFaun says ...

I expected 'Wild Hogs' to be terrible going in, by I too was surprised how blatantly homophobic it was. The Variety review doesn't mention there's also a biker character who accidentally says things that make him sound gay which results in the Ray Liotta character beating him, much to the audience around me's amusement.

Mark my words, this movie is going to be HUGE in middle America.

comment #4

Terry McCarty says ...

"... a randy cop (Scrubs' John C. McGinley) who misreads the traveling male quartet's bond. Studio product once ridiculed homosexuals outright -- now it goes the more insidious route of milking the straight characters' 'hilarious' revulsion whenever they come in contact with or are mistaken for gay people."

Has Dennis Harvey ever seen SILENT MOVIE, where Mel Brooks got a running gag out of "the more insidious route" Harvey describes in the WILD HOGS review?

comment #5

cjKennedy says ...

Pan, I wouldn't lay the success of this movie only at the door of middle America. It's pretty astounding to me how, even in the 21st century big city, gay jokes make the narrow minded simpletons of the world giggle like high school kids. Even worse is that this is treated like a totally acceptable response.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not PC. I like making fun of people as much as the next guy, but it's a little disturbing when it's acceptable towards one group and not another.

comment #6

Sam Adams says ...

The incessant homosexual panic in WH is truly astonishing, even in a movie I would not have expected (much) better of. Is the spectacle of four dudes in leather so nascently queer that the movie has to constantly protect us from even the slightest hint of faggotry? WILD HOGS makes those dudes in the Snickers commercial look like Lesbian Avengers.

comment #7

Dublin101 says ...

Maybe Travolta was pushing the gay bashing angle. Living in the closet can mess with a man's head.

comment #8

Joshua Mooney says ...

Wasn't "Wild Hogs" the working title of Ken Anger's "Kustom Kar Kommandos"?

comment #9

MovieBob says ...

Is it not just SLIGHTLY possible that the movie is just being honest about it's characters and the world they inhabit? "Wild Hogs" is about upper middle-class suburban guys who dress up like "rebels" on the weekend because they feel ashamed and "un-manly" about living in decidely un-rustic modern settings.

If you've met the real sort of guys this seems to be goofing on, you know this is EXACTLY how they act and also exactly what makes them laugh the hardest: They're already spending scads of money on bikes and biker costumes to compensate for how less-than-masculine they feel, NOTHING sets them off like even the slightest outright suggestion of the "G-word."

comment #10

Bocephus says ...

This movie looks worse than Norbit. I feel sorry for those of you who have had the misfortune of seeing it already. Were you forced to watch at gunpoint or are you just masochists?

I would rather watch a Garry Marshall movie.

The collusion of Travolta, Lawrence, and Allen will be discussed in film schools a few years from now as the final nail in the coffin of respectable cinema.

Remember last year when Bill Macy said something along the lines of "I've earned the right to make a shitty movie for a big paycheck." I'm guessing he had already accepted this role when he made that comment.

comment #11

christian says ...

i had thought done right there was a good idea here.

i give all of 'em a pass because they've done some good work in the past. even lawrence was surprisingly good in LIFE. and allen managed to not only not derail GALAXY QUEST, he was quite good.

comment #12

Rob says ...

Between this and Hairspray, Travolta's closet issues are playing out spectacularly this year, aren't they?

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