Movie Review Ferdinand

Ferdinand (2017) 

Directed by Carlos Saldanha 

Written by Robert L. Baird, Tim Federle, Brad Copeland 

Starring John Cena, Kate McKinnon

Release Date December 15th, 2017

Blue Sky Animation is the home of the truly mediocre in modern animation. The house that the awful Ice Age movies built is back again and apparently attempting to hide their latest bit of sub-par animation by opening Ferdinand opposite Star Wars: The Last Jedi. Smart move, Blue Sky. Burying Ferdinand is definitely the right call. No, the movie isn’t terrible, it’s just mediocre. And in a world where Pixar still rules, it’s not a bad idea to drop your more modestly ambitious products where few audiences will see it.

Ferdinand tells the story of a young bull, voiced by WWE legend John Cena. Young Ferdinand has decided at a very early age that he wants nothing to do with being a bullfighter. Ferdinand, you see, dear reader, loves flowers. That’s all the explanation you are going to get about young Ferdinand’s nature: he loves flowers. When his father, voiced by Jeremy Sisto, doesn’t return to the stable after facing down a matador, Ferdinand decides his best bet in making a run for it.

Through luck and guile, Ferdinand manages to get aboard a train and winds up outside of town and on the farm of a local gardener known for his fantastic flowers. Ferdinand is adopted and loved by Nina (Lily Day) and grows up with her until he becomes a 2,000 pound behemoth. No longer able to hide, Ferdinand gets himself captured when he can’t resist attending the local flower festival and ends up back on his old farm where he is now the biggest bull in the yard, and the one that the new matador has his eye on.

The animation in Ferdinand is good. It’s not Pixar good, but it’s good. The characters have a rubbery exterior that thankfully doesn’t press into the uncanny valley, but it’s also not particularly pretty, either. It’s just OK. The best animation is likely the three hedgehogs, voiced by Gina Rodriguez, Daveed Diggs and Gabriel Iglesias. The spiky hedgehogs are beautifully rendered, but they’re also underwritten and rarely ever funny, which is surprising given the talented voices behind them.

Find my full length review in the Geeks Community on Vocal 

Movie Review: Wild Hogs

Wild Hogs (2007) 

Directed by Walt Becker 

Written Brad Copeland 

Starring John Travolta, William H. Macy, Tim Allen, Martin Lawrence, Marisa Tomei 

Release Date March 2nd, 2007 

Published March 1st, 2007

The stars of Wild Hogs are somewhat beyond their sell by date. Aside from William H. Macy, who has never been any kind of box office star, the box office for stars John Travolta, Martin Lawrence and Tim Allen have seen diminishing returns. However, that doesn’t mean that putting them together in a movie is bad for business.

Indeed, it would seem rather a genius idea and when you combine the collective star power of this cast with an easy sell of a comic premise like Wild Hogs, you have the recipe for a big hit. Regardless of whether the movie is any good.

Woody (John Travolta), Doug (Tim Allen), Bobby (Martin Lawrence) and Dudley (William H. Macy) have reached a point in their lives where they are stuck. For Woody a divorce and bankruptcy has him more than a little on edge. Doug is dealing with a son who doesn’t respect him and a job as a dentist that gets little respect. Bobby is so henpecked that even a daily ride on his motorcycle is hard to put past his difficult wife (Regina King). As for Dudley, crippling nerdiness has made him repellant to woman and arrested his development.

At least they have each other and their matching expensive Harley’s and a patch on their leather jackets that says Wild Hogs. What the really need is an adventure and Woody has just the idea. A cross country bike ride from their home in Cinncinati all the way to the Pacific ocean.

After a little dull exposition, convincing each character why they should go, we finally hit the road for a series of gay jokes, bathroom jokes and biker clichés. There is nothing remotely original about Wild Hogs. The films humor is lowbrow, in the vein of Robin Williams at his most cloying. In fact, Williams' family pic R.V has much the same idiots on the road vibe.

I hated R.V. Yet, I don't necessarily hate Wild Hogs. Where Williams flailed and fell about searching for laughs in R.V, Wild Hogs has four well known stars flailing and falling about trying to find laughs and somehow that is more entertaining.

There is a genial, good time vibe that is undeniable throughout Wild Hogs. All four of these stars just seem to be having such a good time that occasionally that vibe becomes infectious and you can't help but feeling it. William H. Macy is especially winning as a good hearted computer nerd. At first his schtick, crashing his motorcycle twice in the first 20 minutes, seems a little embarrassing and unbecoming an actor of his talent, but eventually Macy makes the characters awkward ways charming and when he falls for a small town gal played by Marisa Tomei the film takes on a real rooting interest.

John Travolta and Tim Allen have a very natural friendly interaction in Wild Hogs. They are the alpha males of this group of four and where you would expect Allen, the former stand-up, to be the comic; it is Travolta working for the laughs, and often getting them, while Allen plays things straight. I guess it should be no surprise that Travolta is good at mugging for laughs, what is surprising is how he manages to make much of his mugging in Wild Hogs so charming.

Martin Lawrence, unfortunately, never connects with either his co-stars or his hen pecked character. Lawrence has never done well with co-stars of equal billing, check Luke Wilson in Blue Streak or, much worse, Steve Zahn in National Security. Lawrence is most comfortable riffing his own material. Forced into the confines of an ensemble he melts into the background and appears to be going through the motions and simply picking up a paycheck.

Don't take away the impression that I think Wild Hogs is a good movie. This is truly idiot filmmaking. However, this group of actors is so talented and so likable that even the most hardened critic will have a hard time not finding something that makes them giggle. For me it was William H. Macy's fumbling attempts at romance and Travolta's mug that made me laugh much more than I ever thought I would during such an obvious and formulaic picture.

Wild Hogs isn't a movie I will ever see again but while I watched it, I kind of enjoyed it. This isn't the greatest endorsement I have ever given a film but count as a reason to see Wild Hogs. Once.