Review #121: 'Bachelor Party' (1984)

Man-child bus driver Rick Gassko (Tom Hanks) surprises his friends when he announces he is going to get married to his girlfriend Debbie (Tawny Kitaen), much to their horror. In his honour, they plan to throw the greatest bachelor party in history. Worried that Rick will be unfaithful, Debbie and her friends leave their own bridal shower to go to a strip club, and then to crash the bachelor party. Rick must resist his temptations, and deal with a psychotically jealous ex-boyfriend (Robert Prescott), a transvestite hooker, a mentally unstable school friend, and a coked-up donkey.

When I watched this I really felt in the mood for a bit of 80's cheese. The sex/teen comedies that came out in that decade were hugely successful, and were usually funny in a guilty way. Films such as Porky's (1982) and Fast Times At Ridgemont High (1982) managed to balance gross-out humour, coming-of-age, and an odd vein of sweetness to good effect. Bachelor Party, however, is an unfunny, offensive and appallingly crude journey into the mind of jock-mentality.

90 minutes of a group of middle-aged men with bad haircuts and even worse fashion sense grope and drink to excess does not a good film make. Apparently the idea of the film came from the director and the majority of the crew attending a similar bachelor party. I couldn't imagine a more nightmarish prospect. Apart from the odd funny line - "Gentlemen, start your boners!" - this is desperately devoid of ideas and inspiration. And Tom Hanks' character is one of the most annoying in cinema history. He plays tennis with his fiance and his future in-laws and repeatedly hits the ball out of the court laughing like a child. Debbie's father hates him, and we're supposed to think he's a stuffy old man. If I had a daughter that was considering marrying someone like Rick Gassko, I'd throttle the both of them in their sleep.


Directed by: Neal Israel
Starring: Tom Hanks, Tawny Kitaen, Adrian Zmed
Country: USA

Rating: *

Tom Gillespie