BACHELOR PARTY 2: THE LAST TEMPTATION
(not rated)
MOVIE: ** (out of 5)
DVD EXPERIENCE: **** (out of 5)
STARRING
Josh Cooke as RON
Sara Foster as MELINDA
Warren Christie as TODD
Greg Pitts as JASON
Harland Williams as DEREK
Developed by: James Ryan
Studio: Fox
BY KEVIN CARR
Do you think there is anyone out there that thinks a sequel to “Bachelor Party,” made more than twenty years after the original, is a good idea? Well, someone at the studio thought so, because it’s out there. And it’s everything you would expect it to be.
In the DVD special features, the filmmakers insist this isn’t a remake, but rather a re-imagining of the classic comedy. In this version, Ron (Josh Cooke) has proposed to his beautiful and rich girlfriend Melinda (Sara Foster). However, her gold-digging brother-in-law Todd (Warren Christie), tries to sabotage things so he can have her instead. In order to do this, Todd takes Ron and his buddies to Miami for the bachelor party to end all bachelor parties… and he hopes he can get evidence of Ron cheating on Melinda.
In its defense, a sequel to “Bachelor Party” never had a lot of promise, but at least the film delivers in the T&A department. Does that make me a pig? Sure, but is anyone not expecting at least some nudity in a film like this? In some ways, this film reminds me of the “American Pie” direct-to-DVD sequels… at least they can be a nice dose of eye candy.
There are some funny moments in this movie, and it’s not entirely unoriginal. The characters are cut from the same cloth, with the nerd and the buffoon both clearly cut out in the movie. There’s also plenty of inappropriate politically incorrect humor (like a Jewish guy having a crush on Hitler’s great granddaughter), as well as a well-placed stripper fight in the middle of the movie.
But it doesn’t hold a candle to the classic original, and it only serves as a testament to Tom Hanks’ prowess as an actor. Josh Cooke stumbles throughout the movie, trying to play the honorable guy and crazy buddy at the same time while Hanks did this seemingly effortlessly in the original.
I suppose I shouldn’t get down on the studio for trying a sequel to this film. After all, Fox was the king of raunchy comedies in the 1980s, giving us “Bachelor Party,” “Porky’s” and “Revenge of the Nerds.” There were plenty of substandard sequels for these other flicks. Why not complete the process.
Ultimately, I wouldn’t recommend “Bachelor Party 2” unless you check out the first five minutes of the commentary track and play the cast’s drinking game while watching it. As a matter of fact, that’s not a bad idea, and it might even make the movie funny after all.