Bachelor Party

First of all, if you are thinking that this will be some wonderful, well thought out, well crafted artwork starring Tom Hanks, put the movie down and back away from the rack. Now flash back to 1984, when movies were inane and entertaining--solely for entertaining!!! As far as raunchy 80's humor goes, you won't find anything better that Bachelor Party. Yes, the humor is predictable. Yes, the sight gags are predictable. But this movie does it better than anyone else in it's genre (that would be raunchy comedy). Good girl falls for bad boy, plan to get married, but first the guys must be guys. "Let's have a party with liquor and drugs and guns and hookers and cops!" and they do. Don't ask for more than this movie can deliver, yet appreciate it for what it is!

"Bachelor Party" is very much like other films of its genre except that it is one of Tom Hanks' very early efforts and, as a result, is more fondly remembered than it probably would be without Hanks.

Yes, before Hanks turned into Forrest Gump and an Oscar-winning heavyweight actor, he desperately starred in a 1984 teen sex comedy not unlike "Porky's," "The Last American Virgin" or "American Pie." "Splash" had been a success by now so the marketers could rely upon his newly-created status to promote "Bachelor Party," and it paid off -- this movie was an unexpected hit when it came out (albeit a small one).

Tom Hanks is a fine actor but I have to say that he had a certain charm about his acting that made many mediocre '80s comedies -- including "Turner and Hooch," "The 'burbs" and of course "Bachelor Party" -- immensely likable despite their flaws.

Yes, this is a crude, lewd, rude movie but it has its fair share of embarrassing moments, laugh-out-loud segments and cheesy (but fun) segments. Good entertainment for a Friday or Saturday night, and a good glimpse at a much younger, thinner, more comedic (and slapstick) Tom Hanks before he got all weepy-eyed and serious on us.

I first saw this movie as a kid, and being a juvenile at the time, I of course loved the juvenile humor (not to mention the nudity). But humor is one of those things that rarely ages well, and I fully expected all these years later to find that the movie was rather, well, juvenile. Very pleasantly surprised to find that it really was still funny, even if Hanks himself is so over the top that it makes the central storyline (Tawny Kitaen wants to marry him) unbelievable. Its silly, low brow, and yet exuberant and consistently funny throughout. One of those movies where everybody is having such a good time that its hard not to yourself, and the jokes are fearlessly tasteless. Not a classic, but still fun nearly 30 years later (has it been nearly 30 years? wow!).

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.

Rick Gassko (Tom Hanks) is a cool personable school bus driver soon to be married to Debbie Thompson (Tawny Kitaen). His friends Jay O'Neill (Adrian Zmed), mechanic Rudy (Barry Diamond), nerdy Gary (Gary Grossman), and waiter Ryko (Michael Dudikoff) throw him an outrageous bachelor party. Her old boyfriend Cole Whittier (Robert Prescott) aims to break them up. Her parents don't like him either. His brother Stan (William Tepper) is coming along eager to get away from his wife Tina (Wendie Jo Sperber). They invite drugged up Brad Peckerhead Mollen.

This is a simple Tom Hanks vehicle. The problem is that he doesn't have good enough partners to play with. Tawny Kitaen is a reasonable hot good girl. There are some fun scenes. Hanks hitting tennis balls over the fence. The male stripper with the fake hot dog is hilarious. The party getting out of control is fun. The Oingo Boingo song is catchy. These are good individual scenes. There needs to be more of them. It should get to the group bachelor party sooner. At least, the group has some limited comedy bromance chemistry. Adrian Zmed is not good enough to be the best friend. Gary Grossman is good as the funny nerd. The rest of them are acceptable as the boorish friends. Robert Prescott is great as the douche ex. As far as 80s raunchy comedies go, this one isn't too bad.