Rick Gassko (Tom Hanks) tells his friends that he will be marrying his girlfriend Debbie (Tawny Kitaen) in a week. His best friend Jay (Adrian Zmed) decides to throw him a wild bachelor party bash so he can go out in style. Debbie’s rich father (George Grizzard) doesn’t approve of bus driver Rick, and would much rather have his daughter marry the more refined Cole (Robert Prescott). So both men try to bribe Rick into giving up Debbie.

Debbie is worried that there will be prostitutes at the stag do, and that Rick will give into the temptation. At the same time, Rick’s married friends keep warning him to get out while he still can. On the night of the party, things start off tame, but quickly escalate into a wild night of debauchery that gets totally out of hand. Will Rick give in to the debauchery, or remain faithful to his wife-to-be?

Despite being inspired by an actual bachelor party, Bachelor Party does not try to be realistic at all. Everything is so over-the-top that it borders on cartoony at times—a character constantly trying (and failing) to kill himself, a naked man dangling from a hotel room and falling into a car, Japanese businessmen in their underwear chasing after prostitutes, and even a drugged mule. This complete ridiculousness adds much to the humor of the film.

I like how the film has several different storylines going on simultaneously, and it’s hilarious when these ultimately converge by the end. In addition to the bachelor party itself, the film also follows the stuffy and repressed bachelorette party, and Cole’s obsession with Debbie that leads him to attempt murder when bribery doesn’t work.

The film initially starts off a bit slow, and seems more like vehicle for Tom Hanks to do short crazy bits. But once things really get going, there are a lot of laugh-out-loud moments, and the cast really comes together. The cast is great—there are a lot of recognizable (albeit much younger) faces in the film, many of whom have gone on to make some other hilarious comedies.

The Blu-ray presentation looks quite good, but the mono audio is a bit disappointing. All of the dialogue and music comes from the center channel and the volume balance between the two is off at times. The bonus features are also disappointing. There are no new features created for this 30th anniversary Blu-ray release. All the features included have been ported from the previous DVD release—the original trailer and about 10 minutes of promotional interviews recorded at the time of the film’s release.

What’s Included:

Film: (1:45:29)

Blu-ray:
• 1080p / Widescreen 1.85:1
• Audio: English DTS-HD Master Audio 1.0, Spanish Dolby Digital 1.0, French Dolby Digital 1.0
• Subtitles: English SDH, Spanish

Extras:
The bonus material is comprised of various short promotional pieces recorded at the time of the film’s release. All of these featurettes and interviews are ported over from the 2001 DVD release.

• Behind the Scenes (3:10)
  The cast and director describe the premise and characters of film. Includes interviews with stars Tom Hanks, Adrian Zmed, and Tawny Kitaen, and director Neal Israel.
• An American Tradition (2:51)
  The cast and creators discus the inspiration for the party in the film as well as bachelor parties in general. Includes interviews with producers Bob Israel, Ron Moler and stars Adrian Zmed, Tom Hanks, and Tawny Kitaen, and director Neal Israel.
• While the Men Play (1:43)
  Actress Tawny Kitaen and director Neal Israel discuss what the women get up to while the men are having their party
• Tom Hanks Interviews (2:44)
  Play All or select from “From Television To Movies”, “Tom Hanks Goes To a Bachelor Party” and “Hanks on Television”.
• Original Theatrical Trailer (2:07)

Final Thoughts:

Bachelor Party is a fun comedy that starts off a bit slow, but really kicks into gear as things get wilder and wilder. Hanks gives a fun performance, but it was actually one of the side characters/ongoing plots that gave me some of the biggest laughs. The slim bonus features are a bit disappointing, but the film itself is definitely worth checking out for some laughs.

This Blu-ray is available both separately, and as part of the “Guys Being Guys Party 3-pack”, which also includes Revenge of the Nerds and Porky’s.