Stag (1997)
8/10
The life of this film really doesn't die
19 March 2013
Things look pretty good for groom to be John Stockwell, where his mates hold him a surprise stag party. His guests are an assortment of characters, some oldies types, that have you questioning, how exactly are these guys related, without never really knowing much about 'em. They are soon wishing it was just a stag party instead of a shag party, when one of two hookers, the prettier, younger one, ends up taking a really bad fall, while being tossed around on a blanket, where she falls face flat on the floor, instantly dead. This is what happens when things get a little too crazy, where alcohol and drugs can really make you do stupid s..t. Too, prior to her death, she had politely asked them to stop, to no avail, and now our men have a situation, where this party has really died. The other hooker, rock singer, Taylor Dane, who in some close ups, horribly resembles a girl I went to acting class with, is kept hostage by this group, who we appallingly discover, with the exclusion of one, are all out to save their own skin. They don't give two hoots about the dead girl, including one promising actor, who doesn't want to throw his career down the toilet on account of a whore. They have plans for the surviving sister too. The rest of the film, impressively intense, at times, deals with the shared conflict between the men, and how they all must agree to do away with the other girl, only we have a greater conflict. Kevin Dillon is the only one not on board. One line of dialogue he uses to describe his friends, and this gutless act, I totally agree with, but really what would you do, if faced with this situation? Would you tell the truth, and risk jail? What if you had everything in front of you, and everything to lose? What if you were that promising actor? Stag, silently raises these questions, and what you would really do in this predicament, where these kind of (before and after) circumstances, could happen tomorrow. That's what I got from this movie, of being any of those guys. They were all in a inescapable dilemma, fate and karma paying one of em, with a heart attack. After all, only earlier was he bonking the deceased. Andrew Mccarthy plays sleaze great here, as a real piece of s..t drug dealer, in probably one of his best performances, the less caring of them all. It was great to see him get his just desserts. Not helping the situation or the men's paranoia, we have some little interruptions by a lonely and annoying old neighbor, guess you can't guess who? Stag eventuates with a realistic, if disillusioned ending, I totally bought, where sometimes, truth can pay off. Good on ya Kev. Stag is one of those better b movies, and when you got a jazzy Tom Jones's number to open it up, you know you're in for something good. A mainstream movie copy followed, Very Bad Things.
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