MOVIE MUSIC UK

Original Review by Jonathan Broxton

A silly, but warm-hearted and enjoyable comedy road movie starring Tim Allen, John Travolta, Martin Lawrence and William H. Macy, Wild Hogs follows the fortunes of four suburban husbands – each obsessed with motorbikes – who find themselves having a mid-life crisis. Eager to capture their youth, and yearning for life on the open road, the hapless quartet set out on a road trip from the Midwest to California – but get more than they bargained for when they fall afoul of the ruthless New Mexican biker gang the Del Fuegos, and their psychotic leader, Jack (Ray Liotta).

Teddy Castellucci, finally beginning to shake of the shackles of being Adam Sandler’s in-house composer, provides the film with an inoffensive country-themed score, making use of a cache of acoustic guitars, fiddles, harmonicas, twangy percussion, and various other western music clichés to set the scene. Once in a while Castellucci breaks out into a barnstorming orchestral hoedown which will make anyone familiar with James Horner’s The Pursuit of D.B. Cooper smile, and there’s a dangerous-sounding dirty-rock theme for Jack and the Del Fuegos which keeps the album flowing.

This is tempered by some more light-hearted orchestral caper music, as well as a surprisingly lovely guitar-led theme for the budding romance which develops between Macy’s bumbling biker and Marisa Tomei’s spunky country waitress. Castellucci’s score was not released commercially, but exists as a 22-minute promo, comprising 12 unnamed cues. It’s not exactly earth-shattering stuff, but well worth picking up if you happen to find a copy.

Rating: ***

Track Listing:

• Wild & Free (01:00)
• Slap The Bull (02:44)
• Del Fuegos Arrive (00:45)
• Doug’s Breakdown (02:30)
• The Pond (01:16)
• Tent Fire (01:02)
• Bikers Drive By (01:19)
• Madrid Showdown (04:18)
• Damian Leaves (02:11)
• Wives Arrive (01:04)
• Children of the Corn (01:11)
• Cutting Gas Lines (02:07)

Running Time: 22 minutes 32 seconds

Promo (2007)