Bachelor Party

b

Pardon the grumpiness, but "Bachelor Party" might be the most misogynistic comedy ever realized on screen. At least that I've seen. There's room to be forgiving of the attitude toward women that most 20th century films have, but "Bachelor Party" seems to bend over backward to make women the butt of the joke — or more accurately to this film, the t**s. "Bachelor Party" sees bus driver Rick (Tom Hanks) and retail worker Debbie (Tawny Kitaen) deciding to get married, launching Rick's sad sack of a friend group — Jay (Adrian Zmed), Gary (Gary Grossman), Rudy (Barry Diamond), and Ryko (Michael Dudikoff) — into discussion of the hookers they're going to hire. Meanwhile, Rick's disapproving future father-in-law (George Grizzard) convinces his preferred choice for Debbie, Cole (Robert Prescott) to sabotage the party and the engagement. The film is the series of gags that ensue, which also includes what happens at Debbie's shower. So many films of this era are patterned this way, with sex-themed debauchery the primary objective. What sets "Bachelor Party" apart — in all the wrong ways — is its one- dimensional (that dimension being sex-crazed) characters whom it holds up as being cool and clever despite programming them to do nothing but objectify women. Of course Rick is written to be the exception — and serve as the film's argument for why it isn't sexist. Bob Israel, with writers Neal Israel and Pat Proft —who just a few months before this film released their first "Police Academy" movie — write a funny screwball comedy in many respects, but so many jokes are contrived and tailored to sexual situations, i.e. laughs that come at the expense of women (and in one case, a trans character). That it even flirts with a character having sex with a donkey is sad. Other things can be funny. The film's ambition to be the next "Animal House" is so transparent that it borders on pathetic. There's its use of Mozart to create irony similar to the opening of "Animal House," but the coup de grace is when Rudy, the character with rocks for brains (aka this movie's Bluto/John Belushi), is seen chugging a bottle of Jack Daniel's. Only "Animal House" can be "Animal House." That film at least made up for its treatment of women with a unique quirkiness, charming characters and a greater purpose in evoking the nostalgia of the vintage collegiate experience. Israel and Proft do a killer job in one respect — Rick's dialogue. In spite of everything around him, Hanks might give his funniest performance of all time in this movie. His lines are razor sharp and display incredible wit and Hanks oozes with charm. His work and character salvage the movie and then some. It feels harsh to go after a film from 1984 for being misogynistic; "Bachelor Party" was far from the lone perpetrator. Yet the design of this movie calls particular attention to its penchant for exploitation and sours the experience of revisiting this comedy in a way it doesn't for other similar films. ~Steven C Thanks for reading! Visit Movie Muse Reviews for more

v

Yes, this one stars Tom Hanks, and from looking at the cast not to many other people I have heard of except for Tawnee Kitane. However, I thought this film was a laugh riot and enjoyed every minute of it. The plot is simple enough. An about to be married man is about to embark on the greatest send off party ever the bachelor party. Things are not so cut and dry though as the female comes from a wealthy family and she has an ex boyfriend who is a bit of a prick too that constantly tries to throw a monkey wrench into the works during the course of the movie. The father of the bride to be also tries to stir the pot a bit too. Well the party starts out rather slowly as the dirty movie has been censored and things are looking rather dull until one of Hanks' buddies finally comes through with the hookers and all bets are off. Drugs, nudity, and donkeys are all the rage!!! Yes, this movie is crazy and your basic sex comedy of the 1980's, but it is also one of the better ones of the era. I like it a lot more than Tom Cruise's "Risky Business" as that one takes itself to seriously at times while this one stays light and funny all the way through to the climatic battle in the movie theater where a gal gets punched in the face and thinks it is the 3-d.

I lived through the Eighties as a teenager and this film tries to pass itself off as a "teen" movie. Believe me when I say that the Eighties were nothing like this trollop! The actors excel themselves as being inane morons. Adrian Zmed must be the worst actor ever his awful undressing scene is sickening rot. He even attempts singing in this movie! It is dire! Hanks was always rubbish but he really shines as true garbage here. The so-called "sex scenes" are laughable to the point of extreme. The clothing and hairstyles are Eighties all right. The comedy is pure gutter trash and totally unfunny. Every new scene is worst than the last. Give it a miss! You will feel better for it.

Likable, stupid, crude and very funny movie about Tom Hanks having a bachelor party before he marries beautiful Tawny Kitaen. Naturally, things go barreling out of control. It's incredibly tasteless (although somewhat tame compared to today's movies), silly and full of female (and male!) nudity...but damned if I wasn't laughing! Most of the humor comes from Tom Hanks who's (I assuming) ad-libbing his lines left and right. Very 80s in terms of clothes and hair. Brainless but fun. A perfect example of an R-rated 1980s sex comedy that would get an NC-17 rating today. Also interesting to see Hanks pre-stardom. Turn off your brain and enjoy!

I was 14 years old when "Bachelor Party" was released...therefore I was too young to see it in a theatre as it was rated "R," and of course Mom and Dad weren't going to take me to see such a film. About a year after that it happened to come on HBO one night while my parents were out for the evening, so I excitedly sat down to watch this forbidden fruit. I laughed my ass off for the entire movie, of course, and the experience was heightened by the knowledge that if Mom and Dad came home before the movie was over and caught me watching it, they would've kicked my butt. Fortunately the film ended before they returned, so I got away with my little indiscretion. That's my main "Bachelor Party" memory and why the film remains so special to me all these years later. Seeing it again after a quarter of a century (! has it been that long?) I was confronted with a blast of nostalgia. "Bachelor Party" is now a true time capsule of the '80s and as soon as it started I was transported back to my junior high days. Hard to believe that Tom Hanks -- yes, THE Tom Hanks -- got his start in goofball comedies like this, "Volunteers" and the sit-com "Bosom Buddies" before becoming an award winning serious actor. Hanks is likable in just about anything, and "Bachelor Party" is no exception. His character, a goofy slacker named Rick who drives a school bus for a living, has somehow lucked into marrying the gorgeous Tawny Kitaen (who would become famous a few years later for her turn in several Whitesnake videos, then infamous after that for her drug and alcohol fueled activities), to the horror of her rich parents. Rick's party-animal friends (including Adrian Zmed of "Grease 2" and "T.J. Hooker" fame) want to send Rick off into married life with the bachelor bash to end all bashes, and so the characters descend on an upscale hotel suite with all the class of a horde of Vikings on the attack. The party has all the sleazy trimmings you'd expect (drugs, hookers, booze, *, strippers, etc.) plus a few hilarious asides such as a pimp who "looks like Gandhi" and a well endowed male * who goes by the stage name "Nick the Dick." Rick's fiancé, afraid that he will be unfaithful to him during said party, decides to crash the proceedings with her friends, leading to predictable '80s raunch-comedy chaos. (A naked guy hung out of the hotel window! A Marilyn Monroe lookalike * who turns out to be a guy in drag! A cocaine-snorting donkey that dies of an OD!) I laughed just as hard as I did when I was a teenybopper! This movie still holds up as one of the best low brow comedies of the 80s, if not of all time. Rent this one and give your inner 14 year old the time of his life!

Bachelor Party (1984) ** (out of 4) A man (Tom Hanks) announces to his buddies that he's going to get married in a week so obviously they decide to throw him a bachelor party (as well as try to talk him out of it). This is yet another post NATIONAL LAMPOON'S ANIMAL HOUSE flick where it's dumb, obnoxious, stupid and it doesn't care. As you'd expect, the R-rating is certainly reached for and achieved through a variety of profane language, silly sexual situations and of course plenty of nudity. The movie gets off to a good start but I thought it slowly got out of control with some of the side plots and in the end I really didn't find it as funny as many do. It's clear many consider this a classic of 80s comedies but I personally wouldn't go that far. I think the biggest problem I had with the film were the characters. I can't say I enjoyed any of them nor did I find any of them funny. Sure, there are a few laughs here and there but for the most part I was sitting there rather bored and just waiting for the film to end. Which is pretty much another problem since this thing clocks in at nearly 110-minutes, which is way too long. I think the main reason to tune into this thing would be for the young Hanks who you'd never tell by watching this that he would end up winning two Oscars. I guess the same thing could be said for Sean Penn in FAST TIMES AT RIDGEMONT HIGH but then again you could strike this up as their talent for being able to play characters like these. I think Hanks gets to show off some of his comic timing and he certainly has a few funny bits playing the smart jerk. I thought some of the best moments happened early on when he's going after his future father-in-law who hates him. The rest of the cast were pretty bland to me but then again I think most of this has to do with the screenplay and not their performances. The film is very hit and miss in terms of laughs but to me most of them were misses. When the bachelor party finally happens it too is somewhat of a letdown as it really doesn't appear to be very fun.

When a goofy Care-Free bus driver named Rick (Two Time Oscar-Winner:Tom Hanks), who decides to get married with a rich nice young woman named Debbie (Tawny Kitaen). Rick's friends (Adrian Zmed, William Tepper, Barry Diamond, Gary Grossman, Gradford Bancroft & Michael Dudikoff) decides to give Rick, an wild all-out Bachelor Party. While Rick's nemesis, a scumbag named Cole (Robert Prescott) tries to ruined the party of Rick and also trying to framed him as well. Since he's still crazy about his ex-girlfriend:Debbie. Directed by Neal Isreal (Suft Ninjas) made an amusing comedy, which it was in the heights of Tom Hanks' career. Which he had another hit in 1984, which it was "Splash". Hanks is fun, so is the entire cast. This has some memorable funny scenes and clever gags as well. This has becomes an Camp Classic. Fans of his early work, should enjoy this as well. DVD has an fine anamorphic Widescreen (1.85:1) transfer and an good-Dolby Digital 4.0 Surround Sound. DVD also vintage behind the scenes vignettes and short interviews with the actors as well. Fans of wild 1980's sex comedies will have a blast. (****/*****).

hmmm... this is probably the worst movie I have ever seen. I don't understand why it has such a relatively high rating. Maybe some people think it funny because it is so bad... but even that is not possible with this 'movie' in my opinion. The best I can say about it is that it is a continuous stream of VERY silly jokes. Don't watch this!