The last couple of films I’ve reviewed were at least decent so it was only a matter of time before I’d see something so awful. Well, the good versus bad film scale is now balanced thanks to having been painfully subjected to “Bachelor Party 2: The Last Temptation.”
The first “Bachelor Party” starred the then up and coming Tom Hanks in 1984. Over 20 years later the “sequel” is being released as unrated by the MPAA, most likely to keep in their countless of female topless scenes (although guys may know the exact number). However, despite having written in a bachelorette party, there is no male nudity.
Ron and Melinda, or Ken and Barbie, got engaged after only two months of dating. Ron’s friend Derek tries to convince him he shouldn’t marry because wives slowly suck out men’s souls until they are empty unhappy shells with alimony payments.
The second threat to their engagement is Melinda’s brother-in-law, Todd, who wants to inherit the family business for himself. He sets Ron up with a trip to Miami, a variety of sexual encounters, and when none of them work Todd resorts to something less conspicuous. His new plans conveniently fall during spring break season, and there is a Sex Addicts Anonymous convention at their hotel.
Ron’s friends are a group of guys who cannot be called men. Derek is considerably older than the others, has been married and divorced three times with children from each. Seth was Ron’s college roommate and is an anal nerdy Jew that can’t, nor is allowed, to relax for a moment. He falls for a neat-freak German shiksa with possible familial ties to Adolph Hitler. Jason is the drunk-idiot friend that cured many sex-addicted women. The handsome and mature Josh Cooke played Ron.
Harland Williams, as Derek, doesn’t deserve an acting career and should finally be thrown out of the movie business. Casting directors should realize he has not once proven him self to be a comedic talent.
While the boys have their fun, Melinda is stuck in Cleveland suffering through her sister’s surprise bachelorette party at a depressing bar, and then returning home to watch a gay man strip off his plumber’s outfit. It is their mother who saves the day by bringing the girls to a secret (but disappointing) male review.
Why are there so many plotlines warning men of marriage simply because they won’t get to sleep with another woman? Todd asks Ron on a golf course, “Do you really want to play one hole for the rest of your life?” Rob obviously does because he turns down his blonde bombshell caddy’s offer to play a 19th hole. Isn’t the purpose of a bachelor party to be his last temptation not last chance to say “I don’t”? Granted, marriage no longer guarantees forever, but it is still the ultimate commitment because of how time consuming, expensive, and stressful divorce is.
There are two kinds of guy audience oriented films: 1) the Judd Apatow projects or the American Pie series which include nudity within its narrative and 2) those that connect scenes of nudity with some simple narrative. Those who enjoy the former may enjoy “Bachelor Party 2.”
