Omicidi occasionali

From watching the start of the movie, i though that Stag looked quite promising. The introduction of each character, although minimalist, was quite effective... there would be a freeze frame on each character, and some text describing their occupation and past.

Unfortunately the movie takes it time to get to the crucial plot twist that this movie is based on. There's a lot of uninteresting dialog and a scene of gratuitous sex. "When's this movie going to start!" i was left thinking for a good while.

So eventually after the death of the stripper, the protagonists of the movie try to figure out what to do next. But... this is the problem... they spend the entire movie trying to figure out what to do next. And even worse, they still haven't figured out what to do even after the end credits come up. But obviously you don't expect this to happen when you first see this movie, so it's the only thing keeping you watch it.

At the end of the movie i was left feeling very unsatisfied. There could've been such an interesting story made from the idea it presents to you at the start. (Well maybe not the *start*... it does drag on quite a bit ;-) I was expecting some great little plot twists or an intelligent story, but no, the outcome in my opinion is unbelievable and unfinished.

First off, this movie was terrible. Now I have to address another issue.

People do not understand how long it takes to get a movie made. VERY BAD THINGS was released about a year after STAG. ONE YEAR. And people are saying that VBT stole the idea from STAG. WRONG!!! Peter Berg wrote VBT in his trailer during the filming of COPLAND. How could he know or care to know about the making of a lame direct-to-video movie? He wouldn't. VBT is far superior to this slow, plodding, poorly acted, poorly directed, poorly etc. movie. I can't even remember if there was a score in this movie. It doesn't matter because it was brutal. I want to know how semi-famous people like Mario Van Peebles and Ben Gazzara got roped into this trash heap of unoriginality.

1/2* (out of 10)

What I think is most interesting about the movie "Stag" is that it shares a plot and action line almost indentically with a very bad movie entitled "Very Bad Things". Even more of note is the fact that while "Stag" does not have the power of an well known ensemble, it more than makes up for it in sheer entertainment value. With the star power of Cameron Diaz and Christian Slater, it was expected that "Very Bad Things" would be a very funny movie. On the other hand I believe "Stag" is pleasantly surprising in the fact that it is actually quite funny in a dark twisted sort of way without blowing its budget on big name actors that were not able to pull off the comedic timing. Instead virtual no names (aside from Stiller) were utilized to produce a shadowly comic tale.

Second rate story about a stag party that goes array when a woman is accidentally killed. Because of the status of some of the male party members, they need to cover their tracks and protect themselves. Poor material delivered by a mostly unsatisfying cast.

This film was great. If you've ever been to a bachelor party or heard stories about bachelor parties, this movie is for you. I'm a married woman and have heard scores of stag party anecdotes, both funny and lewd. This movie shows what can happen to perfectly normal, decent, middle to upper-middle class guys when things go terribly wrong and spiral out of control. As the movie progressed I just kept thinking: "I KNOW these guys, this could happen to people I KNOW." Basically, it shows how bad things happen to average, normal people and how we all have a dark side that can come out when pushed to the wall. Watch this movie, with an honest, open mind, and see if there's someone you know up on screen. By the way, is it just me or is the new movie Very Bad Things a rip-off of this one? I've only seen the trailers, but it looks like the same movie. We'll see...