Here’s the truth: if you’ve seen “Gone Fishin’,” then you likely know where the hell “Wild Hogs” is going. It’s a predictable, juvenile, and cheesy little comedy that revolves around nothing but homoerotic undertones, and homophobic jokes, and yet… I kind of liked it. Hey, I’m as surprised as you are, so back off. “Wild Hogs” is not just a mediocre comedy it’s a mediocre comedy that manages to flex the talents of its cast to about as much as the screenplay allows. I really did enjoy the foursome and their chemistry with one another and they seem to really pull out as much laughs as they can. I really liked some of the gags and awkward situations, and the actors manage to deadpan with enough competence to endure the overlong run time. John Travolta specifically seems to want to pull off the most laughs and succeeds in his portrayal as a creaky has been who tries his best to be the cool one of the group.

I’ll say this for “Wild Hogs,” it is probably one of the gayest comedies all year. And by "gay" I don't mean stupid or bad, I mean gay as in every single joke and device revolved around gay innuendo, homoerotic undertones, and homophobic gags. Seriously, there were jokes about drinking piss, sucking balls, having orgies, there was a lot of emphasis on testicles such as Tim Allen being hit in the nuts, and Allen's character pointing out the large testicles on a bull, and there's even a gay cop character who stalks the guys at certain points and is intent on getting some loving from them. Beyond that, there’s an inadvertent hand job, a lot of jokes about penis size, and did I mention John C. McGinley being wasted in a rather ridiculous gag as a gay cop who was intent on stalking the guys here? “Wild Hogs” is almost always hinting at something behind the seams and its often teetering between an offensively homophobic comedy, to an odd homoerotic tale of four mean learning to love each other more, and the writers ostensibly had their sights set on this routine without making it too noticeable.

As for the foursome, they’re drawn broadly enough to allow any sort of character direction the writers want to take them with future films. We learn almost nothing about them in the way of personality, and are just basic archetypes from the get go. Allen is the straight man, Macy is the geek, Travolta is the cool one, and Lawrence is the rebel, and beyond that we get only a glance of their home lives with zero resolution to the conflicts set up for them. “Wild Hogs” is really just a low point for the four men starring, and at its worse, you can really just see the desperation in them and the writers’ attempts to pull off as many gaffs as possible. Of course it’s getting a sequel.

I won’t place “Wild Hogs” on my best of 2007 list, but I simply didn’t hate it as much as I assumed I would. In its essence it’s a forgettable, mediocre, and idiotic comedy centered on homophobic gags, but it’s also pretty funny and I didn’t have a hard time sitting through it, in the end. Take from that what you will.

• Martin Lawrence and Tichina Arnold play a married here; in Lawrences sitcom "Martin" they played enemies.

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