The Bachelor Weekend

I'm not quite sure why this film has so many bad reviews. I know a lot of people saw the trailer and dismissed it as a Hangover wannabe, but this film was far from it.

The cast was amazing and the film had a surprising depth to it, I was expecting a silly stag comedy, but instead got a movie that was really character-focused, rather than situation-focused. I do disagree with the film being renamed for American audiences, because the film has the word "Stag" in it multiple times, and honestly, you can sort of work it out. "The Bachelor Weekend" really does sound like the name of a bad rip off of The Hangover from a $2 shop.

The only other issue I had with it was the lack of chemistry between the bride and the groom, but they're not seen together much in the film so it's pretty much a non-issue. Don't watch this film if you're looking for a trashy comedy, it's probably not for you.

It actually felt a bit like The World's End, there was plenty of comedy, and the cinematography was brilliant, but the main focus was on a few metro men in their mid thirties being strung along by a madman.

I somehow ran across this title after review of the title 'Calvary' (2014), another film from the Irish Film Board that I was impressed with. I was quite delighted with this tale of a bachelor stag gone awry, that didn't take the low road of comedy, as the infamous 'Hangover' Trilogy.

Long time friends Davin and Fionan find themselves planning and impromptu stag party for the rather effeminate and polite groom. What starts off as a simple little camping trip between 5 friends turns into a rather long evening of mishaps, bad decisions, and inconveniences. Enter 'The Machine,' brilliantly played by Peter McDonald, the grooms soon to be brother in-law, and a character of insulting bravado, who acts as an instigator throughout the film. Things begin nicely enough, but little by little, plans get skewed and they all end up off course.

What made this film such a pleasure was how real the whole situation seems. If you've ever been hiking with friends, you learn very quickly who are the capable friends, and who are not. This film delightfully plays into this idea, when friendships are tested out in the wilderness after a few slight mishaps. At no point did this film scream fake, and I found myself laughing along with the banter. Each character brings a little bit of their own humour in this film, and each personality was perfect for their role. The run on jokes are timed very well, and even though you know they might be coming, they still deliver laughs.

A great heartfelt comedy, funny and smart throughout.

6/10

Another title for this movie that is, which kind of describes what this is about. But some things cannot be put into words. And like with Hangover you do get the one character who is very much out of place. But without that character the movie would've (probably) been boring, so while you might not want to see him at first, you do realize, that he's necessary.

There are some really bad moments in this, but there are also some very funny ones. While you can see that this is going somewhere (no pun intended), it also stops from time to time (especially that one scene which puts this to a full stop - crucial scene, but there had to had been a better way to handle that). Other than that, pretty solid and decent effort. More drama than comedy though (unlike Hangover in case you started to compare those two)

-Shallow focus framing ignores beautiful Irish scenery as well as being shot on digital doesn't do it justice -Dodgy accent at times for The Machine, might be a conscious decision to differentiate character -Male friendships fraught and acts of forgiveness as out of bounds -Laughs come from the visual gags and slapstick instead of dialogue -Reminiscent of Fantastic Mr. Fox (2009) with string music, animal fur and dog chases -The frenetic energy rolls it all along up and down the mountain -The subtext of the older generations lack of progressive thought hiding in the background is played put well -Andrew Scott 2010s work is seriously under appreciated -As far as nude comedies go its better than Nude Tuesday (2022) in my opinion.

My girlfriends and I were so excited to see this movie, thinking it was going to be a fun movie. Characters start to make bad decisions and one thing leads to another and so on. You get the idea. The Stag will either surprise or disappoint you, depending on what your expectations are. Still, it's a film BOTH genders can enjoy, and it shouldn't be limited to "a movie for the ladies." In the end, what the audience gets is a casserole of movie elements and little of the satisfaction that comes from watching these types of movies. The sound editing was weird to me. The main plot of the film was constantly being interrupted. Don't make a mistake of watching this film if you have any self respect.