Once again we find a movie that should have been immediately round filed and put into the “not a good idea” category. Hollywood and sequels is something of a love/hate relationship with audiences, and while there are some movies that we want to continue on, there are others that really didn’t need a continuation. That especially is true when the sequel in question is for a movie that was originally released almost twenty-five years ago.

Right after his hit, Splash, Tom Hanks was seen in yet another film that would be one of many on his path to box office gold, and that was Bachelor Party, a comedy that had most of the things that you’d expect to find in an 80’s comedy. Little by little though, what was common in the comedy films of that era began to fade away, though some are trying to bring it back, but using a recognized name like Bachelor Party to try and do so is just a shame and, to be honest, quite insulting to those who know and remember the movie fondly.

Bachelor Party 2: The Last Temptation has no connection to the original film at all save for the name alone, and a similarity in plot despite what the writers, director and producer would want you to believe in the special features. Ron (Josh Cooke) has decided to marry his girlfriend Melinda (Sara Foster) even though they have only known each for a short time, and his friends in turn have decided to throw him a bachelor party. So, it’s off to Miami for the weekend, but his fiancés brother, Todd (Warren Christie) believes that he’s out to take his job and tries to set him up in various opportunities that would show him cheating. Add in some German girls as the guys roommates, one who might be the grand-daughter of Hitler, a Sex Addicts Anonymous convention, and plenty of nudity and you’d think that you’d have all the right ingredients in place for a great sequel.

You might think that, but you don’t. The last temptation should have been to not make this movie, and apparently that temptation was probably looked at briefly, cast aside as quickly as a bra in any 80’s sex comedies, and instead the possibility of money reigned supreme. Then again, this is straight-to-DVD release, something that tells me that the studio didn’t have enough faith in the fact that the movie would even pull in but a few people to theaters who remembered the original. The target audience here isn’t just those fans, but young, adolescent boys who don’t have Internet access and can’t find nudity on their own, or at the very least have restrictions put on their computers.

The characters are all nothing more than stereotypes. You have Seth (Danny Jacobs), the nerd who seems to be afraid of women and being Jewish, is also fearful they are sharing a room with Nazi’s. You have the guy who thinks that he can score with every woman, Jason (Greg Pitts) and the friend who has already been married and divorced a few times, Derek (Harland Williams) and he’s the one that tries the most to talk his friend out of marriage. What it all boils down to are scenes of drinking and heavy boozing, predictable circumstances, and plenty of attractive women, many of who have been “enhanced” along the way, taking their tops off.

Is nudity itself all bad? I have to say no, and I do applaud the effort to bring back the spirit of the 80’s since somewhere along the way, Hollywood and up and coming actresses developed some kind of moral code where bearing breasts wasn’t a good thing. I suppose though that it could also be attributed to the MPAA and their ratings code, though it seems these days that they are harder at work trying to drag people into court for “illegal downloads” and movie piracy, something that they themselves have admitted guilt in. This effort to bring back the feeling of the 80’s however is nothing more than a shallow spirit, almost like the difference between a true ad residual haunting. The movie goes through the motions, but that’s about the full extent of it. What it really lacks is the comedy, and the cast, all of whom really are fine actors, try their best but with very little success.

The days of the party movie really do seem to be over, at least for now. You really can’t bring back the past in this instance, and Bachelor Party 2 is nothing more than a feeble attempt at best to revive something that is not going to be easy to bring back. Even looking at the horror films that have recently been released, it’s easy to see that they lack in just about every way when compared to those that were made two decades ago, though there are a few movies here and there that actually do manage to not only hold their own but capture a feeling of the glory days. The 80’s saw the likes of not only Bachelor Party but movies like The Breakfast Club, Weird Science, Porky’s and Revenge of the Nerds, films that have become classics to many and trying to bring back what they accomplished isn’t something that is easily done.

For those who actually don’t end up turning the movie off out of disgust for the bad name it gives the original, you may want to watch it again, for whatever reason with commentary with Warren Christie, Greg Pitts, Harland Williams, Josh Cooke, Danny Jacobs and James Ryan. Great, it’s just like listening to a bunch of drunken frat boys, only less entertaining. There are also deleted scenes, a making of feature, a gag reel, and a look at the stripper fight seen in the movie. None of the bonus features are really that interesting, and it’s shameful to listen to the gloating about how this is a retelling, a modernization of the original film, while in reality, it’s more of a bastardization.

Bachelor Party 2 may very well be the most unnecessary sequel that has ever been created, perhaps even more than some of the made for TV abominations that Sci-Fi Channel loves to churn out by the dozens. A sequel a year or two after the release of a film is one thing, but two decades later is just uncalled for and even if you have a mild curiosity, let this truly be your last temptation and find something else to watch.

-mike-
 

Directed by: James Ryan   Written by: Jay Longino   Cast:  Josh Cooke Greg Pitts Harland Williams Warren Christie Sara Foster Danny Jacobs Max Landwirth Emmanuelle Vaugier Karen Gordon Steven Crowley Audrey Landers Mauricio Sanchez Chay Santini Major Mike Russell Sandra Seeling

DVD Features: Audio: English 5.1 Dolby Surround English, French  & Spanish Subtitles Commentary w/James Ryan, Harland Williams, Josh Cooke, Greg Pitts, Warren Christie & Danny Jacobs The Making of Bachelor Party 2 Analysis of a Stripper Fight Deleted Scenes Gag Reel